What Czech Guide Dog School does

Guide dogs are for those who are vision impaired

A guide dog is considered to be one of the “compensational aids” for those people who are visually impaired, not only for those who are completely sightless, but also for those with weak vision or those who are losing their vision. There are about thirty tasks that must be accomplished and mastered during training. The guide dog must learn how to walk around obstacles, to stop at the edge of a curb, to use the means of public transport, to ignore unimportant objects, and to find specific places such as doors and staircases. The training takes place at a complex, where there are plenty of children playing outside and plenty of other dogs. In the center of the city, the guide dog learns how to handle and ignore everyday noises, traffic, construction, escalators and various other catchinesses that will be waiting for both, the guide dog and his owner, every day. The dog’s job may look simple, but it demands huge amounts of concentration. He must behave like a guide who is capable of making decisions and also like an obedient of his owner. So during his training, the dog must lead his instructor around without any visual help from the instructor.

For safe movement of both, the person and the dog together, the perfect cooperation is necessary. Before this cooperation can happen, the dog must be perfectly trained and also the future owner of the guide dog must be meticulously educated and trained as well.

Part of the training of the team is:

• Our own raising, choice and buying of the puppies
• Education of the puppies in volunteering families.
• Personal training of the dog
• A strict and thorough veterinary care of the dogs, while they are with the care taking family and during training.
• Schooling and training of our clients, the sightless applicants for the guide dogs
• Schooling and training of our clients, the sightless applicants for the guide dogs
• Follow up care of each owner of a guide dog.