How to Train a Guide Dog for the Blind

Your prospective guide dog puppy should be introduced to people of all sizes, ages, gender, and races. Guide dogs are expected to be polite in public and should not have any reactivity whatsoever. He should be familiar with strangers.

Your puppy should learn the basic obedience commands to begin a foundation in his guide dog training. This includes commands like ‘sit’, ‘down’, ‘stay’, ‘come’, and other basic obedience necessities.

In order to avoid relieving himself at inappropriate times or in inappropriate places, potty training is incredibly important for your guide dog, especially due to the fact that guide dogs work in public places. Using the bathroom in the wrong place can result in a handler being asked to leave a public establishment.

Your guide dog should know how to walk on a leash or harness without stopping to sniff or being distracted. Start with the fundamentals of loose leash walking to create a foundation for his formal training later on.

In order to acclimate to a variety of public spaces where a handler may require assistance from a guide dog, your puppy should experience common public areas like stores, restaurants, school campuses, or other public areas. Be aware that not every state has laws that protect guide dogs in training in public spaces. Look up the laws in your area to be certain that you are allowed to take a dog in training into these spaces.

Your guide dog should be trained to ignore all distractions that may try to get her attention including other people, animals, children, and strange sights or smells. You should reward focused behavior and be able to teach your dog that her work is more important than anything else.

Guide dogs walk ahead of the handler and your dog should know the proper positioning for guide work. She should not be walking at a heel, but instead be able to stay slightly ahead and on the left side of her handler.

Your guide dog prospect should know how to walk in a straight line without diverting to one side or the other for any reason. Turning should only be dictated by the handler who will use hand signals or voice commands to determine where to go.

Your dog should know when it is time to settle down for a while, particularly if the handler is stopping to eat somewhere or any other task during the day which requires the dog to be nearby but to not actively be guiding. Work up to longer periods of time gradually.

A guide dog should never walk into traffic or into the street. She should know how to stop at a curb in order to wait for a command from her handler. This requires recognizing where a curb is and how to stop and wait.

Your dog should acclimate to his handler. This can be done in a variety of ways but will generally evolve through the working relationship.

Your guide dog should know how to make a decision to stop when there is danger present for the handler. For instance, she should not walk into the street when there is traffic present, nor should she walk forward if there is an obstruction in the path of the handler. This is called “intelligent disobedience” and is necessary for every guide dog to know.

Your guide dog should get familiarized with his handler’s day to day routes throughout the public space. Routine will help both dog and handler adjust to navigating possible obstacles on these routes.

If the handler requires public transport such as a bus, subway, or taxi, your dog must know how to board these particular vehicles.

Repetition, practice, and working alongside his handler will ensure that your dog will become a fantastic guide dog. These things must be done regularly to reinforce training and habit.

Seek training support throughout your dog’s working life in order to troubleshoot any issues that may come up. Your dog’s working life may be somewhere in the range of eight to ten years and he should be evaluated often to ensure the safety of both the dog and his handler.