Work content of guide dogs

Guide dogs are strictly trained dogs. They can help blind people manage their daily lives. After careful training, guide dogs can lead blind people to walk safely. When encountering obstacles and When it is necessary to turn, it will guide the owner to stop to avoid danger. A well-trained guide dog will lead its owner through busy people and streets. Training a guide dog is to allow it to develop conditioned reflexes.

Guide dog training steps

1. Select a puppy to be trained. In the animal testing center, the puppies receiving guide training belong to two dog breeds - golden retrievers and Labrador retrievers. The reason for selection is that it is of moderate size, easy to pull, has a docile and peaceful personality, and is not easily affected by external stimuli.
2. Two months after the guide dog candidates are born, they will be sent to volunteers’ homes for foster care, with the purpose of allowing them to gradually become familiar with the human living environment. When guide dog candidates are 1 year old, their personalities have stabilized and their acceptance and response abilities are optimal. The trainer will take them back for training, which takes about half a year.
3. The puppy must be trained to complete all basic techniques freely. Training the reaction when encountering obstacles is actually to let the puppy form a conditioned reflex. For example, in order to train a guide dog to react when it encounters the stairs, the trainer will take the puppy to the stairs, pat the stairs or other things with his hand, and make the puppy stop and turn sideways against the trainer, and so on. Again, let the puppy form a habit of automatically stopping when it sees the stairs and turning sideways to block the person's body until the success rate reaches 99%.
4. Guide dogs must be trained with their future owners. The owners must learn how to work with the guide dogs, how to command, how to feed, etc. The puppy needs to get to know the living and working environment of the new owner. If both parties cooperate tacitly, the guide dog will be taken home by the blind person and officially start "working".

The working time of a guide dog to complete its work

The working time of a guide dog is generally about 8-10 years. The owner can choose to keep the guide dog to live together, or he can choose to give the guide dog away Return to the training center and look for other owners, but when some of them cannot be taken care of due to living alone or other factors, applicants from the original foster family or "adoptive family" can take over. Many families abroad apply for adoption, because guide dogs have special needs. Good education and hygiene habits.