Dot to dot. A new skill every day. In five minutes. Hey guys.
Today we're going to look at something that is going to be very niche, so apologies in advance. This is UK only, and it's also for people who are guide dog owners, so this isn't going to appeal or be relevant to most of our listeners, but as many people know, I'm a guide dog owner myself, Hugo, guide dog number four. He's doing really well. But guide dogs this month have brought out a skill here in the UK where you can ask lots of information and advice about being a guide dog owner.
Alexa, open guide dogs. Hello. Welcome to guide dogs. I'm here to help you with any questions you have around working with or taking care of your dog.
If you have a specific question, please ask me. Alternatively, do you want to hear information about? One. Working with your guide dog.
Two. Caring for your guide dog. Two. Okay.
Excellent. I'd be happy to help you with this topic. Caring for your dog is a very rewarding experience. Which area of dog welfare are you interested in?
I have information about. One. Health. Two.
Feeding. Grooming. It's important to always check your dog's physical health and grooming in a positive way and with proper equipment. This will help you and your dog bond, increasing the chance of identifying problems early on.
Okay. Grooming is a great bonding experience with your dog and is necessary to maintain both comfort and hygiene as it helps identify health problems early. Your community team should show you how to groom your dog. Before grooming, wash your hands and make sure your dog is comfortable and willing to cooperate.
If at any time your dog is unhappy being groomed, please stop the activity and inform your community team of your concerns. Would you like to hear the steps for grooming? Recall. At Guide Dogs, we are committed to using the latest, most ethical and scientifically proven techniques to train our dogs.
Did you know your dog's training started from when they were just a few weeks old? Always keep training sessions short when you're practicing. Five minutes is plenty. Adding play into your practice sessions will make sure your dog enjoys responding to your verbal cues, helping you maintain a healthy working relationship.
Remember to reinforce your dog for correct responses with their favorite reward. Practice these behaviors in lots of different places so your dog responds to the cue word regardless of where you are. Okay, Guide Dogs are trained to come back and touch your hand with their nose when they hear three or four short sharp blasts on the whistle. This is important and useful behavior to maintain, so always follow the sound of the whistle with something exciting.
This will help make sure your dog always comes back when you blow the whistle. Remember to practice whistle calls in your house and garden as well as on free runs. There are many great commands you can use. Are you curious about any others?
Stop. I hope this has helped. If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask. Goodbye.
For people who aren't familiar with trained service dogs, there's a lot more to it than you think. We've just got a tiny glimpse there. Yeah, recall. Really important to reinforce that on a regular basis along with a lot of other good behaviors.
Anyway, I hope that's of interest, well, of use to people who are guide dog owners or interested in being a volunteer even for the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association here in the UK, or just curious about what it's like to own a guide dog. Brilliant. Thanks, guys. Speak again tomorrow.
Feedback, comments, demos. The dot-to-dot podcast at gmail.com. Recast.fm.