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Guide Dog Users of Canada

Guide Dog Team Well-being

Physical, mental, and emotional well-being of a guide dog and his or her handler is essential to the smooth working of a guide dog team. For handlers, the hurried pace of everyday life can sometimes lead us to forget that our dogs pick up on our stress as well. Guide dog handlers learn to read and sense the emotions of their dogs, and learning how to interpret these indicators can greatly improve the communication and effectiveness of the guide dog team.

Guide Dog Users of Canada is committed to providing an empathetic ear to those handlers who are encountering problems with their guides and simply need someone to listen, who understands the complexities and unique dynamic of a guide dog team. To that end, we have established the GDUC Care Officer program to assist those guide dog handlers in need.

The Issue

  • It is all too easy to become frustrated with a guide dog who is not working properly, or who does not seem to be happy with their work. Learning to better interpret the signals being communicated by a dog, and how to recognize the unconscious signals we, in turn, are sending to our dogs, is important. This is a life-long learning process that goes far beyond what guide dog schools are able to teach in class.

GDUC’s Approach

  • GDUC has established the Care Officer program to assist those guide dog handlers in need by linking them to another, experienced guide dog handler who may be able to offer an empathetic ear and some basic advice on how to proceed.

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