Guide Dog Training

Dogs have been a help to blind and partially-sighted people for centuries. In the past hundred years, guide dog training programs have sprung up to help best train these animals for service to the sight-impaired population. Both guide dogs and guide dog trainers must go through a rigorous round of testing before they are ready to fully do their job. However, even if you aren't able to be a guide dog trainer, you can help by fostering guide dogs in your own home.

Function

• Guide dogs have a simple task---they help their blind or partially-sighted owners navigate safely. However, to perform that simple task successfully, they must undergo rigorous training that teaches them how to do several complex activities, such as stopping automatically at curbs or stairs, finding elevator buttons and avoiding obstacles too big for humans. They must also be prepared to disobey their owner's orders if they are able to sense a danger that their human owner has missed.

Types

• Certain breeds of dogs are especially suited to serving as guide dogs. Labrador Retrievers and Golden Retrievers are often bred to be guide dogs, as are German Shepherds and Poodles. These breeds are intelligent, dependable and easily trained. They are also large enough to be efficient guides and they adapt well to different climates. Poodles are helpful for people with allergies to dog hair, as they don't shed as much as other breeds.

Training

• Training a guide dog involves two stages. First, the guide dog learns the routines it will use with its human partner. It is trained to pass by distractions like people, food and other animals, to obey commands, and to stop at curbs. The guide dog learns how to handle different environments, such as urban and rural areas, and especially how to deal with traffic situations. It also becomes accustomed to its special harness. After the guide dog passes its training, it is paired with a blind or partially-sighted person. Human and dog go through training exercises together. The guide dog builds on its skills and the new owner learns how to work with his dog.

Employment

• If you want to be a guide dog trainer, you probably already have a strong love of dogs. However, you'll have to have a love of teaching as well, as you'll not only be training dogs but people as well. The job is physically demanding, low-paid and there are limited opportunities in the field. If you still want to be a guide dog trainer, you should have a solid grounding in working with animals and a college degree.

Fostering

• Many guide dog training programs foster out puppies during their first months of life. Foster families teach the puppy how to behave properly, both at home and in public. Because guide dogs must accompany their owners many different places, foster families get to take their puppy everywhere---not just to the park, but in cars, on trains, buses and other forms of transportation. Once the puppy reaches an appropriate age, it returns to the program to undergo actual training.