How do guide dogs know when to cross the road

Have you ever wondered how guide dogs know when to cross the road or how they know where to go? Most people believe that dogs know the difference between red and green traffic lights. In fact, some people even think guide dogs can tell time. Here's how guide dog works. You might think it's the dog who makes the decisions when getting around but it is the handler who decides when to walk.

Guide dogs go through extensive training before they are given a handler. When the puppy is about 8 weeks old, it's placed in the home of a volunteer puppy raiser, where it's taught basic obedience and socialization and given lots of love.

When it's about 1 year old, the dog returns to The Seeing Eye and begins a four-month course of training with a sighted instructor. When the dog passes this phase, it's matched with a blind person and they train together, under the supervision of a sighted instructor.

Learn more about Seeing Eye dog training. How does a dog know when to cross the street? Dogs don't see colors the same way we do and can't read traffic lights. The dog's owner learns to judge the movement of traffic by its sounds. At the appropriate time, he or she will command the dog, "forward. This is called "intelligent disobedience. How does a dog know where a blind person wants to go? Blind people generally know their own communities and can direct their dogs wherever they want to go.

The basic commands are "forward," "right," and "left. During this time, the dog will also be watched to ensure that it is intelligent, friendly, a quick learner, and brave. Otherwise, the dog will have difficulty with the later parts of training and they will not make a good guide dog. On average, about half the puppies that are born to be guide dogs make it to the final stage of training. They will become the ones who will know where to go with their eventual owner.

At the age of one year, the dog should have mastered all the basic skills. They will then move to a guide dog training facility. In addition to this, guide dogs are also instructed to disobey dangerous commands. For instance, if their handler indicated that it was safe to cross the street when there is still traffic, the dog would refuse to move.

This training is achieved through a positive reinforcement system of praise and treats when the dog does something correctly. Verbal and collar cues are also utilized so that the dog understands which position the handler wants them to be in and where to go and when. Near the end of their training, the dogs are matched with their handler. The dog and handler are taught to work together so that they understand each other better. The pairing process is very important.

Usually, at this point, there is a two-week period where the dog and human bond. This is when the human would take the dog through a typical daily routine to make sure that everything will work smoothly between them. After that, the dog will be taken to its new home with its handler. Handy Hint: According to research, dogs can recognise up to words, including of course, their own name. Hello, curious kids! Ask an adult to send your question to curiouskids theconversation.

Festival of Social Science — Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire. Edition: Available editions United Kingdom. Become an author Sign up as a reader Sign in. Carmel Nottle , University of South Australia. How do guide dogs know where their owners want to go? Blindness Curious Kids guide dogs Vision impairment assistance dogs.