Guide Dog

Volume 4, Issue 1

International Parti Poodle Gazette

January 2008

JP on the night of his graduation

POODLES IN THE GUIDE DOG PROGRAM

Authors: Heather Bryan
Rita Brown
Prodigy Poodles
www.standardpartipoodle.com

Early in the spring of 2005, I received a phone call from Lori Murphy, a volunteer for Guide Dogs of the Desert International (GDDI) of Palm Springs, California. GDDI provides dogs for legally blind individuals, as well as for those individuals with other disabilities who have special needs. These guide dogs help them have a more mobile and independent life.

Lori stated that since they had received calls for hypoallergenic dogs, GDDI was integrating Standard Poodles into their program. I told her we would gladly donate a Poodle. To my surprise, she said that many Poodle breeders were against having their dogs become guides.

Within two months, we had produced a puppy we felt would be appropriate for the program. Lori came to meet the litter and subsequently took home the boy we had chosen. Because the puppy was introduced into the guide dog program around the time of Pope John Paul’s death, he was named JP.

After two weeks’ orientation at the Dogs of the Desert facility, JP went to his puppy raiser family. Guide puppy candidates live with raiser families for about sixteen months where they learn good manners, develop basic obedience skills, and receive lots of love and socialization. Guide dog puppies in training are allowed to accompany their raisers anywhere a blind person might go: work, grocery shopping, restaurants, shopping centers, movies, traveling, etc.

Periodically, we received information about how JP was doing. The family loved him: they took him traveling across country, worked on his manners and obedience skills, and went to many public places where he did very well. When he was a little over a year old, he was returned to the training facility in Palm Springs. I didn’t learn until much later that JP’s puppy raisers did not want to return him; they had offered a substantial amount of money to buy him from the program. (They were denied.)

Rita Brown with JP at Graduation

In March of 2007 while attending a dog show in Scottsdale, Arizona, we were sitting ringside with a breeder friend who was talking to some people. I was watching the show and not paying much attention to the conversation; however, I was brought into it when my breeder friend asked if I knew any breeders who had Poodles in the guide dog program. Of course I had to tell them about JP and how well he was doing. The couple immediately started crying, explaining that they had raised JP and had been searching for his breeders for nearly a year. (It is GGDI’s policy not to divulge to puppy raisers where donated puppies come from.)

When a puppy is returned to GGDI after living with the puppy raiser, he must pass eye, hip, and elbow examinations. So much time and effort goes into training these dogs that only the most sound and healthiest dogs are allowed to continue. Once he has clearance, he is allowed to enter the program. The dogs are then evaluated for correct temperament by professional trainers. It takes a certain mentality for a dog to become a successful guide as he must safely lead his blind handler through whatever he may encounter in the course of a day.

In order to keep their handler safe from harm, guide dogs must also learn about “intelligent disobedience.” For example, when a guide dog team is waiting on a curb to cross a street, the handler listens for traffic to determine when it is safe to cross. If, after listening to the traffic flow, the handler gives the dog the forward command but is unaware that a car is bearing down, the dog must have the judgment to disobey and not go ahead and cross the street. It is his responsibility to keep the handler safe.

Future guide dogs train at the GDDI facility for six to ten months. When the dog is deemed competent to guide a blind person, the matching process takes place. Dog and handler are matched according to the handler’s age, gait, pace, personality, and lifestyle. Once the match has been made, the student is brought to the GDDI training center for 28 days of in-residence training.

Connie and JP stand with Heather Bryan and Rita Brown of Prodigy Poodles, as Rita officially announces JP's graduation.

Classes begin in quiet residential areas so dog and handler have the opportunity to build a trusting relationship with each other. By the time 28 days have passed, the new team will have experienced almost every situation they will encounter in their own world. They have worked in all types of traffic situations, shopped in grocery stores, dined in restaurants, gone to movies, flown in airplanes, and stayed overnight in a hotel. Working guide dogs must acquire very large vocabularies and know a great many commands.

Prodigy Poodles place setting at Graduation

Lori called us in September of 2007 to tell us that JP was matched and ready to graduate: he and his handler were in the final training stages, and graduation was set for October 7, 2007. As JP’s puppy raisers were unable to attend graduation, we were asked if we would like to present him to his new partner at the ceremony. What a fantastic experience! It is so completely rewarding to know that a dog you brought into this world would make such a wonderful difference in someone’s life.

JP’s partner Connie is a Vietnam veteran who is suffering from degenerating blindness caused by Agent Orange. Although she can see shapes and shadows, she is legally blind. Connie may not have full vision, but she can certainly tell the most vivid and colorful stories about things that have happened in her life! She has such a zest for living – only a Poodle could understand such exuberance!

In November of 2007, we again donated a puppy for the guide dog program. When the puppies were six weeks old, GDDI trainers came out to make the initial evaluation and were very impressed with the temperament of the litter. Within an hour after they left, we received a call asking if they could also purchase a female puppy to incorporate into their breeding program.

The Dogs of the Desert program relies entirely on donations. All of their services are provided free of charge to the blind, and all of their staff and volunteers spend countless hours in their passion and spirit of help. Our experience with GDDI has been very rewarding, and we hope to continue our relationship with this worthy organization.

For more information on the Dogs of the Desert program, contact them by calling:
(760) 329-6257 or by visiting their website: http://www.guidedogsofthedesert.org/index2.html