About Guide Dogs and Users

Guide dog users must be:

• legally blind
• usually 16 years of age or older
• able to handle and care for a dog physically and psychologically
• committed to the strong partnership involved in working with a dog
• prepared to be in charge of the dog
• able to give instructions and directions to the dog
• responsible for care of the dog, including exercise, play, feeding and grooming
• aware that the dog is a working animal and not a pet
• able to travel different routes on a regular basis to keep the dog motivated

Guide dogs

• Training of a guide dog starts at an early age. The staff at training schools work together with volunteers and puppy raisers to nurture the dog’s first skills.
• When the puppies are about 8 weeks old, they go to live with a volunteer puppy raiser.
• At 12-18 months, the dogs return to the school for evaluation and further training.
• Training at the school lasts 5 months or longer.
• When they have successfully completed their training, the dogs are matched with a person.
• Matches are made by assessing the person’s lifestyle, personality and energy.
• The person participates in residential training at the school for 2-5 weeks to learn partnership skills and care and grooming techniques.

For more information on guide dogs and how they are trained, contact one of the centres listed on our site under Guide Dog Schools.