{"id":46,"date":"2007-12-04T23:16:04","date_gmt":"2007-12-04T23:16:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/earthtravel.net\/dog\/?p=46"},"modified":"2008-04-14T14:16:46","modified_gmt":"2008-04-14T22:16:46","slug":"guide-dogs-for-the-blind-training-phases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/earthtravel.net\/dog\/?p=46","title":{"rendered":"Guide Dogs for the Blind &#8211; Training Phases"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Phase #1<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Pre-training physical exam<\/li>\n<li>Neutering\/spaying (with the exception of potential breeding stock dogs who are under evaluation at this time)<\/li>\n<li>X-rays<\/li>\n<li>Eye checks<\/li>\n<li>Relaxing walks on campus and play sessions<\/li>\n<li>Introduction to the kennel environment and schedule<\/li>\n<li>General daily care and grooming<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phase #2<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Preliminary obedience training<\/li>\n<li>Exposure to distractions (toys, food, other dogs, cats, etc.)<\/li>\n<li>First on-campus workouts with a harness<\/li>\n<li>Introduction to the BEST program training techniques (including treadmill sessions)<\/li>\n<li>Sessions to teach guidework-specific commands (such as &#8220;Forward,&#8221; &#8220;Halt,&#8221; &#8220;Hop Up&#8221; and &#8220;Steady&#8221;) and the desired responses to the commands<\/li>\n<li>On leash introduction to the campus obstacle course<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phase #3<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Guidework training in quiet residential areas<\/li>\n<li>Frequent rides in the training vans<\/li>\n<li>Introduction to more advanced guidework commands and responses (&#8220;Right,&#8221; &#8220;Left,&#8221; and &#8220;Over Here,&#8221;); continued training on commands learned in Phase #2<\/li>\n<li>Introduction of curbs and street crossings<\/li>\n<li>Progressive obstacle course training on campus<\/li>\n<li>Continued obedience training<\/li>\n<li>Mall exposure walks<\/li>\n<li>Dog social sessions<\/li>\n<li>Neutering\/spaying for those dogs dropped from the breeder-watch list<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phase #4<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Progression of guidework training: more difficult sidewalks in busier sections of downtown areas<\/li>\n<li>Training on more complex street crossings and curbs<\/li>\n<li>Obstacle clearance initiated by the dogs; they begin to guide their mobility instructors through the campus obstacle course<\/li>\n<li>Preliminary obedience testing and evaluation of the dogs&#8217; reactions to head collars<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phase #5<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Preliminary guidework testing with the mobility instructor under blindfold<\/li>\n<li>Complete veterinary history review<\/li>\n<li>More challenging guidework training environments (pedestrian traffic, stairs, different flooring surfaces, etc.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phase #6<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Guidework routes in difficult and challenging work environments (heavy pedestrian and vehicle traffic areas, wide crossings, hectic atmospheres, etc.)<\/li>\n<li>Introduction to sidewalkless areas and rounded curbs<\/li>\n<li>Continued work in malls, stores and buildings, with increasing exposure to varying sights, sounds and smells<\/li>\n<li>Lessons in advanced guidework skills, such as moving turns<\/li>\n<li>Introduction to &#8220;intelligent disobedience&#8221; (dogs learn to refuse to obey a command if it is unsafe to execute)<\/li>\n<li>Advanced obedience training<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phase #7<\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"arial-2-left\"><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Guidework in extremely challenging downtown urban areas (San Francisco and Portland)<\/li>\n<li>Training on buses, light rail\/subway systems and platform edges<\/li>\n<li>Introduction to low overhead clearances<\/li>\n<li>Advanced off-leash obedience<\/li>\n<li>Formal traffic training<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phase #8<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Advanced guidework and obedience training continues<\/li>\n<li>Intensive indoor mall training with crowds and slick floors<\/li>\n<li>Escalator training<\/li>\n<li>Advanced sidewalkless training with obstacles.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phase #9<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Final obedience testing, including on-leash obedience with the mobility instructor wearing a blindfold<\/li>\n<li>Off-leash obedience with distractions<\/li>\n<li>Workouts with unfamiliar or novice handlers<\/li>\n<li>Final traffic testing with instructor under blindfold and &#8220;real life&#8221; traffic situations<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phase #10<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Final guidework testing: city streets. Includes working a 40-50 minute route with the mobility instructor wearing a blindfold in downtown Gresham or San Rafael. The route covers nearly every aspect of guidework (curbs, street crossings, stairs, buildings, crowded sidewalks, traffic, etc.); obedience exercises are done along the way.<\/li>\n<li>Final guidework testing: inside buildings (malls, stores, etc.). Includes working escalators, elevators, stairs, etc. with the mobility instructor wearing a blindfold.<\/li>\n<li>Final physical exams<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><font size=\"2\" face=\"Arial\">\u00a0(From <\/font><a href=\"http:\/\/www.guidedogs.com\/breeding-whelp.html\"><font size=\"2\" face=\"Arial\">Guide Dogs for the Blind<\/font><\/a><font size=\"2\" face=\"Arial\">)<\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Phase #1 Pre-training physical exam Neutering\/spaying (with the exception of potential breeding stock dogs who are under evaluation at this time) X-rays Eye checks Relaxing walks on campus and play sessions Introduction to the kennel environment and schedule General daily care and grooming Phase #2 Preliminary obedience training Exposure to distractions (toys, food, other dogs, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[90,89,88,92,91],"class_list":["post-46","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-training-phases","tag-blind","tag-dogs","tag-guide","tag-phases","tag-training"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/earthtravel.net\/dog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/earthtravel.net\/dog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/earthtravel.net\/dog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/earthtravel.net\/dog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/earthtravel.net\/dog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=46"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/earthtravel.net\/dog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/earthtravel.net\/dog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=46"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/earthtravel.net\/dog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=46"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/earthtravel.net\/dog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=46"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}