Many people know the general idea of what a Guide Dog is – it guides a blind or partially sighted person – but not may people have further knowledge of it.
A puppy is born into a litter, which is owned by the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, with the parents being selected as studs and brood bitches at birth. Each litter is named alphabetically so, for example in one litter each puppy’s name might begin with an “E”.
A puppy’s Guide Dog “career” starts at six – eight weeks when it is sent to a puppy walker where it is trained in basic obedience such as to “sit” and “stay”.
At around fourteen months the puppy is taken to a Guide Dog school where it is first given a physical exam to make sure it is suitable for guide Dog work. If the dog passes this test it goes on to more advanced training such as learning how to help a person move around safely, which includes navigating curbs and avoiding overhead obstacles.
At the end of approximately three months, visually impaired students that have applied and are accepted begin to work with their own Guide Dog under the instruction of the school or an individual instructor.
Jack Holland, Year 9, Glenthorne High School
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