ORIENTATION, MOBILITY AND DOG GUIDES

July 17th, 2015Paula GreenMichael McLaughlinKelly McKeage

INTRODUCTION Terminology:

Handler: A person who works with a dog in a professional manner. For example: a person who is blind who works together with the dog for mobility purposes, or a police officer who works in partnership with a dog.

Unit: The handler and the dog together.

CANE OR DOG? DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIESCane Traveller Dog Guide Traveller

Listens for clues in the EnvironmentMakes traffic judgements

Relies on sense of distance travelled

Relies on tactile cues Follows the dog’s lead around obstacles

Does not need to assess or interpret the cane’s behaviour.

Assess their dog’s actions and behaviour interpreting it for orientation and other environmental information.

Moves as fast as he/she can, potential hesitations

Moves as fast as he/she can in combination with a dog, fewer hesitations due to trust of the dog.

HOW DO THE DOGS RECEIVE TRAINING?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjVbYES3ygg

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER IF APPLYING FOR A DOG GUIDE

Am I a responsible person with an active life?

Am I physically active? Healthy? Have I received orientation and mobility

training? What is my age?

SEVERAL FACTORS THAT NEED TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT WHEN APPLYING

FOR A GUIDE DOG

The Orientation and Mobility Specialist will advise on these factors:

Personal Preference Life Circumstances and Activity Level Age Physical and Mental Health Hearing Amount of Remaining Vision Orientation Skills

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3g9sehEmew

HOW CAN DOG GUIDES IMPACT AN INDIVIDUAL WHO IS BLIND?

https://www.youtube.com/user/seeing4me

THE ROLE OF THE ORIENTATION AND MOBILITY SPECIALIST

To act as an advisor to those who are considering becoming a handler

To submit O & M report to the Dog Guide School

To help the student orient him/herself in a complex environment in preparation for travelling with the dog guide. This preparation may include coaching, monitoring (solo phase), and self-familiarization

To be a resource in troubleshooting issues with the unit if needed

ORIENTATION AND MOBILITY SPECIALIST REPORT

This report is given to the dog guide school to help evaluate the mobility of the applicant.

The report includes the candidate’s...CoordinationBalance and strengthOrientation skillsAbility to align with traffic soundsAbility to recover when disorientedThe amount of mobility instruction already

received

TROUBLESHOOTING

The dog guide user may request the help of the O&M specialist

It is important that any criticisms made about the dog or the unit should be made carefully, as the handler may be overprotective, and these criticisms should be addressed with the school in a team approach.

ON A FINAL NOTE... Need a different perspective...check out

this facebook page

REFERENCES

Rick Mercer Report. (2013, February 26). RMR: Rick and Guide Dogs [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjVbYES3ygg

The Seeing Eye. (2013, December 24). An

Extraordinary Dog to Help Me Be Ordinary [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/user/seeing4me