What Makes a Dog Guide Unique?

Dog Guides provide people who are legally blind a way to travel safely, confidently, and independently. Legally blind is defined as vision of 20/200 or less in your best eye, or a field of vision of less than 20 degrees (if an object is 200 feet away, you must stand 20 feet away to see it clearly). Dog Guides are specially bred and highly trained to form a life-changing partnership with their handlers. A unique dog guide skill is selective disobedience (also called intelligent disobedience), the learned ability to assess a situation and to know when to disobey a command to protect its handler. Enjoy this short video highlighting how a dog guide is trained to walk with its handler.

The Labrador Retriever is the most popular breed of dog guide in the US. Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, and their breed combinations also make excellent Dog Guides, due to their athleticism, confidence, trainability, obedience, adaptability, double coat (suitable for all climates), and intelligence. Other breeds, such as Border Collies and Standard Poodles, can also serve as Dog Guides.

The size, fitness, and health of a dog guide are as crucial as its intelligence and temperament. The dog guide’s height at the shoulder must be compatible with the handler’s reach and grip on the harness. In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a certified dog guide is allowed everywhere people go, so it must be small enough to comfortably fit in public and private transportation, office buildings, shops, entertainment venues, and when walking down busy streets.

Service Dogs for the Vision Impaired: The Difference They Make

Calm, confident, and consistent: A properly bred, carefully selected, and rigorously trained dog guide attentively follows its handler’s cues and commands to guide around obstacles at all levels and elevations safely. They are taught to navigate stairs, curbs, crosswalks, and entrances, including those too low or narrow to allow safe passage with patience, focus, and composure. Some people living with vision loss prefer traveling with a dog guide instead of a white cane because a dog guide dynamically interacts with its environment, providing companionship and support. Dog Guides form a unique bond with their handlers, restoring confidence and freedom of movement.

A Rigorous Training Process

The Seeing Eye was the first school for Dog Guides in the US. Since then, many dog guide schools—typically nonprofit organizations—have flourished throughout the US and globally.  Today, dog guide instruction often entails a minimum of four to six months of intensive training in basic obedience, socialization, and selective disobedience.

A Three-Phase Process

From birth to heading home with a handler, dog guides often undergo two to three years of training, encompassing more than 100 hours of professional canine instruction and 30 hours of social conditioning in public settings.

Preparing a dog guide occurs in specific stages:

The Early Stages: Puppy Raising and Socialization

At around seven months, the puppy leaves its breeder to go to the home of a vetted and trained puppy raiser. Training in socialization, basic obedience, and good manners, begun by the breeder, continues and may also include some basic guide skills. Watch this video from Leader Dogs for the Blind to learn more about what it takes to be a puppy raiser.

Advanced Obedience and Skills Training 

Typically, at 12 to 24 months, the dog guide progresses to the campus of the dog guide training facility. Here, the dog guide is introduced to increasingly demanding situations in a variety of environments. It learns to ignore distractions—such as other animals and loud noises—to master stairs, escalators, and elevators, as well as crowded public buildings, streets, and public transportation. Training and evaluation may differ slightly from one school to another. Still, all share the common goal of preparing candidates for an error-free partnership with a handler living with blindness or low vision.

The Dog Guide and Handler Team Training

Here, the dog guide is paired with its handler, taking this final stage of training together. Matching the right handler with the right dog is a painstaking process, considering the handler’s physical abilities, needs, living situation, and temperament, among many other factors. Harness up and go for a walk-along with a handler and dog guide in this brief video.  

The Application Process for a Dog Guide

Although the process varies by organization, it typically begins with a written application, accompanied by letters from your primary care physician, eye doctor, and personal references. Since proficient Orientation & Mobility skills are required, a letter from your Orientation & Mobility Specialist is also usually part of the process. Orientation & Mobility is specialized training provided by a certified and highly trained vision rehabilitation professional that equips people living with vision loss with strategies and techniques to help them safely and confidently navigate their environment to conduct all activities of daily living.

Who is Eligible for a Dog guide?

In 2015, the National Eye Institute (NEI) estimated that 1 million Americans were legally blind. Of that number, only 2-5% have a dog guide. In deciding if a dog guide is right for you, it’s important that you like dogs, have no dog-related allergies, and can provide a home where your dog can thrive. To further qualify:

• You must be legally blind (visual acuity of 20/200 or less)
• Be at least 18 years old
• Have completed Orientation & Mobility training (O&M)
• Be physically, financially, and temperamentally able to care for a dog

The Cost of a Dog Guide

The cost of breeding and training a dog guide can range from $25,000 to $75,000. The good news is that most Dog Guides are available free to eligible handlers. In many cases, dog guides also receive no-cost follow-up medical care and ongoing training. Some dog guide organizations also help with other expenses, including food.

How to Support Dog Guides for the Blind

Because dog guide schools are nonprofit organizations, most rely on volunteer support to help train dogs.

Volunteer Puppy Raisers

You can help improve the life of a person living with blindness or low vision, according to your abilities, and have a great time doing it. From providing clerical and marketing support to leading tours, tending the grounds, working in the puppy nursery, and caring for the kennels, many hands are needed. Puppy raisers are welcome, regardless of prior experience, as the school provides training. These supportive homes are where the puppy receives “pre-school” training after leaving the breeder and before beginning more advanced training at 12-24 months at the dog guide school. When a dog guide retires at around age eight to ten, it often needs a new home, as do approximately 25% of dogs that go through training and are deemed unsuitable for service but still possess tremendous value as well-bred and rigorously trained companions.

Frequently Asked Questions About Dog Guides 

Dog Guides vs. Other Service Dogs: Service dogs are the general term for specially trained dogs that provide support for individuals with various disabilities. Dog Guides refer to a dog specifically trained for partnership with a person living with significant vision impairment. Because a dog guide is “connected” to its handler by a harness, it must be matched to the physical abilities of the handler (i.e., walking speed and distance) as well as temperamentally compatible.

Proper Etiquette When Interacting with a Dog Guide: A dog guide is always on the job. You should never pet, feed, or distract this focused professional. Should a dog guide’s handler ask directions or seek other information, you should respond to the handler, not the dog. While Dog Guides are intelligent and understand anywhere from 200 to 1,000 commands and signals, they are trained to listen only to their handler.

The services offered by Dog Guide organizations and the requirements for obtaining a dog guide can vary. Learn more and obtain resources from Leader Dogs for the Blind, The Seeing Eye, and Guide Dogs of America.