I’m a guide dog owner AMA

[AlternativePerspective]

Whenever dog threads come up on mn there are usually posts somewhere in there which mention and ask questions about guide dogs.

So I thought I’d start a thread for anyone who wanted to know anything.

I’ve been a guide dog owner now since 1996, except for a 2 year gap between my last dog retiring and qualifying with my existing dog.

PS: the only thing I can’t provide is pictures because A, my photography skills quite naturally leave something to be desired, and b, he could potentially be identifiable and associated with others who may have been involved with him e.g. puppy walker/boarders/trainers etc who might not want to be outed iyswim.

But other than that,

AMA

@ catwithflowers best of luck.

I don't have a question to ask so hope it's ok to post

We (well DS) have been puppy sponsors for years and have got through quite a few that have erm not quite made it past puppy walking stage. We did joke we were a jinx

Recently we were issued one that has gone in to an owner. I hadn't realised so many do fail at the training stage

No questions, but please give your dogs a hug for me! I grew up near a Guide Dog centre and visited it a few times, plus we'd often see them training in the local area. I was also a huge fan of the Emma and I book series.

We had a couple at the college here a few years ago. I'd often stop to chat to the dogs (as is my wont with any animal) and benuse their owners who, of course, had no idea I was there!

How do you feel about guide dogs (and other assistance dogs) wearing caps and gowns when their human graduates?

They obviously look cute but does it confuse them as to whether they are working or not?

Thank you for your thread op.
My question is more about dogs being puppy walked so may not apply to you.
When you see a guide dog in training being taken into shops, supermarkets ect is it ok to interact with them or best to leave them alone ?
We see some out on walks and have been asked to bring our lab over to say hello on occasion because he is very calm and gentle.

Great thread. For a short time I worked with a colleague who had a guide dog. I was very careful not to pet him while he was working.

I remember him being under the table during a meeting and doing massive sighs like he was bored out of his mind. The rest of us had to be more discreet 😂

She told me her dog was trained to do his business on concrete but not all guide dogs are. I don’t know how she managed on the tube escalators (this was central London).

@ Oldraver there are lots of reasons why a dog might not make it through.

Some might not make it through because of health problems, Some might have some behaviours which just might not make them good candidates for guide dogs, e.g. if a dog has severe dog distraction then it wouldn’t be greatly suited to someone with no sight who can’t see other dogs coming.

Some of them just don’t want to be guide dogs.

I know of one instance where a brood bitch collapsed and died very suddenly and unexpectedly and as a result her whole last litter was withdrawn because of fear of genetic issues.

Many of them go on to do other work, be buddy dogs, hearing dogs, sometimes different types of assistance dogs, and when none of those suit they are rehomed.

More recently there have been a few instances of dogs who haven’t made it through because of lockdown and their lack of exposure to certain situations which mean they haven’t been able to be trained. There are a lot of dogs who had never been into cafe’s for instance as puppies, or really busy places, and just couldn’t handle it. And others who just wouldn’t go back into training after a year out.

In my own case my dog was puppy walked before he went into training, and he was about to go into advanced training when lockdown happened. He picked up his training nicely and is an excellent guide dog. But there are definitely some situations e.g. big shopping centres etc which he clearly has had little exposure to, because although he works well, he does look to me a lot for more support. As he doesn’t have a major issue with any of it though it’s just one of those things which will fade out as he gets older and more established. But sadly all of those situations were outside of guide dogs’ abilities to influence.

@ Sundancerintherain in terms of interactions with the public, it’s worth remembering that the behaviours the dog learns as a puppy are the behaviours the guide dog owner might need to contend with later.

E.g. a dog which sleeps on the furniture has almost certainly been allowed to do so previously.

So if the public are constantly interacting with the pup then as a dog it will learn to seek attention from the public when out and about.

My own dog’s puppy walker did things absolutely to the letter and she did an excellent job considering he was her first puppy.

But someone somewhere has fed him from a plate or a packet or similar, because if you sit down with food he will sit in front of you as if he thinks he’s getting some.

Fat chance in this house and he’ll learn very soon. But it’s a behaviour which never should have developed in the first place.

Does your dog know verbal commands to go to many locations you need to go to often? I work in a hospital and I remember seeing a trainer and a nurse with a dog in training once, and they said “take me to ward 2” and off they went in the right direction. I was amazed that the dog could learn where to go in such a big building away from home. I know it’s their job, but it’s fascinating how much they can learn.

Does your dog know verbal commands to go to many locations you need to go to often? I work in a hospital and I remember seeing a trainer and a nurse with a dog in training once, and they said “take me to ward 2” and off they went in the right direction. I was amazed that the dog could learn where to go in such a big building away from home. I know it’s their job, but it’s fascinating how much they can learn. I suspect that ward2 was a place the dog had been taken to often and was a route he knew in the hospital, and him being told to “take me to ward2” was more for the trainer’s benefit.

The dogs do learn to find certain places if the owner goes there regularly, but the owner has to have the mobility skills to be able to find the place in order to show the dog. Also, the dog might need to find things between the door and the place you’re going.

So e.g. when I go to the hospital I have to go to the INR clinic. It’s the only place in that hospital I go, and I can do the route without even thinking, as can the dog now.

But in order to get there we have to find the crossing to get from the bus stop across the car park, find the door, find the lift, find the door upstairs and then follow the passage round until you go left to find the door to the clinic. I have to be as much in control of that process as the dog is.

When going into town I will often tell him to find the butcher, or boots, or a certain cafe in the area. But as we approach I will tell him to find the door and then the counter for instance.

