Training a Seeing Eye Dog.

It is a question we often get ask - "How long does it take to train a Seeing Eye Dog" and it isn't as easy to answer as you would think.

The training of our dogs actually begins when they are tiny bundles of fluff still getting their mothers' milk.  It is then, when a process we call "bomb proofing" begins.

When a Seeing Eye Dog is working with a person who is blind or vision impaired they need to be relaxed and concentrating on their work. Dogs like other animals have what is called a fight or flight response, which means when they are aware of something that is threatening, or doesn't seem right, they can either respond aggressively (fight) or run away from it (flight), neither behaviour is acceptable in a Seeing Eye Dog. So how do we avoid it?

There are two main things we do, the first is breed the right type of dog that is adaptable and not aggressive (Labradors fit into this category very well), and the other is by bomb proofing.

Dogs are born without fear and it is something they learn after about
14 weeks of age, but if you expose them to lots of different sounds, sights and smells in the early stages of their life they grow up thinking that these things are acceptable and not worthy of any sort of fight or flight response. So if we play a tape of heavy traffic sounds and bangs and crashes to a pup while still in our Breeding Centre then they are unlikely to react when a car back fires in the street when they are working.

The pups leave their mother at about eight weeks of age and following some health checks go to live for about a year with some volunteer foster parents - Puppy Carers. These are just normal families who may have children and other pets but who are able to devote some time to bringing up our pups. They are supported by our professional puppy care team who visit on a regular basis and ensure that the process of "bomb proofing", which will now include things like taking the pup onto public transport, continues, and that the basics of the work start to get introduced. The pup will progress at its own pace but when it comes into advanced training it will be toilet trained, socially well behaved, know basic obedience and the beginnings of the work needed to be a Seeing Eye Dog.

When the now adult dog comes in for advanced training the work really gets going in earnest, the dogs skills and attitude need to be honed so that they consistently produce a safe standard of work. As our clients work in all sorts of conditions and places so the dogs have to and we have to teach them to deal with all the difficulties that modern streets, shops, public buildings and transport systems throw at us, and do so in a way that keeps the person they are guiding safe. It's a long process and on average we expect it to take six months, although some dogs make it through a bit quicker and others need a bit more time.

Each dog has to master the individual skills and also show that it will not require any level of control that one of our clients would find difficult to supply.

All through this long process the dogs are assessed and assessed and assessed again, and we have to be as sure as we can that the individual dog is right for the individual Client.

When a dog is allocated to a Client its training doesn't stop then because dogs are living things who will continue to learn, they will learn the needs of the Clients, they will get to understand the regular routes and routines, when it's play time and when it isn't. We have to teach a Client to make sure that the things a dog learns are the right things and all through their working life we will be available to help and will visit on at least an annual basis to make sure things are still going well.

So, how long does it take to train a Seeing Eye Dog - it takes all its life!