1. By: Diana Herrera, Rebecca Parras
DOG GUIDES
By: Diana Herrera, Rebecca Parras

2. Dog Guides
Dog Guides are dogs trained to guide people who are blind or visually impaired.
It is necessary to have a partnership between the dog and the visually impaired individual (handler).

3. How do Dog Guides Aid Mobility?
They are trained to guide their handler in a straight line, which includes crossing streets in a straight line.
A dog guide also provides speed to the handler.
Protect their handlers from obstacles in the travel path. (e.g. sidewalk furniture, pedestrians, or tree branches)
Alerting their handler of surface changes (by stopping or pausing) or when they are approaching a sidewalk or steps.
The dog can also pause in a narrow area to let the handler know that they don’t have enough space to walk side by side.
Recognize and target destinations or familiar areas.
And to intelligently disobey unsafe commands, especially around traffic.

4. Does the Handler Have Any Responsibilities?
The Answer is: YES
The handler needs to have a general orientation to their environment by using time distance estimation, spatial updating, and auditory skills in order to give appropriate commands and to recover from detours.
The handler’s alignment needs to be in the direction that they want to cross because the dog guide only compensates for minor veers.
The handler needs to judge traffic with auditory cues in order to decide when to cross a street and also must command the dog to move forward. The handler in responsible for initiating the crossing of the street.
The handler needs to be able to teach their dog routes and destinations.
The handler needs to give appropriate commands and body gestures.
The handler needs to be able to interpret the dog’s behavior as information so the handler must know their dog.
The handler is responsible for giving proper encouragement, praise, and discipline.

5. Factors Considered on the Qualities of a Good Candidate to be a Dog Guide Handler
Personal preference
Life circumstances and activity level
Age
Health
Physical Condition
Hearing
Amount of remaining vision
Orientation Skills

6. Personal Preference
The handler should enjoy the companionship of a dog which makes necessary tasks such feeding, toileting, grooming, walking, veterinarian visits more pleasurable.
A person who dislikes or has a fear of dogs would be disqualified as a good candidate.

7. Life Circumstance & Activity Level
Dog guides need to have daily activity so the traveler also needs to be an active person.
Dog guides need to work at least one outdoor mile per day.
It is not a requirement but it is preferable that the handler have a job, school, or volunteer location to go to in order to maintain the dog’s mobility.
A dog guide can be very helpful to a handler who travels to new and various environments.

8. Age
Young people in high school are rarely considered candidates for dog guides because they lack the maturity and responsibility of taking care of a dog. There are certain exceptions taken into consideration e.g a student lives in an urban area where he/she has to take a bus.
There is no maximum age requirement but it is important that the handler is active and strong.

9. Physical & Mental Health
The handler should be in good health since their dog will need regular exercise. However, the dog might be helpful for people with diabetes because the dog encourages them to be more active. Also, with new drug therapies, people who have visual impairments due to AIDS now have the stamina to meet the needs of a dog guide.
Dogs can be trained to guide individuals who have visual impairments and use wheelchairs.
Overall, the potential handler should have good balance and coordination, be emotionally stable, and be at least of average intelligence.

10. Hearing
A good candidate to be a dog handler should not have significant hearing loss where they are not able to accurately judge traffic.
Exceptions might be made but it depends on their living conditions and willingness to seek help at crossings.

11. Amount of Remaining Vision
The amount of remaining vision should be low or degenerative in order to be a good candidate for a dog handler.
This is because the traveler will not benefit from dog guide mobility since the traveler will most likely steer the dog and diminish their skills because they are using their functional vision.

12. Orientation Skills
A good candidate should have completed an orientation and mobility training course and have some experience with independent travel.
The potential dog handler will be evaluated on coordination, balance, strength, traffic alignment skills, problem solving skills, orientation skills and amount of mobility skills.

13. DOG GUIDE HANDLE
The handler holds a stiff, U-shaped handle in which the dog’s motions are transmitted to the handler’s hand.
The handle is an extremely sensitive instrument through which the dog transmits its intentions and the handler interprets them.
The handle is connected to a comfortable belt-like harness that the dog wears and pulls into.

14. Mechanics of Commands
There are three components to the commands for dog guides, they are verbal and gestural:
Voice
- be consistent with a firm tone when giving all commands
Hand Signal
- at the end of a block or after a crossing, indicate left, right, or straight with hand signals
Body Direction
- point your body towards the desired direction you want the dog to travel in

15. Commands Forward Turns: left and right
Straight: use to recover from a veer
Speed and attention control: “hup-up”/ ”steady”
Reprimand: “No!”

16. DO’S & DONT’S: Etiquette when around others with dog guides
Do not pet a dog guide while they are working
Do not attempt to feed a dog guide while they are working
Never grab the dog guide’s harness or leash
Do not intervene if you see a person walking with a dog guide, do not be distracting or call out to them
A dog guide needs to concentrate and perform for the safety of its blind partner
A dog guide is on duty even when sitting or lying down
Always remember that dog guide teams have the right of way!

18. Pros of Having a Guide Dog
A dog can identify the best path around an obstacle, often without you even knowing the obstacle was there.
Many dog guide users value their dogs as companions in travel and as both icebreakers in conversations and deterrents to attack.
Successful dog guide experience has led to the development of techniques for training dogs to be of service to people with other disabilities.
The dog guide is a companion in travel, and in life as a whole.

19. Cons of Having a Guide Dog
The cost of maintaining a healthy guide dog is $70 per month which includes food, veterinary costs, toys, treats, and grooming supplies.
Dog guides vary from breed to breed. Certain dogs are more expensive than others.
Daily dog maintenance.
Dog Guides do not last forever…
Video:

20. Resources The International Dog Guide Federation- UK www.igdf.org.uk
Guide Dogs for the Blind Inc.- San Rafael, CA
1(800) ;
Guide Dogs of America- Sylmar, CA
1(818) ;
The Seeing Eye Inc., New York
1(973) ;

21. References
Wiener, W. R., Welsh, R. L., & Blasch, B. B. (2010). Foundations of orientation and mobility: volume 1, history and theory. New York: AFB Press.
Wiener, W. R., Welsh, R. L., & Blasch, B. B. (2010). Foundations of orientation and mobility: volume 2, instructional strategies and practical applications. New York: AFB Press.

22. Thank You