It also means that you maintain interaction with the dog. When doing a straight run into town there’s not much to be said really. But when in town it’s crucial to still keep talking to the dog to keep him on track so that he doesn’t get distracted, and also for the owner to not lose concentration as to where they’re going. As an owner I should be able to recognise if the dog has got it wrong, or even if I have, if not getting lost would be far too easy to achieve.

@AlternativePerspective

My own dog’s puppy walker did things absolutely to the letter and she did an excellent job considering he was her first puppy.

But someone somewhere has fed him from a plate or a packet or similar, because if you sit down with food he will sit in front of you as if he thinks he’s getting some.

Fat chance in this house and he’ll learn very soon. But it’s a behaviour which never should have developed in the first place.

LOL

The lady on reception at the eye hospital has a guide dog called Stevie, when I visit I ask if he can have a biscuit/treat and I put it on the counter for him.

He's a lab and his nose does a lot of twitching as though he is trying to breath the biscuit in, but he knows not to touch it until his human says he can.

I used to live in London and there was a lady who would get on the tube with her guide dog. He would find her a seat, then when she was settled he would walk up and down the carriage having fuss from everyone. Then when it was the lady’s stop he would go and fetch her!

@AlternativePerspective When your dogs retire, if you keep them do they get jealous of your new dog going everywhere with you?

My colleague’s Guide Dog used to walk right past the Vet’s doorway when she tried to take him there! Does yours ever refuse to go anywhere?

Do the dogs get specific training when they are matched? So with babies/children/pushchairs etc for young families (and places like playgrounds and schools), or for commuting or for types of workplaces?

I used to live in London and there was a lady who would get on the tube with her guide dog. He would find her a seat, then when she was settled he would walk up and down the carriage having fuss from everyone. Then when it was the lady’s stop he would go and fetch her! there is no way on earth I would allow that.

Firstly I expect my dogs to behave when we’re out, and that means staying with me at all times.

Secondly if she’s allowing all and sundry to stroke her dog then she has no idea who they are or what they e.g. might be feeding it. Not to mention that she is teaching her dog to look for attention from the public when it should be working. Sounds like a recipe for bad behaviour and ultimately a retired dog.

The last bit I find hard to believe tbh. The dogs really don’t know which stop people are getting off at, it’s the responsibility of the owner to know when it’s time to get off the bus/train etc and the dog at that point should be following the lady’s encouragement to get off, not the other way around.

My aunt used to do the puppy fostering when she retired, it was lovely. I've always wondered do they take time to settle in with you or do they fit right in.

Do the dogs get specific training when they are matched? So with babies/children/pushchairs etc for young families (and places like playgrounds and schools), or for commuting or for types of workplaces? yes often. Also part of the training with the owner happens in the owner’s own environment on routes and places they would go as a partnership.

I’ve actually trained completely from home with 3 of my dogs, and e.g. with my 3rd dog the trainer used to be there for 8 so we could do the school run.

• My aunt used to do the puppy fostering when she retired, it was lovely. I've always wondered do they take time to settle in with you or do they fit right in.depends really. When you do residential or part residential training you’re both in a hotel environment so the idea is for you and the dog to be completely alone together iyswim, so by the time you get home you’ve already developed a relationship with the dog which doesn’t involve the rest of the household.

In a domicilliary (i.e. training from home) environment the dog essentially catapults into the household with the already existing pets and the family, so it’s important that the owner does everything with the dog in terms of feeding/giving any kinds of commands etc, although obviously the rest can still interact with it.

Some breeds are more easily settled than others. GSD’s for instance are very hard to settle and it can take months for it to happen. Added to which they are so closely bonded with the trainer that it can be hard doing the training with a dog who is constantly looking for their trainer.

Labs on the other hand appear to be anybody’s. and both mine have settled well.

My 2 lab retriever crosses took a bit of time although nothing to be concerned with.My 2nd dog actually escaped out of the front door on the 1st day I had him 😱,and as he didn’t yet know me to come back to me I had to run across the road to hall him back from outside my neighbour’s gate

Can your dog hear electric cars? I saw an article that said that unless the owner of the vehicle switched something on within the car then it was difficult for service dogs to hear them.

@AlternativePerspective

@ ashorterday I didn’t contact my first 3 dogs’ puppywalkers because 1: I was young when I qualified with the first one, so by the time it occurred to me it was kind of too late.

2, my second dog came to me with some dog distractions which were pronounced enough that I didn’t really want to contact them as it may have been possible they had some knowledge of them. Then he was withdrawn 3 years later and they never walked again after him anyway.

My 3rd dog again never really thought about it because I’d just had to have my dog withdrawn and train with the new one and by the time we were settled again it was too late, and then i got divorced so life got in the way.

But I contacted my current dog’s puppywalker and we have met up since he qualified.

Hope your pup does well. Where is he/she training?

She was at Exeter for advanced, she's been matched with someone in Devon which I'm delighted about as she loves the beach 😃

I know of one instance where a brood bitch collapsed and died very suddenly and unexpectedly and as a result her whole last litter was withdrawn because of fear of genetic issues.

I knew that dog, she was at our puppy class, such a massive shock (assuming it hasn't happened more than once)

I didn't know her last litter got withdrawn, although I know they had to have heart scans.

Morning, @AlternativePerspective.

2 questions really,

Were you a ‘dog person’ before becoming a guide dog user and do you think of the dogs more as a tool or are they a part of the family for you? Thank you 🙂

I have loved reading about you and your dog.

Do you think it’s ethical? I used to volunteer as a walker and My Guide but stopped because I saw dogs being treated in ways I didn’t feel comfortable with.