Guide Dogs for the Blind

Guide Dogs for the Blind is a charity that receives no government funding and relies purely on donations.

A guide dog’s main function is to increase the independence of blind or partially-sighted person, even more so for the person who loses their sight in later life.

Guide Dogs have been providing and training dogs for over 75 years and many of the dogs are breed from specially chosen brood bitches and, although various breeds are used, the labrador/retriever cross remains the favourite.

Many volunteers are needed, especially the dedicated puppy walker who takes on a puppy aged between 6 and 8 weeks for basic training and socialising, during which time the dog wears a brown harness showing it is in training. When the dog is about a year old it is returned for the next stage of training at one of the four national Guide Dog Training Schools. Once this thorough training has been completed a dog is carefully matched with its new owner and they carry out approximately four weeks intensive training together. If this teaming proves successful they qualify together and the guide dog is given the coveted white harness, whilst the new owner pays the princely token sum of 50p. Thus begins a partnership that will last approximately seven years.

Dogs that do not make the grade to become a guide dog may be suitable for another assistance dog organisation and there are always people waiting to “adopt” the dogs that do not make the grade or dogs that are retired.