The Physical Side of the Job

Imagine a 90 pound, energetic, one year old male Yellow Lab. Now imagine that you will walk him down the street at a controlled pace, allowing him to be out in front of you but not drag you along. You will now attempt to teach this dog to sit on command. Sure, he's had basic obedience, but he has just come to a new setting and is enjoying the raucous din of kennel life, rough housing with his buddies. You, the apprentice, must get him ready for the world of work as a guide.

Now imagine yourself putting the Yellow back in his kennel and taking out a 49 pound female Golden Retriever who seems very timid and shy. She walks slowly and carefully, but half way down your first block she sees a cat and darts toward it. Do you give her a hard leash correction or gently work her back past the distraction with an obedience routine? Let's say your next dog is a 60 pound, wiry female German Shepherd who thinks obedience is a game you, not she, should play.

Guide Dog trainers must work with a variety of dogs within a given size range. A great deal of walking and upper body strength is required to mold hyper young dogs into responsible workers. In the beginning, when working with dogs alone, this may not seem bad, but soon the apprentice must team dog training with people training. You can't leash correct your blind student, or give him/her a dirty look and expect the undesired behavior or wrong actions to stop. You must verbally communicate while physically managing to keep up with the dog. Many blind people laughingly remember their instructors as shy, indecisive apprentices who grew into their jobs. Coming out of yourself to work with both dogs and people is a special skill and not one to be taken lightly. A little humility also goes a long way toward becoming a good instructor.