July 17 th, 2015 Paula Green Michael McLaughlin Kelly McKeage

 Terminology:  Handler: A person who works with a dog in a professional manner. For example: a person who is blind who works together with the dog for mobility purposes, or a police officer who works in partnership with a dog.  Unit: The handler and the dog together.

Cane TravellerDog Guide Traveller Listens for clues in the Environment Makes traffic judgements Relies on sense of distance travelled Relies on tactile cuesFollows the dog’s lead around obstacles Does not need to assess or interpret the cane’s behaviour. Assess their dog’s actions and behaviour interpreting it for orientation and other environmental information. Moves as fast as he/she can, potential hesitations Moves as fast as he/she can in combination with a dog, fewer hesitations due to trust of the dog.

 Am I a responsible person with an active life?  Am I physically active? Healthy?  Have I received orientation and mobility training?  What is my age?

The Orientation and Mobility Specialist will advise on these factors: Personal Preference Life Circumstances and Activity Level Age Physical and Mental Health Hearing Amount of Remaining Vision Orientation Skills mew mew

e.com/user/seeing 4me

 To act as an advisor to those who are considering becoming a handler  To submit O & M report to the Dog Guide School  To help the student orient him/herself in a complex environment in preparation for travelling with the dog guide. This preparation may include coaching, monitoring (solo phase), and self-familiarization  To be a resource in troubleshooting issues with the unit if needed

 This report is given to the dog guide school to help evaluate the mobility of the applicant.  The report includes the candidate’s...  Coordination  Balance and strength  Orientation skills  Ability to align with traffic sounds  Ability to recover when disoriented  The amount of mobility instruction already received

 The dog guide user may request the help of the O&M specialist  It is important that any criticisms made about the dog or the unit should be made carefully, as the handler may be overprotective, and these criticisms should be addressed with the school in a team approach.

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Rick Mercer Report. (2013, February 26). RMR: Rick and Guide Dogs [Video file]. Retrieved from The Seeing Eye. (2013, December 24). An Extraordinary Dog to Help Me Be Ordinary [Video file]. Retrieved from