What do guide dogs do for blind people




















This includes interacting with other family members, being petted and playing. Because they are known to provide a service to a person with blindness, many people believe these dogs are considered by their owners to be more akin to tools than pets and so are not loved deeply like pets.

This is also untrue. In fact, the bond between a guide dog and person with blindness is often more meaningful due to the amount of trust and loyalty which must exist between the pair. Some people believe guide dogs are stressed by the work they perform and it is cruel to depend on a dog for a service.

In reality, the breeds and specific dogs selected to become guide dogs thrive on the work they do and the praise they receive. Dogs with jobs are expending the mental and physical energy inherent to their breeds, preventing boredom and giving them fuller, happier lives. People unfamiliar with the role of guide dogs mistakenly assume the dogs act as a sort of canine GPS system.

This is not their function. Guide dogs do not lead owners — an owner is always in control of where the dog goes. A guide dog cannot read a traffic signal or lead a handler to a destination, with a few exceptions of key locations such as work, bus stops or frequented shops.

Instead, the owner relies on the guide dog to alert potential danger of obstacles or hazards in the way during travel. Guide dogs signal danger through intelligent disobedience.

This enables the person with visual impairment to recognize when to avoid a blocked path or hanging object. Even crossing the street still requires a person with blindness to listen for traffic to determine when it is safe to cross.

A guide dog will then confirm to its handler the intersection is clear of errant vehicles and hazards or not, allowing the handler to cross safely. This is also not true. For example, at a traffic signal, the guide dog does not know when the light changes from green to amber to red. It is the person who determines when it is safe to cross the street and which way to go; the dog then guides the person across the street to reach the other side.

Although the dog does not know when it is safe to cross the street, if it sees a car approaching too close, it has been trained to stop or attempt to move the person out of the way.

To obtain a guide dog, you must attend a special guide dog school that will assign you a dog and train you to take care of the dog and use it to guide you. All reputable dog guide schools require that applicants demonstrate that they have the skills necessary to travel independently with a cane , including walking safely and efficiently in familiar areas, crossing streets, finding destinations, and being able to problem-solve when disoriented or lost.

Be aware, however, that dog guides are not for everyone. They assist their owners also known as handlers to navigate through different places, ranging from crowded city centres to quiet parks.

The guide dog and its owner work as a team. Although the dog will lead its owner along regular routes, the person must know which way to go and decide when it is safe to cross roads or what bus or train to catch. These highly trained dogs are chosen for their good temperament and are suitable for anyone from children of school age to seniors. Guide dogs provide constant companionship and can help combat loneliness and depression.

Specially bred puppies are trained for around 18 months to become guide dogs. The puppies are from large working dog breeds, usually labradors and golden retrievers. They spend a year with a volunteer puppy raiser who socialises them and takes them to puppy pre-school, where they learn key commands such as 'sit', 'drop' and 'stay'. They then start around 6 months of guide dog training and learn various skills, including how to manage distractions in busy, noisy places.

Owners of accredited guide dogs have the right to take their animals free of charge into all public places, including shops, restaurants, cinemas and hotels, and onto public transport. The Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act makes it unlawful to discriminate against a person with a disability who is using a guide dog. You should find out what accreditation you need for a guide dog in your state or territory. Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales require the owner to get a special permit or pass to take their guide dog onto public transport.

Find out more about the legal understanding of assistance animals. You might distract the dog from the tasks it is doing and could even put the animal and its handler in danger. If you are legally blind or have low vision and feel a guide dog would help you, then you can apply to get an animal via an organisation such as Guide Dogs Australia or Seeing Eye Dogs of Vision Australia.

You will be interviewed to see if you meet the criteria of the particular organisation. They may also discuss whether a guide dog is your best option. You need to be able to feed and care for the dog properly. The highly trained guide dogs are matched to individual owners and are given free of charge.



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