On class: Guide dog residential training

Friday 21st April at about 3pm, I got the phone call that changed everything. The phone call I had been waiting 2 and a half years for.

I had been matched with my first guide dog!! He was an 18 month old yellow Labrador cross retriever called Dezzie.

When you have been matched with a guide dog, you have to ‘pass’ certain things before you can start training. These are 2 walks in harness and an overnight stay. This is to make sure it’s a good match. I had already walked with Dezzie at a client day, so the second walk and sleepover happened Monday 24th April. It went so well.

Read more: Attending a Guide Dogs client day

Between then and starting our training, I saw Dezzie a few times.

• Friday 5th May: Stayed with me over the bank holiday
• Friday 12th May: Pre-class day at the Guide Dogs office
• Friday 19th May: Dezzie moved in

The training process is often called ‘class’ and it lasts 5 weeks. The first 2 weeks are often a residential at a hotel, although it can be done from home if needed. Dezzie and I started class Monday 22nd May, along with 2 other partnerships. This blog post will focus on what we did for the first 2 weeks.

How does guide dog training work?

I didn’t really know what to expect. I’d read various things online and had spoken to others guide dog owners. Most of them told me to sleep when I got the chance! However, the style of training has also changed in recent years.

Training with a guide dog (Guide Dogs UK)

The client day and the pre-class day was really helpful in terms of what:

• we would learn during the first 2 weeks
• how it had changed (other people on my class had previously had a guide dog)

During the residential (weeks 1 and 2), we would be at the hotel Monday to Friday, then go home for the weekend. We weren’t allowed to work the guide dogs at the weekend, due to insurance, but well all needed a rest!

Before a guide dog is matched with a visually impaired person, they have advance training with a GDMS (Guide Dog Mobility Specialist). It is the same GDMS who will then coach you during your training. As I’ve said, there were 2 other people on class at the same time as me. We did the same ‘lessons’ each day, but it was 1-on-1 with the GDMS who had trained our guide dog.

When we arrived at the hotel, we initially did some paperwork and orientation around the hotel. The dogs had already learnt the routes we needed, so we were in safe hands. Although Dezzie wasn’t in his harness when going round the hotel, he still could guide me when on a short lead. To begin with, it was odd to think that I could just walk around whenever I wanted. This isn’t something I’m used to!

My experience and thoughts

The first 2 weeks were intense, both physically and emotionally. But I learnt so much and I’m really proud of what Dezzie and I achieved in such a short space of time. It already feels like I’ve been a guide dog owner for a lot longer then a few weeks!

It was an incredible experience and that is credit to the staff at Guide Dogs and their commitment to train the dogs. Therefore allowing guide dog owners to experience true independence when it comes to mobility. Over the last 2 weeks, I have done things independently that I’ve not been able to do for 10 years. That in itself is indescribably magical and quite scary.

Having peer support of other guide dog owners certainly helped with the transition. I know the training can be done from home, but if you can, I would recommend doing it from a hotel with other people. It’s almost like you go into a training bubble and emerge 2 weeks later with so much knowledge.

While training a guide dog can be hard work, we definitely balanced that with good humour and the occasional McFlurry…

But what actually happened? I hope this gives you a small overview of what happens during the first 2 weeks when training with a guide dog.

The logistics

There are various things we need to know. Over the 2 weeks we had at least 2 sessions of everything. To put it simply, it worked like this:

1. Theory (talks)
2. Demonstrations and practice in the hotel
3. Practicing outside in controlled situations (quiet housing estate)
4. Applying it to real life situations (slightly busier areas with distractions and shops)
5. Transferred what we learnt to our own routes (in weeks 3 to 5)

Guide dogs are all trained using positive reinforcement and Guide Dogs UK use their own STEP programme.

Standardised Training for Excellent Partnerships (STEP) programme, which uses the principles of positive reinforcement to teach our dogs everything they need to learn to be successful and happy in their lives.

