The mobility, independence and self-confidence of a blind / partially sighted person increase by a significant percentage when he / she walks on the street with a guide dog for the blind. A guide dog indicates a lot of things spontaneously or carries out all kinds of commands for the boss. Although a guide dog is very intelligent and does many things for its blind or severely visually impaired boss, a guide dog is not a robot that always does everything correctly and right from the first time. In addition, a guide dog has some limitations that are unknown to many people.
- What are the duties of a guide dog (spontaneously and on command)?
- Avoid obstacles
- Security in traffic
- Height obstacles
- Automatically stop and turn into side street
- Search commands
- Refuse command
- What can a guide dog not do for its blind or partially sighted owner?
- Assess moving objects
- Distinguish green or red lights
- Read
- Conclusion
What are the duties of a guide dog (spontaneously and on command)?
A guide dog avoids obstacles / Source: Kim Bols, http://www.visuelehandicap.be
Avoid obstacles
A guide dog avoids obstacles. For example, the guide dog ensures that the boss with a visual impairment does not run into garbage cans, incorrectly parked cars, road works, traffic bollards, bicycles lying half on the sidewalk, people who apparently had not reached their destination today, but yesterday, station stairs, ??
Security in traffic
In addition, the guide dog provides more security in traffic. As a blind / visually impaired person, it is no longer necessary to be extremely concentrated. With a white stick he has to keep an eye / ear on a lot: oncoming cyclists and moped riders, children playing, cars racing by, vans, trucks at intersections and of course the obstacles described above.
Height obstacles
Guide dogs – unlike a white cane – also look at height obstacles and take them into account so that the owner does not run into them. Just think of overhanging canopies, overhanging branches / leaves, traffic signs that are too low, ?? Many shops and companies also make publicity through flags. When these hang at eye level, this is very difficult. Fortunately, a guide dog detects them perfectly and bypasses them in time.
Automatically stop and turn into side street
A guide dog indicates certain things by stopping or turning in something: It stops automatically in front of a curb and at a pedestrian crossing, and it automatically turns a side street to the right or left. For example, the guide dog user counts streets and crosses the side street when he does not need to be there. For example, a supermarket is located in the third side street on the left. When the guide dog turns into the third side street, the user knows not to cross that side street but to continue on. He knows that he can then ask the guide dog for the command to report to the supermarket.
The guide dog searches for things on command / Source: Kim Bols, http://www.visuelehandicap.be
Search commands
A guide dog has several search commands, even in unfamiliar terrain: the curb, a pedestrian crossing, a seat, a cash register / reception / ticket window, the entrance and exit, a door, a rattle ticker, a ripple counter, stairs down / up ( with the handrail), the bus stop, the elevator, all kinds of famous people / places / street names that the user often repeats, ??
Refuse command
A guide dog has the power to refuse a command when it does Danger yields for the owner and / or the dog itself. For example, the dog blocks the user when there is a well on the sidewalk, he also does not walk straight on the platform so that the user does not struggle in the train tracks and the dog does not cross the street and blocks the user when he sees a cyclist or car approaching. . It takes a lot of effort to teach this to a guide dog; after all, he must learn to disobey selectively.
What can a guide dog not do for its blind or partially sighted owner?
Assess moving objects
Since movement is very difficult for a dog to estimate because of lack of depth perception, the dog sometimes makes a wrong assessment. Momentarily offer help in other words, remains welcome. The blind / visually impaired person will then indicate whether he / she would like to accept the assistance offered at that time. Concentration is still required, albeit to a different degree.
Distinguish green or red lights
Crossing at a green light is impossible for a guide dog. However, he does help with the right crossing. The owner must indicate when he wants to cross the road. If traffic is still approaching, the dog refuses the crossing command and blocks his owner. This is of course not evident as the dog now has to ignore a command to protect himself and his owner. Mind you, a guide dog is not a super animal, he also sometimes suffers from stress, fatigue, concentration problems and other things that may cause him to drop a stitch.
Read
A blind or visually impaired boss is usually unable to read bus or subway numbers. A guide dog does not know this either. Therefore, the boss asks another person help or he makes clear which bus or metro he needs via a number plate held up.
Conclusion
During his training, the dog expands his psychological body size to 1m to the right and 2m above him so that he protects himself and his owner. However, a guide dog is by no means a robot, nor does it determine the way itself. Both the guide dog and the owner receive thorough training to learn how to deal with the traffic image and all kinds of environments and situations.
