Evaluation :
Evaluation After the dog comes back from the foster home, it goes through a
evaluation. The evaluation first sees if the dog has any health problems,
i.e. hips, eyes, etc… If it does, then the dog is disqualified. When a dog is
disqualified, either the foster parent has a choice to keep it or the
foundation has a long waiting list of people who want a disqualified dog. If
the dog passed the health test, then it goes through an evaluation to see
what program it might fit in best. If it is a Golden Retriever, Lab, or poodle,
it would go into Special Skills Dogs. If it is a Golden Retriever, Lab,
poodle, or German Shepard, then it would go into the Canine Vision
Canada program. But, if it was any other type of little dog then it would go
into the Hearing Ear Dogs program. The last part of the evaluation is if it
had any temper problems then it would go to its foster parent or to a
person on the waiting list.
Training :
Training When the dog has gone through the evaluation, the trainers at Dog
Guides train them. The dogs who go into the Special Skills Dogs program
get train from six to eight months. They train them to, open doors, turn
on/off light, pick up things, bark for help, and much more. One trainer has
about seven or eight dogs. During the six to eight months, if the trainer
sees that the dog is either not fitting into the program, or if the dog is
starting to be too aggressive, then the trainer has the choice of switching
the dog into what he or she thinks would be good fit, or has the option of
disqualifying the dog. If all goes well during the six to eight months, then
the dog is ready to go in go into a 3 week session where some people
who where evaluated earlier on and the dogs and they train together
during the 3 week period.
Application Process:
Application Process While the dog are being trained, some people are apply to receive a Dog
Guide. This is often a long process because the person has to fill out
many forms, get two referrals, get doctors notes and much more. After
they send in there forms, the trainers and the head trainer come out and
evaluate the person to see if and why they need a Dog Guide. If the
person has had a Dog Guide in the past then they don’t need to go
through the process of being evaluated again. After they are evaluated,
the trainers decide if they think the person needs a Dog Guide or if they
don’t. If they need one then they go in a class and if they don’t then they
don’t go in a class. This whole process takes about up to 2 years before
they get a dog.
Three Week Training Period:
Three Week Training Period When the dogs and the clients first meet, the trainers switch the dogs with
the clients around to see witch client fits with which dog. During that time,
the trainers teach some of the commands to the clients so they start to
learn how to take charge of the dog. On the second day, the trainers
choose which dog goes where. The clients have some time to interact
with his/her dog before they start the training again. After the three weeks,
on the last night there is a graduation where the dogs, owners, owners
family and friends, foster parents, and of course the sponsors get
together and see them graduate. The foster parents get to see the dogs all
grown up and get to meet the owners and the owners get to go home and
find how much different life is with a dog!
At Home:
At Home When the dog and the owner get home, one of the trainers will often come
out and help the owner if they had any problems or if they just need
someone to help get the dog to open the door so it would get use to its
new environment. If it was a child who got the dog, then the trainer would
often come out the next day and make some presentations at the school
so the kids would understand why not to touch the dog, explain what the
dog would do and so on. If the client ever has any problems with the dog
then the trainers are more than happy to come out and help sort out the
problems.
This whole process takes a long time but in the end, it’s all worth it!:
This whole process takes a long time but in the end, it’s all worth it! Created for you by:
Meghan Hines