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Guide dogs deal with more distractions now
LOS ANGELES -- Guide dogs and their handlers always have undergone intense training on dealing with distractions from squirrels to skateboarders. But today's guide dogs have a whole new generation of things to worry about: quiet cars, button-activated walk signals, stroller traffic on handicapped curb-cuts, and a greater likelihood of interacting with other dogs.
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"It used to be you encountered other dogs mostly on sidewalks while you were going down the street," said Morgan Watkins, acting president and chief executive officer of Guide Dogs for the Blind, which has campuses in San Rafael, north of San Francisco, and in Boring, Ore.
Nowadays, he said, a guide dog might encounter another dog in a supermarket aisle or at the mall or the dentist's office, he said. There are few places pets can't be found these days.
"We work very hard with the assumption that your dog can be distracted anywhere," said Watkins, who started losing his vision at age 11.
Anything or anyone that keeps a guide dog from focusing on its work is considered a distraction -- and becomes something the dog is trained to ignore.
But everyone can help guide dogs and their handlers avoid some distractions. One basic rule: Don't pet a guide dog without permission.
Because the dogs are so highly trained and well-behaved, people want to touch them, Watkins said. Many times, he said, he has reached down to learn which way his dog Will is looking, only to find someone else's hand already on the dog.
Another simple way to minimize distractions for guide dogs is to keep your own dog leashed.
But if a dog barks at Will, Watkins said he probably would keep moving. "Odds are he won't flinch," he said. Guide dogs also are not trained to fight. If a guide dog is attacked by another animal, handlers will drop the harness and call for help.
Another new distraction or hazard for guide dog teams is the electric car.
Watkins has excellent hearing and usually can make out the sound of an electric car, but it's difficult at noisy intersections. That's why guide dogs are taught intelligent disobedience -- defying an order to keep a partner safe, Watkins explained. If Watkins tells Will to go and there is an electric car going through an intersection, he will not go.
When the dog disobeys, "I follow my dog. It's part of the trust," he said.
In addition to quiet cars, other environmental elements and distractions that have necessitated changes in guide-dog training include six-lane str
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