Dear Play Date: You are very perceptive to think that maybe having household pets and highly trained guide dogs for the blind play together might be questioned. Your intuition is right on target. Your pets and the new guide dogs should not be allowed to play together.

According to statistics, a majority of dog guide teams routinely experience some type of unwanted interference from other dogs. And while traveling on public property, more than one-third are attacked by loose or uncontrolled dogs. All types of canine interaction can be troubling to a blind person trying to rely on their guide dog.

It is important to remember that guide dogs are trained for a very specific duty. They are not family pets but working dogs. As such, they need special consideration. Unwanted distractions affect the dog’s ability to do its job. Play dates with your pets would be such a distraction.

According to the guide dog experts at The Seeing Eye, “any dog, regardless of size or breed, can pose a threat to a dog guide team. People who are blind routinely experience unwanted interference, whether it be a neighbor’s pet that enthusiastically runs out to greet the team, the family “guard” dog who menacingly growls and barks or circles the team as they pass its territory, or the well-meaning pet owner who brings a leashed animal over to visit the dog guide.” This organization also offers the following tips for pet owners who come into contact with guide dogs and who want to practice responsible dog ownership in general:

Top 10 Tips

1. Learn about and obey your state and local leash laws.  In many states it’s a criminal offense to permit your dog to attack or interfere with a dog guide.

2. Never let your pet near a dog guide, even if your dog is leashed.  Dog guides are working animals and must never be distracted from their duties.

3. Alert the blind person of your dog’s presence when passing by the team. A simple greeting of “Hi, I have a dog with me” is often appreciated.  

4. Keep your dog under good control at all times. Using flexi-leads in populated areas and leaving your dog tied up outside unattended in a public place endanger both the dog guide team and your own dog.

5. Never allow a child or anyone unable to control your dog to walk it on a leash.

6. Learn as much as possible about your family pet and its breed characteristics, especially relating to temperament.

7. Enroll your dog in obedience classes. Properly socialized and trained dogs make better pets.

8. Immunize against rabies and spay or neuter all household dogs.

9. Report any loose dogs roaming about in your neighborhood to the local police and animal control offices. Unsupervised pets in unfenced yards should also be reported.

10. Offer assistance to a blind handler if you witness an attack or interference on a dog guide. If it is your dog that causes the problem, take responsibility for its actions. 

For more information, contact The Seeing Eye Advocacy Council at (973) 539-4425 or email advocacy@seeingeye.org.

Lisa’s Pick of the Litter

Another wonderful guide dog organization, Guiding Eyes for the Blind, (http://www.guiding-eyes.org) is currently looking for foster families to either raise a potential guide dog from puppy hood or to adopt an active brood bitch or stud dog.

According to its web site, “Guiding Eyes for the Blind is an internationally recognized guide dog school. Our world-renowned breeding program produces some of the finest Labrador Retriever, German Shepherd and Golden Retriever guide dogs in the world. Guiding Eyes has more than 500 volunteer puppy raisers from Maine to North Carolina. These caring, dedicated people are the ‘heart and soul’ of the Guiding Eyes program.”

Join them today as a volunteer!  

Lisa Peterson, a long-time breeder of Norwegian Elkhounds, is the Club Communications Manager at the American Kennel Club. Contact her at ask@lisa-peterson.com  or Dogma Publishing, P.O. Box 307, Newtown, CT 06470.