Guide Dogs UK

What we learnt

The different aspects of training with a guide dog started with theory. These were short talks given my a member of staff at Guide Dogs. We would then get the chance to ask questions and discuss examples. Most of the talks were during week 1 as an introduction to things we would then work on.

While on class, the talks included:

• commands used: place, drop, sit, find the [object]
• how dogs learn and behave
• Positive Reinforcement Training (PRT)
• STEP programme: Guide Dogs new training framework
• off kerb obstacles: if a car is parked on the pavement and you have to go into the road
• animal welfare: how to look after a dog, grooming, weight management
• enrichment: toys, food, exercise
• free running: letting your guide dog off the lead to play and run
• traffic training: ensuring the guide dog ignores your command to cross the road if there is a car

Dog welfare principles (Guide Dogs UK)

Foot positions

I like to think the foot positions are guide dog ballet! This was also the point I realised that it’s more complicated than you think. When working a guide dog in harness, there are 3 foot positions that can be used.

Position 1 is where both feet are together and inline with the front legs of your guide dog. When your guide dog stops at a kerb, your feet will end up in position 1.

Position 2 is when you’re in position 1, but move your right foot back one pace. You would do this before setting off from a kerb or to move forwards.

Position 3 is when you bring both feet back and inline with the back legs of your guide dog. You would do this if you’re going to turn right or do a back right. I’ll explain what a back right is…

Directional turns and commands

Directional turns basically mean the commands you would use when walking with a a guide dog. It will make them change what they are doing. Some of them are pretty self explanatory:

• left
• right
• forward
• back: turn around (not walking backwards!)
• stand: stop and stand still

On the other hand, some were completely new to me:

• back right
• left in front

What is a back right and why would you use it?

A back right is technically going left. If you’re at the kerb edge (in position 1) and want to turn left, that would mean you step into the road.

Imagine the guide dog is on your left hand side, when you follow their left turn at a kerb edge, you would step off the kerb (into the road) and pivot around them.

To avoid this, go into position 3 (both feet back) and use the command ‘back’. The guide dog will then walk in front of you and start turning you around. You would follow them and continue saying ‘back’. Once you’ve turned 180 degrees, your back is facing the road. Then use the command ‘right’.

I promise it ends up being easier and quicker than it sounds. Most importantly, it means neither of you go off the kerb and stay on the path.

What is a left in front?

Luckily, a left in front is simpler. If you have come to a ‘stand’ and want to go left, you can step forwards and use your body position to turn left. Then you can say the command ‘left’ and there is room behind you for the guide dog to turn on the spot.

Straight line principles

All guide dogs are taught the straight line principle. This means they will walk in a straight line until they come to an obstacle or kerb. A guide dog owner can use the straight line principle to orientate themselves and know where they are.

For example, Dezzie might indent and go slightly round a corner before bringing me to the kerb. This is so we are crossing at the shortest point. Once we have crossed the road, we would outdent and continue straight. This is known as a rounded kerb.

Learning the basics

The first 2 weeks allowed us to learn the basics. These included foot positions, directional turns and:

• walking a guide dog in harness
• locating objects: chair, door, crossing boxes, kerbs
• rounded kerbs
• off kerb obstacles: around cars, bins, roadworks
• going up or down stairs

What a guide dog does (Guide Dogs UK)

When working a guide dog, you have to combine all of these elements. Like the other parts of training, we would start in a quiet housing estate and work on one thing at a time. For example, we went to a certain place twice to practice off kerb obstacles.

Over time, we built it up to busier environments, maybe combining a few techniques. By the end of week 2, we were in a busier place combining everything into one route!

What’s next?

Weeks 3 to 5 are about using the skills we’ve learnt and applying them to my local area.

As I finish writing this post, I’m halfway through my 4th week of training. This is only the start of my journey of having a guide dog, but I already feel so lucky to have been matched with Dezzie. Everything is falling into place.

Read more: The emotional adjustment of getting a guide dog

I hope this blog post has been helpful to future guide dog owners and people who want to know what the training involves. I look forward to sharing what we’ve been up in weeks 3 to 5 soon.

~ Chloe x