German Shepherd Guide Dogs For The Blind

Guide dogs for the blind gdb is a guide dog school located in the united states with campuses in san rafael california and boring oregon it was founded in 1942 by lois merrihew and don donaldson to help veterans who had been blinded in world war ii guide dogs for the blind has about 2100 guide dog teams across the united states and canada.

German shepherd guide dogs for the blind.

Originally guide dogs were primarily german shepherds. Ever since that time it has been dedicated to giving guide dogs to the blind and the visually impaired at absolutely no cost to them. A german shepherd named blondie who had been rescued from a pasadena dog pound was one of the first dogs trained. Our german shepherd dogs have been assisting blind individuals all over the world with their daily.

Eye dog foundation was organized as a non profit corporation in 1952. Independence guide dogs is dedicated to increasing independence for blind individuals. The main purpose of a gsd guide dog is to provide both mobility and independence to it s visually impaired owner. Sometimes it has been difficult for schools to find german shepherds that were temperamentally and physically sound.

Igd trains and places the highest quality german shepherd guide dogs in the u s. Established in december 2011 independence guide dogs igd is a 501 c 3 organization. Fidelco guide dog foundation is committed to partnering men and women who are blind with our elite breed of german shepherd guide dogs. Through its groundbreaking home to harness and life training programs.

According to the uk based guide dogs for the blind association historically the golden retriever crossed with the labrador has produced the most successful guide dog of all combining many of the great traits of both breeds 4. Thought she was only famous for rin tin tin. Other times the trainers needed skills and traits that other breeds could better offer. Also called seeing eye dogs these assistance dogs also provide the important services as a loving companion to its master german shepherd guide dogs are among the oldest known assistance dogs to date.

She was the first guide dog for the blind. Eye dog foundation for the blind inc. They believed in the potential of dogs to serve as guides for the blind. Long gone are the days when only german shepherds were used as seeing eye dogs for the blind.

Wonderful dogs the reasons for using each breed varies. Merrihew and donaldson incorporated our school in may of 1942 and began instruction of students in a rented home in los gatos california south of san jose. A female german shepherd called buddy was the first guide dog in 1928 after training for a month in switzerland she came back to the u s. Clients receive their dogs free of charge.