Local branch marks 50 years of Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind

By Navjyoti Dalal

Recently, the Irish Guide Dogs for Blind (Athlone/Midlands branch) celebrated National Guide Dog Day and marked the 50th anniversary of the organisation. The event saw fundraising activities across the town. From Sean's Bar on Athlone's west side, to Beans and Leaves, Athlone Town Centre Shopping Centre and Golden Island Shopping Centre on the east side, to Wineport Lodge in Glasson, pawprints of the occasion were visible around the locality. With a plethora of activities designed around the anniversary, celebrations were also held at the Night and Day music festival, and more.

On the sidelines of the event, we decided to decode the life of a guide dog. As it turns out, there are layers to the making of a guide dog. Theresa O'Reilly, chairperson of the four-decade old Athlone/Midlands branch which was set up by Michael Duffy, shared a guide dog 101 to explain the process. The force behind the local chapter of the organisation, Theresa thanked the local businesses and volunteers for the event's success.

A pricey dog

Theresa, a Kiltoom-based nurse, who has been associated with the Irish Guide Dogs for Blind (IGDB), Athlone/Midlands branch for over a decade, revealed that the cute-looking labradors and golden retrievers that qualify for a guide dog come with a price tag of €53,000. “That's the cost that covers the lifetime of a guide dog,” Theresa said, citing the costs for training, vaccination, veterinary assistance and more. The selection of a guide dog begins even before a pup is born. These are specially bred dogs, where the dogs for breeding are selected based on temperament and health, and meeting of the IGDB's breeding criteria. “They look at health, temperament, and working ability. There is a lot of animal health science that's involved and broods from all over Europe are included to ensure genetic diversification,” Theresa explained.

Not so natural selection

Several criteria are employed before picking the right dog to train. Aside from a behaviour checklist, temperament test, and a veterinary oversight, genetic testing is conducted for conditions such as exercise-induced collapse and progressive retinal atrophy. She said that a dog being accepted is not a guarantee it will qualify to become a guide dog. “The dogs are assessed for temperament and suitability throughout development and training, for these factors can change as the dog matures and faces harder environments,” she elaborated.

Being a guide dog comes with responsibility. Therefore, a dog may be withdrawn from guide work if it shows anxiety in traffic or crowds; excessive distraction by food, people, animals, or smells; poor concentration, unsuitable pace or pulling style, or poor health. “That does not mean the dog has failed. It usually means the dog is not suited to this very demanding job,” she added.

Training to be special

Trained from an early age, puppies are raised by volunteer families from eight weeks to 12 months. In a home setting they learn basic rules, obedience, and how to cope with everyday environments such as buses, trains, shops, crowds, noise, and traffic. The dogs are assessed at this stage for confidence without being reckless, calmness around people, animals, traffic, and noise, willingness to learn. What they are looking for in a dog to guide a blind person is an emotionally steady dog who enjoys learning, and can make safe decisions under pressure.

Post puppy-raising, the chosen dogs are sent for a formal training at the IGDB's Cork centre, where they train for practical guide skills such as road crossings, public transport, obstacle work, and safe movement. “If some dogs don’t make the cut for a guide dog, they are trained as an assistance dog for children with autism, and if they don’t make that grade they become a companion dog,” Theresa explained the procedure.

A guide dog works from age two until ten, after which they can either stay with the clients as pets, or be rehomed with volunteers.

Difference between a pet dog and a guide dog

Furry and gentle, a guide dog does appear like a cuddly pet, but these are two different zones, Theresa told us. The first and most practical difference is that a guide/assistance dog is granted access to all the places that their person (visually impaired) visits, including restaurants, public transport, even leading them to toilets. Pet dogs do not have the same public access rights.

Function wise, a pet dog is primarily a friendly companion, while a guide dog is a highly trained mobility partner for a blind or vision-impaired person. Therefore, their training level differs. The difference is evident in their roles in public. For instance, a guide dog learns to stop, avoid obstacles, find routes, ignore distractions like another dog or cats, and sometimes refuse unsafe commands, whereas a pet follows simple commands but is not trained to make mobility-safety decisions. A guide dog has earned great distraction control through training, while a pet dog may naturally react to smells, people, other animals, or excitement.

Matchmaking

The guide dog world is full of surprises. A fully trained dog may not be suitable for every blind/vision-impaired person. The organisation assesses the applicant’s needs, lifestyle, and goals, to match a person with a dog which is right for them. Interestingly, the person and the dog then complete a three-week residential training programme together at the Cork training facility where they consider things like walking speed, height and strength of the handler, home environment (rural vs urban travel), public transport use, confidence level and daily routes.