Service Animals - How a Guide Dog Is Trained
Guide dogs that assist the visually impaired were the first service dogs popularized.
While they've been around for centuries, Germany started an official training program after World War I, and the first official training programs started in the United States and Great Britain after World War II.
Currently, at least 15 organizations train dogs to partner with and help their people.
Each of these organizations is a bit different, and the training is different.
I raise puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind, one of the companies that trains service dogs and places them with people who need them.
Guide Dogs for the Blind sends puppies to their puppy raisers after they've reached eight weeks of age.
The pups travel in "the puppy truck" and go to various communities where they are presented to their raisers in a casual, yet somewhat ceremonial like fashion.
Puppy raisers spend the next year or so working with the puppies.
Raisers meet weekly with group leaders and other raisers until the pups are four months old and bi-weekly after that.
The meetings consist of training exercises or field trips.
Raisers are responsible for:
" The pup then goes back to the campus for training.
The young dogs are given a full veterinary workup, and some dogs are selected to be breeders.
The remaining dogs are sterilized.
During this period the dogs get daily walks and cuddles along with community run and play time.
The young dog is placed in a training string of 8 to 20 dogs.
Then formal training begins.
The dogs relearn some of the skills their puppy raisers taught them, and they even get to learn to walk on a tread mill.
They learn specialized guide dog commands like forward, halt, and hopp-up.
Then the dogs are taught around town and learn all about their harness.
The dogs learn intelligent disobedience, so when their person says forward, the dog refuses if that will get them hit by a car.
The dogs learn about a lot of challenges in the city, and may be given special training.
Once the dog has learned the necessary skills, he or she is paired with a blind person and they go through three more weeks of training together.
Once finished, the puppy raiser presents the pup to their partner in a ceremony.
While they've been around for centuries, Germany started an official training program after World War I, and the first official training programs started in the United States and Great Britain after World War II.
Currently, at least 15 organizations train dogs to partner with and help their people.
Each of these organizations is a bit different, and the training is different.
I raise puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind, one of the companies that trains service dogs and places them with people who need them.
Guide Dogs for the Blind sends puppies to their puppy raisers after they've reached eight weeks of age.
The pups travel in "the puppy truck" and go to various communities where they are presented to their raisers in a casual, yet somewhat ceremonial like fashion.
Puppy raisers spend the next year or so working with the puppies.
Raisers meet weekly with group leaders and other raisers until the pups are four months old and bi-weekly after that.
The meetings consist of training exercises or field trips.
Raisers are responsible for:
- Potty training pups;
- Taking the pup to the vet for vaccinations;
- Monitoring the pup's health and notifying people if something is amiss;
- Following a book of training rules;
- Teaching the pup to relieve himself on command on multiple surfaces, and making sure the pup is comfortable with pets whilst relieving;
- Teaching the pups to remain calm in the presence of other dogs, tennis balls, and squirrels;
- Teaching the pups some basic commands such as sit, stay, come, go to bed, let's go, that's enough, and do your business;
- Teaching the pup to go through the grocery store without dining on the floor or stealing raw hamburger from the meat aisle;
- Teaching the pup not to jump on small children, the elderly, or anyone else;
- Teaching the pup to not bark in movies or at the doctor's office;
- Making sure the pup is comfortable boarding buses, trains, planes, and automobiles;
- Teaching the pup to walk on a leash;
- Helping the pup to be comfortable walking over grates and other strange surfaces; and,
- Teaching the pup to refuse food from strangers and to not take that hot dog out of the toddler's hands as he walks by.
" The pup then goes back to the campus for training.
The young dogs are given a full veterinary workup, and some dogs are selected to be breeders.
The remaining dogs are sterilized.
During this period the dogs get daily walks and cuddles along with community run and play time.
The young dog is placed in a training string of 8 to 20 dogs.
Then formal training begins.
The dogs relearn some of the skills their puppy raisers taught them, and they even get to learn to walk on a tread mill.
They learn specialized guide dog commands like forward, halt, and hopp-up.
Then the dogs are taught around town and learn all about their harness.
The dogs learn intelligent disobedience, so when their person says forward, the dog refuses if that will get them hit by a car.
The dogs learn about a lot of challenges in the city, and may be given special training.
Once the dog has learned the necessary skills, he or she is paired with a blind person and they go through three more weeks of training together.
Once finished, the puppy raiser presents the pup to their partner in a ceremony.
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