Tribute To My Guide Dogs
By Betty Nobel
The first experience I had working in partnership with a guide dog was back in 1975. My son was five months old. What was I doing leaving him in my mother’s care and going to California to get a guide dog. Was I crazy? Why would I even consider taking such a step? The truth is that I wasn’t going out as much with the baby because while I was willing to go out on my own, I felt a strong responsibility to keep my baby safe. I was a fairly skilled cane user, but having a hearing impairment made me feel vulnerable. I wondered if my son would be safer if I partnered with a guide dog, and I also have to admit that I thought it would be a nice idea to have a dog around because this would help me be motivated to go out more. So I flew to San Francisco and started on a long journey and very rewarding lifestyle featuring a dog walking by my left side, never looking back or regretting my decision.
Guide Dog Training – Then and Now
There were 16 people in my first guide dog class, all of us receiving a dog for the first time. We all made the commitment to stay at the school for an entire month. At least the climate was quite temperate near San Francisco in November. As you may imagine, there were students there of all ages and abilities. No one used first names; it was all very formal. Back then, the only reward for the dog was verbal praise and lots of pets. We arrived at the school on a Sunday, but we didn’t get our dogs until the following Wednesday. We did a lot of practice walks, called Juno walks, using a large piece of rolled-up carpet fitted with a harness to mimic a guide dog. The instructor controlled the “dog” while the student walked with it. This exercise gave a new handler a chance to experience what it would feel like to walk with a guide dog as well as helped the instructor determine the student’s usual walking pace. When I got subsequent dogs as a retrain student, we still arrived on a Sunday, but we received our dogs on the Monday, and the class lasted only two weeks. We still did practice Juno walks before getting our dogs, but later on, the fake dog was mounted on wheels.
During that first class, as we gained confidence, we were allowed to go out in pairs to our favourite coffee shop or store. We also went out at least twice when it was dark so we could see how our dogs would guide during the evening, but two things still stand out in my memory. Gradually, we learned the layout of the streets in San Rafael. During the last week of training, we were individually dropped off at a specific place and told to find our way back to the lounge where we stayed when we were not out with an instructor. That was quite frightening at first, but when we actually managed to do it, our confidence soared. These days, during training, we no longer go out in pairs, nor do we have to find our way back to the lounge. The reason may be that for some students, that experience was not as positive as it might have been. Regardless, the classes are much smaller now and one-on-one time with an instructor has increased.
The other major part of our training were traffic checks, and they still do them. It was only very recently when I graduated with my new dog, Vantage, that they told us they were going to do a route where a car would unexpectedly approach us several times during the route, and our dogs would react to keep us safe. I didn’t know this during my first time at the school, and while I did get a major adrenaline rush when it happened, the fact that the dog kept me safe gave me even more confidence in the partnership.
Everyone now trains for two weeks instead of one month, even if this is the first time to work with a guide dog. Guide Dogs for the Blind, where I have received seven out of my eight dogs, now offers a weekly orientation and mobility class with an instructor providing individualized training to help people gain some of the cane skills they need to travel more safely with or without a guide dog. Some of those students choose to train later on with a guide dog, and some do not.
Most schools have a similar assessment process, which consists of a home interview, a walk in your home area that can either be videotaped or observed in person. Also, there are medical forms to be filled out by a doctor to determine the candidate’s health status.
A Guide Dog, Babies, and Life on the Go
After I arrived home with Dagmar, I carried my baby son in a baby backpack when we went out together. That worked well until less than two years after Dagmar came home, my daughter joined our family. She became the little person in the backpack, and my two-year-old son was in a stroller. The stroller was very solid but narrow. Instead of spreading the two handles out, I kept the curved handles together so I could pull the stroller behind me with my right hand. This worked very well and did not interfere with the guide dog at all. I do kind of wonder what some bus drivers thought when the door opened and in I came with a dog on my left, a baby on my back, and a stroller pulled behind me. It was a good thing that Dagmar was quite a small dog. While it was a bit of a hassle to get us all settled on the bus, it worked. I don’t know what is available now, but a narrow stroller with good back support worked well at the time.
Eight Dogs, Eight Personalities
I am now working with my eighth guide dog. All of my dogs have had different personalities and varying strengths and weaknesses. Dagmar liked to roll in manure if we let her off leash to run when visiting my sister’s small farm. Laramie was afraid of thunder and liked to chase cats if he got the chance. Kermit liked to chase squirrels and would sometimes veer off the path, even in harness. Joetta was over-fond of swimming and would almost drag me into the water if we were walking beside a lake or on a beach. McKenzie would not always maintain a straight line when people were on our path because he was simply too polite. Brady was too fond of snatching food whenever he could, and Mac barked incessantly, driving my neighbours mad. My current guide, Vantage, loves to play fetch and will do just about anything to be rewarded with a piece of kibble. But what they all always demonstrated was and continues to be their excellent guiding skills, initiative, and loyalty.
Guide Dogs in a Changing World
Over the years, it has become much more challenging for guide dogs to work. The traffic is much heavier. Nowadays, many roads and sidewalks are not repaired. Tree roots under sidewalks are common. Street crossings have often become much more complex. Scooters and bicycles clog the sidewalks. People walk along looking at their phones instead of watching out for other pedestrians. Unexpectedly, accessibility has become less assured. Carrying guide dog school or provincial ID is important, even if you don’t lawfully need it. Believe it or not, it used to be a lot less stressful going to restaurants or staying at hotels because access was rarely challenged as it often is now. But despite all of these changes, my dog, in the moment, always does what he or she has been trained to do. Dogs don’t complain about all of these environmental changes, and they continue to guide their handlers safely to wherever the destination happens to be.
I often think about how remarkable this is. As I have grown older, my fitness level has deteriorated, and my balance is a bit shaky, but my new dog, Vantage, just waits patiently when I stop to catch my breath and adjusts whenever I falter due to poor balance. He is incredibly patient, tolerant of traffic and loud noises, and puts up with my mistakes as we adjust to our new life together.
As time has passed, training too has evolved. At first, we only used verbal praise and physical caresses to encourage positive behaviour. To reinforce displeasure when negative behaviour occurred, a firm jerk on the leash was the standard tool. Now, we use food rewards to motivate the dog rather than punish negative behaviour. We use nylon collars instead of chain collars.
Technology Doesn’t Replace Guide Dogs
These days, there is a lot of technology such as GPS and other apps, visual interpretation services, smart glasses etc., that a person can use to supplement the work of a guide dog. While this is primarily a positive development, it can lead to questioning your dog’s guiding decisions which can confuse the dog and the person being guided. I would never choose to abandon the guide dog lifestyle for new technology. Not only do dogs guide expertly, they provide companionship. They insist that you spend some time each day playing and they are very forgiving of the human tendency to think you know best. If you have ever considered getting a guide dog, and you are prepared to use your orientation and mobility skills to enter into a fulfilling partnership, don’t hesitate to take that first step on a life journey that will be rewarding as well as having the added benefit of increasing your independence.
