Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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I have a question about guide dogs (self.Blind)
submitted by Molly_dog88888888
So I’m sighted, I’m entering a poetry contest with a poem about a blind teenager, and I want to get it as factual as possible, so I thought I’d come here. In the poem, a potentially scary situation happens. How would a guide dog protect their owners in a bad situation? How would the dog alert their owner that something is happening if they’re unaware at first? Any other advice so I get it right? Any answer appreciated, thanks!
lovethelabs 2 points 3y ago
I can only comment from the perspective of a guide dog raiser. I raise guide dog puppies for the blind/visually impaired until they go off to their professional guide work training. Every dog is as unique as people are unique. They each have their own personalities and likes and dislikes.
Guide dogs for the blind have a skill fostered in them that we refer to as intelligent disobedience. This means that if they sense a dangerous situation, like an oncoming car when their owner gives the command to cross the road, they go against the command and stay on the sidewalk or curb. In general, some dogs are very opinionated, like people, and want to vocalize. Other dogs have been trained to use their body position as a way of communicating. Blind people can pick up on the mannerisms of their dog through the harness. They can literally feel if the dog turns their head to the left or right or shakes their head.
Some good books or stories to read are about Salty and Roselle, guide dogs who helped their owners during the World Trade Center attack.
Guide dogs for the blind have a skill fostered in them that we refer to as intelligent disobedience. This means that if they sense a dangerous situation, like an oncoming car when their owner gives the command to cross the road, they go against the command and stay on the sidewalk or curb. In general, some dogs are very opinionated, like people, and want to vocalize. Other dogs have been trained to use their body position as a way of communicating. Blind people can pick up on the mannerisms of their dog through the harness. They can literally feel if the dog turns their head to the left or right or shakes their head.
Some good books or stories to read are about Salty and Roselle, guide dogs who helped their owners during the World Trade Center attack.
Molly_dog88888888 [OP] 1 points 3y ago
Okay, interesting. Yeah, I’ve heard about the intelligent disobedience before, I’ve included a line about it. Will a guide dog have certain “queues” to alert their owners of a potentially dangerous situation? Also, would a guide dog specifically protect their owners from a person acting in a threatening manner around them? Thanks for your advice.
lovethelabs 2 points 3y ago
A guide dog is only one type of service dog and its main goal is to guide, basically be the eyes of a person and get them through the routine of their day. They are trained NOT to react to unusual people whether they are dressed remarkably differently, a clown for example, or whether they are dressed typically but happen to be in a wheelchair or scooter or something slightly different than the usual passerby. Guide dogs and pets can and often do have instincts to protect, but that is not a skill they are formally trained in usually. Since they are trained to ignore all the attention the public may try to give them, they may even ignore the person acting in a threatening way.
A guide dog bonds to their owner so their instinct to be with their owner in a regular routine may be enough for the dog to alert when something is not part of the routine. This is where the dog's intelligence comes into play. If there were a large fire, for example, this would not be part of the normal daily routine. It looks highly unusual, it's not a common smell (in that amount), it's not something the dog has been trained to maneuver or been repeatedly exposed to in training, and it's not part of the daily routine. This being so unusual and off the routine might be enough for the dog to communicate something is amiss. How a dog communicates this is unique to their personality.
If my own dog starts to act differently, like not respond to commands as calmly, I ask myself what is different in the day, what is different in our routine or what new thing have we encountered that she is not used to.
It might be more appropriate for law enforcement service dogs or military dogs to watch for specific queues that could lead to danger. But this has to be taught and tested which means there has to be specific dangerous scenarios dogs are safely put through and taught to maneuver.
A guide dog bonds to their owner so their instinct to be with their owner in a regular routine may be enough for the dog to alert when something is not part of the routine. This is where the dog's intelligence comes into play. If there were a large fire, for example, this would not be part of the normal daily routine. It looks highly unusual, it's not a common smell (in that amount), it's not something the dog has been trained to maneuver or been repeatedly exposed to in training, and it's not part of the daily routine. This being so unusual and off the routine might be enough for the dog to communicate something is amiss. How a dog communicates this is unique to their personality.
If my own dog starts to act differently, like not respond to commands as calmly, I ask myself what is different in the day, what is different in our routine or what new thing have we encountered that she is not used to.
It might be more appropriate for law enforcement service dogs or military dogs to watch for specific queues that could lead to danger. But this has to be taught and tested which means there has to be specific dangerous scenarios dogs are safely put through and taught to maneuver.
BlueRock956 2 points 3y ago
https://thebark.com/content/thunder-dog-update
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