[The importance of the guide dog--does the guide dog still have a place in the next century?].
The guide dog is the sole living sensory aid recognized by Germany's statutory health insurance and medical rehabilitation system to help a blind person to compensate for the loss of eyesight. The guide dog is also the only recognized mobility aid that enables a blind person to reach destinations with greater speed and confidence by locating obstacles such as steps and ditches and avoiding them. Leading a person through traffic is not a dog's natural trait. Therefore, training and safety standards are essential to ensure smooth teamwork and communication between handler and dog. The guide dog offers much more than a simple technical aid such as a walking stick but not as much as a seeing human companion. To make up for this deficit, the blind person must also learn how to orientate him or herself and not just depend on the dog. For people blinded later in life a reliable guide dog can be an "aid with soul" that provides pet-facilitated therapy and companionship. On the other hand, a guide dog with character disturbances, physical deficiencies or insufficient training can become an additional burden and social hindrance--even a danger for the person it is supposed to be protecting and others such as motorists. The puppy chosen to become a guide dog requires expert trainers and host families to rear and socialize it to interact appropriately with other dogs and other human beings. This stable upbringing is particularly important for the dog as it grows up and is confronted with negative influences. The blind person too learns to conceptualize the animal's own "dog world" so that he or she can build a firmer bond of trust.
Riederle
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D017087:Animal Rights; D000818:Animals; D001766:Blindness / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D001841:Human-Animal Bond; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012682:Sensory Aids / Q000639:trends; D012943:Social Security