[NAGDU] Guide dogs aroundthe world, current developments

[Bianka]

Hello list, 

A few days back I was watching a Youtube channel about a guide dog puppy in training, I think it was a GdB puppy. The series got me thinking. When I considered first training with a guide dog I joined Buddy-l and found out that there are major cultural differences in guide dog training. For example, in Germany, you have to provide your guide dog with free running time, no leash, no harness and ideally you have to find dogs your dog can sozialize with. My school requires us to provide about one hour a day free time for the dog in which he/she does not wear  a harness and preferably some of this time should be off leash outside in a park,  or in the country or the forest. Also, we don‘t use hand signals or position to convey commands to the dog and tie downs or crates are a rarity. No prong collars are allowed, although some people use head collars like Haltis or Gentle leaders. Also, our dogs are taught to go into the street when something is blocking the curb, to go around the obstacle and then return to the curb. Slowly, schools start teaching blind handlers to pick up after their dogs. We have about 30 to 40 commands a dog is required to know when fully trained, a lot of them find commands. 

I was wondering, how is the policy in the U. S. Or in other countries around off leash recall these days? Did something change in the last years as clicker training and food rewards have been introduced regarding the training and handling of guide dogs? 

I am just currious here. 

Thanks for reading. ..

Kind regards,

Bianka