question about blind people and guide dogs

[sneaky]

I'll start by saying this is a serious question that i want to know the answer to and i figured it would be better to ask here rather than ask a random blind person in the street.

Ok so, a few weeks ago i started catching the train to and from work and noticed a blind lady with her dog at the station a few times. This got me thinking about how you train the dogs to know where the station is.

So the question is - how does the dog know to get to the station from home, or which platform is which when they get there?

Probably a simple answer, but i'm amazed by the owners and animals

[GASWAGON]

I think you would find that the finding the station part is done by the blind person knowing in their heads where to walk to get to station......Then while on train they have the voice over telling which station is next up so they use that to know where to get off.

They must learn some sort of internal map in their heads to know where to walk.

[hawkgirl]

the dogs do learn a surprising amount of names & places.... if you get a chance
read a book called "emma & i" about a blind woman & her guide dog emma, you'll be amazed.
training of guide dogs is insanely tough & only the smartest, most adaptable dogs will make it

[Dash_XR]

Yeah they can learn specific routes, can only take them a couple of days. They are smarter then most pedestrians.

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by Dash_XR

Yeah they can learn specific routes, can only take them a couple of days. They are smarter then most pedestrians and Harold Scruby.

Fixed it for you

[Geez Louise]

Guide dogs are fully trained before they are homed with a vision impaired person. They are then shown the more familiar routes that person takes, whilst a sighted person is there.

If you want to know about the how's and why's of guide dog training...have a read of the Victorian Guide Dog website...good info on there. I am sure other states have similar websites

Cheers
Col

[Dash_XR]

Originally Posted by GasOLane

Fixed it for you

I was being serious too haha.

[MS33LU]

I think you're giving to much credit to the dog, a blind person has only lost their sight not their other senses. They can use the other senses to remember their way around. Just as you remember to turn left at certain corner because of a visual reminder, a blind person may remember the smell of a bakery or the smell of a plant as a reminder of what part of their journey they are on. Remember the majority of blind people don't use a dog but use a cane which I can guarantee has not been "trained". There are some who manage to get around with no aids at all.

[Grunter]

How does having a Seeing Eye Dog help a person who is vision impaired?

Seeing Eye Dogs enable Australians with a vision impairment to retain their independence and mobility.

For the right person, a Seeing Eye Dog is a far better option than using a cane allowing them to move more quickly and navigate obstacles with much more reliability and safety. A Seeing Eye Dog can use its own initiative to stop at roads and move its owner out of the path of danger.

A Seeing Eye Dog also provides constant companionship, alleviating the effects of loneliness, depression and contributing to an all-round better quality of life.

http://seda.visionaustralia.org/how-...seeing-eye-dog

[FoxtrotGolfXray 5.0]

This page has some specific info on training for trains and stations. Worth a read.

https://www.guidedogsvictoria.com.au...-dog-training/

If you wanted more specifics, you could drop the guide dogs an e-mail through their contact page and I'm sure they would provide you with the info you are after. I have always found the Guide Dogs Organisations very approachable and it is one of the charities that I donate to year after year (I buy the guide dogs calendar every year. I know it is not much, but I certainly hope it helps).

Hope that helps.

Craig H

[sneaky]

thanks people, was just something i was wondering about and then the kids asked me as well.

dad actually sponsors a guide dog in nsw and for the money you get photos and updates plus an invite to the guide dog centre in sydney once a year - maybe i should go down for the open day.

[carwant.com.au]

About three months ago, there was a short documentary on dogs, I think channel 7. It showed the life of a Labrador from pup to guide dog and also showed what dogs have been known to do, such as detect cancer on the dogs owner.

The documentary went for about an hour and was out of the UK. I don't know what it was called unfortunately, but was amazing to watch

[Spurious]

There's blind & then there's vision impaired.

I'm under the impression that those who have a severe impairment will use either cane or dog, or both.

Then there's the difference between those who have never had sight & those who have lost their sight.

I believe for someone who has never had sight would find it very difficult to move around unaided (by another person that is), if they've never had the benefit of vision as a learning experience it would take years of being led around to learn certain routes.

I also think it would be easy to tell the difference between those who are completely blind & those who have an impairment.
Those who are impaired won't wear glasses, to aid in mobility.Those who are completely blind would most likely wear darkened glasses to alert others of the disability.

To live unaided in either circumstance is possible but it takes years of repetitive behaviour & movement through the same area.
Must **** blind people right off when local councils change intersections & such!

I have had vision impairment. Years ago I developed optic neuritis. Thankfully, even though both eyes were affected, it happened a couple of years apart, one eye at a time.
Over the course of about 8 weeks on each occasion I slowly lost the sight in the eye until no light penetrated the optic nerve at all, then it slowly came back.
To look at me you couldn't tell the difference, but I was a really clumsy oaf for those 8 weeks. Bumping door frames, spilling drinks & tripping over things.
Scarily enough I still drove, just had to choose my parking spots carefully & take my time parking & slow right down for oncoming traffic...just in case.

Vision never fully recovers after optic neuritis. I get reminded when driving with sunnies on & I go through a heavily treed area, as my eyes take a few seconds to readjust to the sudden the lack of light, or if I walk from outside (daylight) in to a dark shed, same thing, takes the eyes a bit to adjust.
Oncoming headlights are a ***** too!
I also lost 90% of my hearing once too, but that's another thread.

Put an eye patch over one of your eyes for 1 week & see how you go!

[sneaky]

Thanks for that flivverford. My wife had suggested maybe vision impaired people had the dogs, not completely blind people.

I'll pass on the eye patch, i'm shonky enough without adding vision impairment to the list