16 Feb
Me And My Guide Dog: What You’ve Always Wanted To Know?
AssociatedContent.com (USA) Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Me and My Guide Dog: What You’ve Always Wanted to Know
By Angela Kimball
Takeaways
Dogs cannot see the color of traffic lights to know when to cross the street. My guide does not instinctively know where I want to go. Handlers do not pay
extra to travel with their guide on a bus, plane, etc. Traveling around town, I have been known to become a spectacle. Well, it isn’t me the locals are
staring at; their gaze is actually on my guide dog.
I am a guide dog handler. I am partnered with a yellow lab from Pilot Dogs, Inc. We have been a team for three years now. Elton, now 4 years old, has traveled
many places with me. On a typical day we can be seen taking a stroll in Ohio, but together we have visited numerous states. Walking the Las Vegas strip
and a trip to The Statue of Liberty are a couple of my favorite trips with my guide.
During our travels, numerous people have stopped to chat about guide dogs. Often certain questions arise during the course of our conversation. I will answer
some of the most common questions to the best of my knowledge based on my personal experiences.
One of the biggest myths about traveling with a guide dog is the misunderstanding that the dog can see colors and tell by the traffic light when to cross
the street. Dogs cannot see colors and gauge a traffic light. In fact, my guide doesn’t tell me when it is safe to cross the street. It is my job to tell
the dog when to move forward.
During orientation and mobility training, a blind or visually impaired individual learns how to listen to patterns of traffic to determine when it is safe
to cross a street. We learn to travel with our parallel traffic. A dog has no desire to become road pizza so it will undoubtedly try to keep himself and
the handler out of the way of traffic, but as a handler, the blind person must have good orientation and mobility skills.
A Dog’s Intuition
Many people know that a dog and a human have an unbreakable bond. Some even believe that a dog and its master begin to know each other so well that the
dog knows what the owner wants before the handler asks. In my experience, this is not true. Elton does not instinctively know where I want to go. We do
not head out on a Monday morning and just coincidentally end up at the bank.
A handler needs to tell the guide dog where to go. For example, I use commands such as “right”, “left”, or “forward”. The blind person needs to know to
travel three blocks then turn right. Go four blocks then make a left. The third driveway is the bank.
Guide dog training can vary greatly from school to school or person to person. Each school or trainer does things a tiny bit different from another, but
all have the same goal in mind. The safety of both dog and handler is of utmost importance.
Most guide dog schools begin socialization of puppies when they are just a few weeks old. Potential guides go through formal training after they are about
a year old. Again, this varies greatly from one dog to another. Formal training takes several months.
The guide dog handler usually spends about one month at a guide dog school before going home with their first guide. Handlers are trained to take care of
nearly every aspect of their guide’s care. Feeding, bathing, grooming, and even bathroom cleanup is covered in class.
My guide was not trained to pick up things for me. So often, I am asked if he will pick up a dropped object. Although at times this would be handy, it is
not necessary. We handlers are taught to pick up after our dogs, maybe they could pick up things for us, too.
Doggy Etiquette
The public frequently questions me about what to do when approaching me and my guide. Let me begin by explaining what is inappropriate. Never call the dog
or whistle for a guide. This or similar actions will get the handler hurt! It is unsafe for you to have a conversation by yelling out the window with your
buddy while traveling down the highway at 65 mph. It is unsafe for me to be crossing a street when my guide chooses to glance in the direction of a caller
and trips me into a manhole or over a curb.
Although we probably all agree that my guide is a good dog and deserves a treat every now and again, please allow the handler to take care of feeding the
animal. Avoid giving a dog a treat of any kind. Some dogs are on specific diets for health reasons. All guides are fed when the handler dictates. A treat
can cause problems for both the guide dog and the handler. If you must pass a treat along for the hard working animal, give it to the handler for when
they get home.
When approaching a blind person with a guide dog, do not reach down and start petting the dog. If you would like to pet the animal, always ask first. Some
handlers do not mind their guide getting the occasional pet and other handlers do. There are times when petting a guide dog is just not safe for the handler,
so be certain to ask and respect the handler’s answer.
Accessibility
A guide dog is a service animal. For that reason, I can travel with my guide dog anywhere the public is permitted. Yes, Elton and I have traveled on buses,
planes, and in taxis. We have ventured to hotels, grocery stores, restaurants and the like. I am not required to pay extra fares or fees because I choose
to take my guide dog with me. That would be like asking a person in a wheelchair to pay extra for the wheelchair to ride the bus.
I do try to be courteous when I travel to other’s homes. This is a private home. The person can request that my guide not come with me. I know there are
certain circumstances when it may not be appropriate to bring Elton with me, but my general philosophy is if Elton can’t come with me, then I probably
don’t want to be there.
What is in a name?
My guide was named before he and I were partnered as a team. I had no influence on his name at all. We are introduced to each other in our rooms at school.
This is when I learn the breed and color of the dog. The guide’s name is then revealed to us at that time.
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