Guide Dogs: temperament, care essentials & FAQs

A guide dog is a working dog whose main job is to replace the eyes of the visually impaired and guide them. It is known as the "second pair of eyes for the blind." When they lead the way, they provide clues about obstacles and directions to help the blind person reach their destination, rather than directly taking the blind person to the designated destination. Blind people will use passwords to command their guide dogs to go straight, turn right or turn left on the road. During this stretch of the road, the guide dogs are responsible for preventing their owners from colliding and falling, or leading their owners to avoid obstacles when the road conditions change suddenly. This requires users of guide dogs to have stable and good directional walking abilities. Medium-sized dogs such as Labradors, Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, and Golden Labrador Retrievers (a mix of Labrador and Golden Retrievers) are all dog breeds suitable for training as guide dogs. Among them, Labradors account for the majority, mainly because short-haired dogs are easy to care for. Although people can train guide dogs to avoid obstacles on the road, dogs' eyes can only see different shades of gray, so they cannot recognize traffic lights, and some guide dogs cannot recognize signs on the road.