About Guide Dogs For The Blind

I have ALWAYS wanted to see what it was like to train a dog for the Guide Dogs For the Blind program! Has anyone done this before? Or, can you give me a link to see what it's all about?! Thank you SO much, and whoever has the best answer, well, get's BEST ANSWER! Thank you SO much!

Maybe contact your local animal shelter & see if they have any numbers or contact details for a Guide dog place.

http://www.guidedogs.org.uk/index.php?id =1465&type=33
http://www.guidedogs.com/site/PageServer ?pagename=about_careers
http://www.learndirect-advice.co.uk/help withyourcareer/jobprofiles/profiles/prof ile439/

Here are some links, i hope they help!

2007-08-05 11:21:43 by

What it's like to raise a guide dog puppy for Guide Dogs for the Blind.

Also, if you happen to know more about the muslim view on dogs in general, that would be interesting. It just seems like there must be something important about dogs to forbid the blind that service. Or is it the service itself maybe? Is it more to do with suffering as God has prescribed than with the type of animal? I'll stop guessing - you tell me.

It is partly a case of dogma becoming too extreme. Islam forbids the eating of pigs and any carnivore including dogs, cats, and birds of prey. In addition dogs are considered unclean because they are scavengers.

Dogs became listed as ritually unclean, and then later totally forbidden as pets. Some sects of Islam consider them OK for work animals but that forming attachments is forbidden. Many Muslims that have immigrated to the US to escape Sharia law now keep dogs and see such attitudes as being way too extreme.
http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Sec urity/?id=1.0.1892967009

ADD: On the actual writings:
http://www.answering-islam.org/Silas/dog s.htm

2009-07-31 15:17:28 by Pickleblossom

I at a gathering early this week for support for the blind when I noticed people from PETA handing out flyers that called for people to stop abusing dogs for their "enslavement" by people.

Now I am just outraged that a animal rights group would be that selfish as to deny the blind one their most useful companion and tool for navigating around.

But, does PETA have a point about enslavement of animals for the blind to use? Or are they just being extreme liberals?

Because they are nucking futs. It's not a Organization I would ever support.

2009-06-23 16:33:51 by ☆♥☆

I have read all the reqirements to become a "puppy raiser" on the Guide Dogs of the Blind website. But, I read it to my Mom, and she said "Well, you are going to have to wait until one of your dogs dies." I have two dogs, a golden retriever and a lhasa opsa. But, I can't wait to raise a puppy for the Guide Dogs of the Blind! I have somewhat of enough time, though, I am going to do Kung Fu and Basketball this year. And, then there is homework. But, I REALLY would like to to do "puppy raising!" How can I convince my parents? I have always owned a dog, so, I know A LOT about dogs! Thanks, and, BEST ANSWER is included! Thanks again!

If I were you I would wait till you have a lot of time on your hands. As you know it takes a lot of time to train and raise a puppy. Expesially for a Seeing Eye Dog. You have to put everything and all of you time into it. You can blow off the traing if something comes up or if you have practice for basketball or Kung Fu. You cant have somewhat enough time you have to have ALL of the time. That is something you should consider before trying to convince your parents. Sorry!

2007-08-05 14:51:44 by

what does there training consist of?

i know they have reward training and clicker training but what type of training do they do?
how do the trainers teach them to walk in straight lines and know when to cross the road..?

ive just ALWAYS wondered about this!
thanks
xo

This is a general overview of the concepts of training guide dogs. It won't tell you how to train one yourself.

Most of the work is done on obstacle avoidance. The dog needs to learn two key things: 1. he is wider than normal when his handler is beside him because he must calculate passing distances including the width of the handler, 2. he must halt at any obstacle (the bulk of training is teaching the dog what constitutes an obstacle and generalizing those concepts to apply to all similar obstacles).

People often fail to realize just how much of the work is being done by the handler. The dog says, "there's an obstacle in front of us." But it is the handler who must decide what to do about it, whether to go right or left around it or go straight over it. It is the handler's responsibility to pay attention to traffic and know by the sound when it is safe to cross. The dog's job is to find the curb and wait for the "forward" command. The handler is responsible for paying attention to how many blocks they've gone, where they are based on that counting, and where they are going. The dog's main job really is just to avoid obstacles. The handler does most of the rest of the work.

I've had to teach my service dogs to avoid blind canes because I have a blind friend. That's a type of obstacle avoidance training. My dog doesn't mind being whopped in the head with a cane occasionally, but this interferes with the information my friend is supposed to be getting from her cane. So even though it doesn't bother him it still becomes my dog's responsibility to pay attention to the movement of the cane and stay out of it's way as it swings.

For my dogs I find it effective to simply yelp as if injured when he touches the cane. My dogs heard the yelps when they were young and mouthy each time their teeth touched my skin, so my yelping already has meaning to them ("ouch!"). They think I'm a pansy but that's okay. My dogs will attempt to avoid causing me to yelp. I train a certain kind of dog that is very good at problem solving and learns well through solving puzzles. I train German Shepherds. I yelp, they stop and ponder, "what did she get into this time?" They usually have it figured out by about the third time. Then we just practice it until it becomes second nature to them and they do it all the time automatically.

Most guide dogs are Labs and Goldens, which do better with pattern (repetition) training. If I were training a pattern dog, I'd be doing a lot of corrections and repetitions and no puzzles. Each dog is an individual and the trainer must teach the dog in a way that works for that specific dog.

So guide dogs are often taught with corrections. There are some limits to what you can teach a dog with only positive reinforcement. But correction doesn't have to mean smacking the dog. I correct my own dogs by saying, "ah ah." Not yelling, just saying it in a neutral tone. Not very harsh, is it? But it gives them information that what they are doing isn't what I want them to do. It's like playing "find the thimble." I give my dog hints when he is getting "warmer" or "colder." With purely positive training you only give the dog half the information. I'd rather help him as much as possible.

I can't imagine raising a dog or a child without ever saying the word, "no."

2009-03-24 09:54:12 by Carly