We honor and celebrate the relationship between guide dog and their handlers in this special blog post in honor of International Guide Dog Day. Our goal on International Guide Dog Day is to raise awareness and understanding in our community as we examine five crucial suggestions for helping guide dog handlers. Regardless matter your level of experience as an advocate or where you are in your learning process, these ideas will support the development of a society that is more informed and inclusive.
Engage with the Handler:
When in doubt, strike up a discussion with someone who is using a guide dog. Ask them politely if they need any help, and make sure to make an announcement when you arrive. Speaking up is a more courteous and beneficial way to communicate than reaching out with your hands.
Grant Unrestricted Access:
Guide dogs wearing harnesses are legally allowed to travel with their handlers wherever they go. Encouraging inclusivity and independence requires acknowledging and upholding this right. It is important to remember to let guide dogs into all public areas.
Avoid Distractions:
Directions Even after receiving intensive instruction, dogs retain their innate instincts. Don’t feed them or take your attention away so they can focus on what needs to be done. Your collaboration helps ensure that their expert work is successful.
Respect Personal Space:
Understand how important physical space is for both the guide dog and the handler. You should not touch the Handler or the dog, and you should keep your own dog away from them. This makes sure that both the guide dog and its handler are working in a safe setting.
Expand Your Knowledge:
Make the effort to learn as much as you can about blindness and low vision by using pertinent resources. Interact with people who have firsthand knowledge of vision impairment and think about enrolling in official training courses. To foster awareness and understanding in your community, impart the knowledge you have gained.
Together, let’s apply these five key suggestions to help guide dog handlers on International Guide Dog Day and work toward a society where owners of guide dogs can travel with self-assurance and freedom. Engaging with handlers, allowing unfettered access, avoiding distractions, respecting personal space, and growing our knowledge are the five fundamental tips that we put into practice to create a more inclusive and helpful atmosphere. As we endeavor to create a community where everyone may live with dignity and ease, let’s honor the remarkable relationship that exists between guide dogs and their handlers.
Behavior Tips of Guide Dog from Trainer
Keep it Consistent:
With up to four or five dogs at a time who are typically in different stages of training, Michelle explains that she has been teaching guide dogs for seven years. I’ve discovered that the key to successfully altering a dog’s behavior is to just be consistent in whatever you ask of them, or don’t ask of them!
For instance, my small daughter often gets sidetracked and wanders off when she starts eating, as do most youngsters. I therefore thought it crucial that Kaya, our dog, not steal food from an empty plate.
However, it didn’t take me long to realize that Kaya would need to be taught to limit her eating to her own dish if I wanted this directive to be constant. This is due to the fact that subtleties that are obvious to you may not make sense to your dog. If your pet is permitted to pick up discarded food scraps on the floor but is not permitted to eat from your unattended plate of food, then you cannot reasonably expect him to understand why you are discouraging one behavior while prohibiting the other. He believes that the food is the same in both of these scenarios.
Positive training is best:
I adore being greeted by a bunch of waggy tails every morning, and I’ve always wanted to work with animals. Michelle states, “It helped me realize that I continue to do the things that I enjoy, and the same is true for dogs.” Dogs react far more favorably to praise and food than to yelling, and they are also more likely to retain the lessons you have taught them. Discovering your pet’s motivations is the tricky part. The majority of the time, a treat or reward focused on food works best for dogs, but praise, play, and affection work just as well.
Treats are nearly always the first thing we use when teaching guide dogs. When we’re training a guide dog to stop at every curb while on a walk, for instance, I’ll first halt at the curb’s edge and then reward the dog with a goodie if he follows suit. I won’t say anything at all, or raise my voice, if he hasn’t stopped. Rather, we’ll walk back to the kerb edge, turn around, and repeat the halting action. I’ll make sure to reward him with a treat each time he masters the action after he gets the hang of it, and I’ll do this consistently for a minimum of two to four weeks.
After that, I’ll only give him a treat every other or third time he completes the task, so we’ll gradually transition to intermittent reinforcement. Given that dogs never give up, this serves to reinforce the behavior in a way at a time when most canines could start to become complacent. If they have positive historical results from a particular action, they will continue to try it.
Nevertheless, we never entirely cease rewarding a dog’s behavior, even after it has reached a high level of proficiency. To provide their dog with positive reinforcement when he may not anticipate it, owners should follow the lead of guide dog trainers, who never stop praising their dogs and carrying treats in their pockets.
Know when to use your voice:
When rewarding your dog for their behavior, body language matters. As Michelle says, “Training a dog doesn’t have to be complicated; one of the easiest ways to communicate your intention is with your voice.” You will need to feel at ease and confident.
Speaking to your dog can be a simple yet effective way to train him to do specific tasks because dogs are inherently programmed to respond to noise. Speak to your dog with excitement by speaking at a higher level when he does something well or when he exhibits a behavior you’d like him to continue.
The result will be felt instantly; you’ll see him pricking his ears and wagging his tail immediately, and he’ll want to repeat himself to obtain the same reaction from you once again.
Conversely, if there’s a behavior you want your dog to avoid, use your voice to guide him in that direction. It’s all about the tone you choose, so you don’t have to yell to do this. Just speak firmly and at a lower pitch, expressing your request with a single word, like “no.” Even though your dog isn’t sure what the word “no” means at first, he will quickly figure out from your tone of voice that he hasn’t received a satisfactory answer.
“”Determine when it’s best to say nothing at all, though; that’s my finest piece of advise. I’ve found that many dog owners react involuntarily to unexpected behavior in their dogs, even if they’re saying “no” at the same time. An example of this would be a dog jump up excitedly. Dealing with the behavior in this case might be best accomplished by giving your dog no reaction at all. Since your dog is an attention-seeker, you may effectively deter him from doing anything by giving him brief bursts of your attention—for example, by turning your back and finding something else to occupy your time if he jumps up.
FAQS
What is a guide dog?
When a guide dog is with its handler, it is their job to keep them safe; therefore, it is crucial to maintain the dog’s focus. It’s like a passenger in a car taking the steering wheel away from the driver when a blind or visually impaired handler tries to divert their guide dog.
What breed of dog is used as a guide dog?
The two breeds that guide dogs most frequently utilize are labrador and golden retrievers. Many of these breeds’ physical characteristics and personalities make them ideal for the function of guide dog. They are composed, obedient, and wise, and they easily lend their regard and allegiance to others.
What are guide dogs taught?
Together with learning how to lead a person safely around obstacles, guide dogs are also trained in “intelligent disobedience”. This means that if their handler gives them an unsafe cue, they are taught to ignore it (don’t cross the street while there is traffic coming).
What is the advantage of dog guide?
Having a guide dog gives you an extra pair of eyes to watch out for hazards like moving vehicles and distracted individuals. You can pick up the pace and go much more quickly because it gives you a degree of confidence that using a cane just cannot match. You can go around new places with the help of a guide dog.
Who started guide dogs?
American guide dog pioneer Elliott S. Humphrey trained the nation’s first guide canines for the blind. Having been recruited by Dorothy Harrison Eustis of Philadelphia to breed German shepherds at a center in Switzerland, Humphrey started the effort that eventually resulted in the Seeing-Eye Dog initiative.
Conclusion
Guide dogs are skilled at guiding their owners safely around obstacles. They can help you stay in a steady position on the pavement and prevent collisions when you’re traversing congested streets or public transportation. Unexpected events can happen occasionally.
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