While waiting for the bus and enjoying one of the best casino sites on my phone, I noticed a guide dog at work, guiding its owner across the street to wait for the bus on the other side. My interest was naturally piqued as to how they’re trained.

A dog’s first day with his or her new owner is one of the most exciting days of their lives. From then on, their job will be to guide their owners around. What’s more, they will act as a reminder of everything that’s important in life.

By training Guide Dogs, you can ensure that not only your dog, but your child too, benefit from having a great day every day.

Guide dogs are trained to lead their blind or partially sighted owner without the use of the actual eyes.

You can learn more about the program at:

How Do They Do It?

First, they make a detailed portrait of your dog’s scent from their pads. Then, a microchip (a small chip about the size of a grain of rice) is put under the skin of your dog’s shoulder. If the microchip is detected, it sends out a signal and the human can find his or her dog.

How Guide Dogs are Selected and Groomed

People with vision loss have the unique ability to live independently and work in many areas of society. But despite these advances, there are still many people who do not know that there is help available.

Training for a guide dog can take anywhere from 8 to 12 months, but is highly confidential.

Newborn puppies are often born in the company of their mothers, where the puppies develop a special bond that aids in learning skills that are often taught to them. But many people do not know the secrets behind the making of a Guide Dog.

The seven dogs that currently work with me as a guide dog puppy raiser were all born in another facility, the “Guide Dog Foundation” in Ontario. The animals are trained with a great deal of care and hard work. And like any child, they need a lot of time and attention. Guide dogs also require constant care. That’s why guide dog trainers have a very specific set of procedures for how dogs are raised.

Because these are very important steps for making sure an intelligent dog can take on a life of independence.

These puppies are all there to be the hands and feet of a blind person, that’s why all 7 of them are so attentive to everything their handlers do.

All 7 puppies were born blind but because of our time together with these dogs, these babies are now able to see! This is the major accomplishment, these pups are now well on their way to a successful guide dog career. The puppies were then shown to their new trainers and then nursed through a serious case of teething.

While they were here, the puppies practiced sitting, standing, walking on a leash and following voice commands. The puppies quickly learned how to do these things because they are extremely social animals.

The puppies were then loaded into a truck, which was brought to my own home. Once at my home, the puppies were given the names of our neighbors’ children. As if the time spent at the Guide Dog Foundation was not enough, the puppies had the honor of meeting 4 and 5 year olds from a local school that was volunteering at my home.

While the puppies did enjoy seeing all of these kids run around and play, they also were able to meet some new puppies from the guide dog foundation that were going to become a part of my family. As you can imagine, the puppies enjoyed seeing all of these new pups running around and playing.

After a few days, all of the pups that were at my home were able to make the trip to Burlington to be placed with new guide dogs.

During this time, the puppy that I named “Pickles”, tested to see what she is capable of. So, Pickles spent a few days at the guide dog foundation in Vermont, being taught how to open doors, push a button, and walk on a leash without losing her balance. This is where Pickles had an encounter with the big bad bull. Pickles quickly figured out that the bull was not real!

Zoe Kickhefer
zoe@everydaylifes.com