With his big brown eyes, Benny is undoubtedly the most attractive guide I’ve ever met.
We exchange glances before his tongue extends . . . and his tail wags.
I’ve come to the Irish Guide Dogs National training center in Cork to experience for myself what it’s like to walk with the aid of one of these amazing animals.
On the drive down to Cork the questions pop into my head. How can they get the visually impaired person to their destination safely every time? How do they stop themselves from chasing cats or other dogs? Do they have the ability to think on their own four feet, or are they totally instruction-driven?
Golden retriever Benny, who is 18-months-old, will only be able to answer some of those questions so I’m also joined by Cliodhna Ni Laoghaire, a guide-dog mobility instructor at the center and PJ Hogan, the training team leader.
Nonchalantly, Cliodhna produces a blind-fold from her pocket. I pop it on and instantly the outside world disappears as we prepare to take on a course at the center.
“The dog always walks on your left and you should be in line with his back legs. Now take the hand grip but don’t hold it too rigidly, your arm should be relaxed,” directs Cliodhna.
I give Benny the verbal direction to walk straight on and before I know it I’m sauntering down the pathway at pace.
These dogs train for six to nine months but the instructors don’t rush an animal into work if he or she isn’t ready.
“We use three main stages when training the dogs,” explains Cliodhna.
“With a new instruction we firstly introduce it, then teach it and lastly consolidate it. Repetition and rewards are very important. As time moves on we will reduce the number of clues we give to the dog and usually they will remember the instruction without us having to tell them.”
Benny and I, with a little help from Cliodhna, are motoring along well but walking without vision is unnerving.
I feel comfortable but part of my brain seems to be yelling caution and so my muscles don’t feel totally relaxed. It makes me shuffle at times rather than pace freely.
“Good boy, well done,” I keep the praise coming and Benny laps it up.
We navigate our way around the virtual bollards seamlessly and I’m surprised by my progress. After 20 minutes of walking, I remove my blindfold and squint at the bright sun-light.
PJ has worked here for 28 years and explains how important it is that each dog is in his or her prime.
“You need to keep them ship- shape and in the best of health – I mean, they are worth about €38,000 each so they’re a hugely valuable commodity.
“Our breeding program is decades long so we’ve been able to breed the temperament that we want.”
So much goes into making sure the guide dogs – of which there are about 280 working in Ireland – are bred, trained and catered for nutritionally.
But what about those pesky cats and playful mutts – do they have the ability to side-track the likes of Benny here so he can’t do his job properly?
“The natural instinct is to be distracted by other animals but since they were puppies we’ve trained them to carry on doing their work. We positively reinforce this with rewards.
“It’s very important they don’t react as they need to have respect for their owner also,” explains Cliodhna.
Mid-way through the annual SHADES campaign, to raise money for the Irish Guide Dogs for the blind, its commercial manager Sinead O’Keefe explains that the need for donations is greater than ever.
“Over 80 percent of our funding comes from fundraising – sometimes people think we’re totally government-backed but we’re not. We receive no funding for our assistance dog program for children with autism, for example, and any funding we did get from the Department of Education for work in schools has ended.”
Benny buries his head under his paws as the grown-ups talk business. Even guide dogs deserve a nap.
‘Jake was a big hit at college’
In many ways, Martin Gordon feels a little sorry for his guide dog Gola, who he’s had for the last two and a half years.
“My previous dog, Jake, who was with me for over seven years, was there for the exciting time. He was with me through secondary school and college. He never knew when he was going home and was just one of the lads.
“Gola has been with me for the working years, which involve more traveling but maybe less fun.”
Now retired, Jake still lives with the Gordons in Sligo. “If Jake could talk he’d have some stories,” says Martin, who was the first guide-dog owner to sit his Leaving Certificate back in 2004 and who is now a barrister.
Born with glaucoma, the 28-year-old lost his sight in June 2002 after having a routine procedure at a London hospital to decrease pressure on an eyeball. The development was unrelated to his surgery.
The guide dogs, as well as advances in technology to help those with visual impairments get access to vital reading material, have transformed Martin’s life.
“From day one the guide dogs have just fitted in. In school, Jake was a big hit and at college in NUIG and Trinity he was something of a babe magnet,” jokes Martin.
When Jake was relieved of his duties in 2010, over 200 people attended his retirement party at McGrattan’s pub off Baggot Street in Dublin in an event which doubled as a fund-raiser for the Irish Guide Dogs.
‘The present I yearned for’
For Cobh student Clair Butler it was the 18th birthday present she’d yearned for.
No, not the keys to her first car or tickets to a round-the-world trip – but something which would give her greater independence in her daily life.
On April 28, 2009, she met Ashai, her first guide dog, and today she says she can’t imagine life without her playful retriever.
“I started training with the long cane when I was 13 and through secondary school but I really just wanted to throw it out the window. I had decided that once I turned 18 I was going to get a guide dog so I was straight in there.”
Clair, now 22, was born with Retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a degenerative eye disease that causes severe vision impairment.
While she has no peripheral vision she can still see straight in front of her, though factors such as lighting dictate how clear her sight can be.
Loyal and affectionate Ashai is the niece of Mattie – another guide dog owned by Clair’s father Brian who also has RP.
“Walking with a guide dig makes you much more confident. You can learn routes with the dog and that can be so useful. ”
The pair can be seen snapping up deals at Clair’s favorite stores on Cork’s Patrick Street or at Mahon Point shopping center.
A student of Early years and childhood studies at UCC, Clair also aspires to be a classical singer and tells me that Ashai has settled into college life.
~ Courtesy of Irish Independent
Tags: Cork training center, dog training, guide dog, Irish Guide Dogs national training center, service dog