Guide Dog Training And Hosting In The UK

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I’ve often mentioned that RSS subscriptions and Google Alerts are great ways to hear the latest news about any subject you’re interested in, for instance, Guide Dog Training.  Today I received a Google Alert titled What It Takes To Host A Guide Dog and thought that it was an interesting title.  I think it might have been the first time I had heard the term “Guide Dog Hosting.”  My first guess was that a Guide Dog Host might be equivalent to a Guide Dog Puppy Raiser, but maybe it was a terminology used in another country.  Curious to see what the article was about I clicked through and found out…

How To Be A Guide Dog Host

Check out the video above.  Unfortunately I did not have the embed code so it will take you away to their website, but the video is a nice, short, and will tell you about Guide Dog Hosting.

According to the article Guide Dog Hosts are needed in Jersey to watch fully trained Guide Dogs when owners fall ill or go on holiday.  Here’s a quote from the article:

The Jersey Branch of the Guide Dogs for the Blind recently made an appeal for people to come forward as potential hosts – just in case an owner falls ill or goes on holiday.

At the moment the dog has to go to the nearest branch in Exeter.

Since the appeal they’ve had 40 responses from people who have the space, time and experience of looking after dogs.

I know one of our dogs, Dustin is lucky enough to return home to his original Puppy Raisers when his owner goes on holiday.  I saw on his blog that Dustin was recently back with his puppy raisers for Valentine’s Day.  Check out his adventures at Dustin Yellow Lab.

Guide Dog Training Differences?

When we get our Guide Dog Puppies In Training our main job as puppy raisers is to train them in basic obedience and socialization.  We don’t teach our puppies any of the advanced guide dog training techniques.  However, after watching the video I noticed some possible differences between our puppy  guide dog training and puppy guide dog training in the UK.

Here’s what I noticed:

• She mentions using a whistle and blowing it three times when it’s time to eat.  We train our puppies to sit-stay before they eat meals, but I’ve never heard of using a whistle.
• She says that they are never to walk between parked cars.  As far as I know we can walk our puppies between parked cars.
• Another rule she mentions is to always stop at the curb.  We are taught not to stop our puppies at the curb.  However, this could be something that changes in advanced training.

Fischer, the guide dog in the video, is a working Guide Dog and many of the things he has learned may be during his formal training.  I only know what we teach our guide dog puppies before they start formal training and that is basic obedience and socialization.

I find it very interesting to see not only how guide dog training works here in the United States, but how it works in other counties as well.

I’m sure there are slight differences from program to program even in the same country.  If you are a guide dog puppy raiser or trainer I’d love to hear what you have to say about guide dog training in the comments below.

Top Picks For Our Puppies

1. BEST DOG CHEW
   We Like: Beef Collagen Sticks - All of our pups love to bite, nip, and chew. We love using Collagen Sticks to help divert these unwanted behaviors.
2. BEST PUPPY TOY
   We Like: Calmeroos Puppy Toy w/ Heartbeat and Heat Packs - Perfect for new puppies. Helps ease anxiety in their new home.
3. BEST DOG TREATS
   We Like: Crazy Dog Train-Me Treats - We use these as our high-value treats for our guide dog puppies.
4. BEST FRESH DOG FOOD
   We Like: The Farmer's Dog - A couple months ago we started feeding Raven fresh dog food and she loves it! Get 50% off your first order of The Farmer's Dog.

Check out more of our favorites on our New Puppy Checklist.