Guide Dogs for the Blind
Guide Dogs for the Blind is a guide dog school located in the United States, with campuses in San Rafael, California, and Boring, Oregon. It was founded in 1942 to help veterans who had been blinded in World War II.
History
Guide Dogs for the Blind was the first guide dog training school on the West Coast. Its creation was a dream shared by Lois Merrihew and Don Donaldson, who recognized the need to help wounded servicemen who would return from World War II without their sight. They believed in the potential of dogs to serve as guides for the blind. A German Shepherd named Blondie was one of the first dogs trained; she was paired with Sgt. Leonard Foulk, the first serviceman to graduate from the new school.
In 1947, Guide Dogs moved to its present location in San Rafael, California, about 20 miles north of San Francisco. In order to meet the increasing demands for services, the school opened a second campus in Boring, Oregon in 1995.
Breeds used
Originally German Shepherds were used as guides, but these are being phased out and the last German Shepherd "graduated" along with its visually impaired handler in November 2009. New dogs are primarily Labrador Retrievers (only black and yellow, chocolate labs are very rare and very disliked for guide-work. Two chocolate labs are currently being raised, Snickers and Sweety) Golden Retrievers and Labrador/Golden Retriever crossbreeds, and a few Golden Retrievers.
Breeding
At the end of the puppy raising phase, dogs are recalled and returned to the Guide Dog campuses, either directly by the raisers or collected by the puppy truck. If the dogs have not already been neutered or spayed, they are screened as potential breeders before going into formal training. Guide Dogs also exchanges breeders with other schools both locally and worldwide to ensure sufficient diversity in the gene pool. Breeders are placed with families who are local to Guide Dog's San Rafael campus.
Puppy raising
Puppies are given to volunteer puppy raisers at 8 to 12 weeks of age. The raisers have one of the most important jobs: they must train the dog in basic commands and socialize the dog in public areas. There are raisers in 8 western states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Texas, and Washington) that raise puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind. The Puppy-raisers work with these dogs for about a year before returning them to Guide-dogs for formal training
Formal training
The dogs are recalled for formal training at one of Guide Dogs for the Blind's campuses at approximately 14 to 18 months old. Recalled dogs go through formal training, a 8-phase training program in which the trainers use the BEST Guide Dogs training techniques ("BEST Guide Dogs -- Balanced Education System for Training Guide Dogs").[1] The dogs are continuously assessed during the formal training and may be dropped from the program ("career changed") at any stage (including during their time with the puppy raisers if intractable health or behavior problems emerge). Trained dogs are then matched with appropriate visually impaired individuals who train with the dog at the school's in-residence program for up to four weeks.
Career change dogs
Dogs that are not suitable for Guide Dog work due to health, behaviour or age issues are dropped from training and are described as "career changed".Around 40% of all dogs that go through the program are career changed. Career changed dogs are often adopted as pets by their handlers or their puppy raisers. Many dogs also go on to have other careers such as search and rescue dogs, Dogs for Diabetics. Some career change dogs enter the Guide Dogs for the Blind program "K9 Buddy" or "Community Canines" programs.[2]
K9 Buddies are dogs that are placed with visually impaired children as pets, giving the youngster not only companionship, but the opportunity of learning to care for a dog. This experience helps prepare them for the responsibilities involved with having a Guide Dog someday. "Community Canines" are dogs placed with blindness professionals and organizations and act as community ambassadors for the Guide Dogs programs.[3]
Breeders
Guide Dogs breeds most of the dogs used in its program. Breeders are exchanged and loaned between programs to ensure a sufficiently wide gene pool. During formal training, dogs may be selected as breeding stock dogs. Breeders live in the homes of volunteer breeding stock custodians within a 50-mile radius of the California campus.