Guide Dog Awareness

What is a ‘Puppy Raiser’?

For the first year of their lives, Guide Dog puppies live in the homes of volunteer puppy raisers. Guide dogs can be Labradors, Labrador Retrievers, Alsatians (German Shepherds) and even Belgian Malamutes (Belgian Shepherds).

Puppy raisers teach them good manners, how to socialise and, as the puppy gets older, some other basic skills, including:

  • maintaining a reliable relieving schedule;
  • behaving in a non-destructive manner (no inappropriate chewing or digging, for example);
  • walking calmly on a leash;
  • obeying basic commands, such as sit, down, stay, etc.;
  • acclimatising to crate training (relieving themselves in a specific place);
  • lying quietly at the handler’s side in public places, such as in restaurants and on public transportation; and
  • demonstrating confidence in a variety of situations, places and with different people.

Alternatively, the puppies grow up in guide dog schools and are assigned to trainers, who take them under their wings. Puppies are kept under supervision for up to three hours every day. They are brought up to be calm and to maintain a balanced temperament in all situations.

Formal Guide Dog Training

At around 12 to 14 months, the young adult dogs start their training with an accredited Guide Dog and Mobility Instructor (GDMI) in how to guide someone who is blind or visually impaired. The young adult dogs’ formal training lasts six to seven months, and they learn some pretty advanced skills, including:

  • turning left or right on command;
  • starting or halting on command;
  • performing advanced obedience exercises;
  • increasing or decreasing speed on command;
  • stopping for changes in elevation, such as steps (both up and down);
  • stopping at street crossings;
  • walking in a straight line (especially when they cross a street);
  • steering the handler safely around obstacles in their path;
  • slowing down when there is an uneven pavement or other tripping hazards;
  • ignoring distractions, such as other dogs, cats, birds, people and food; and
  • refusing to proceed when a situation is unsafe (like crossing a street when there is oncoming traffic), otherwise known as ‘intelligent disobedience”.

Once the dogs are paired with a person who is blind or visually impaired and the two become a harmonious unit while travelling together, there are even more handy skills that the handler can then teach the dog, such as finding objects (traffic control buttons, dropped objects like house keys, empty seats in a crowded room, and specific locations that they visit regularly, for example).

Guide dogs are paired according to their stature, character and energy levels. Similarly, their new owners will have different requirements, whether it is due to the nature of their work, its location and the ‘work’ the dogs will be required to do during their expected lifespan, which is normally eight to 10 years.

This is what makes acquiring a guide dog so expensive and why the Malta Guide Dogs Foundation relies on donations from the public to obtain these guide dogs to match with local clients.

Once a guide dog team starts working together, they are monitored regularly by the GDMI, with occasional assistance from the Orientation & Mobility (OM) specialist when new routes need to be introduced and for ongoing supervision.

Meeting a person with a guide dog

For the safety of the handler, you should never distract a guide dog while it is working.

General cautions include: 

  • Don’t pat a guide dog while in harness, even if they are sitting or lying down. 
  • Talk to the handler, not the guide dog. 
  • Don’t whistle to a guide dog or intentionally distract it from work. 
  • Don’t offer food or treats, although a bowl of water would be nice, especially in summer.