The Training of the Young Dog

Evaluation of the Young Dog

When the dog is one year old, he will undergo a thorough medical examination. During this examination hips and other joints are checked for abnormalities such as hip and elbow dysplasia. The eyes are also checked by a specialist for hereditary defects.
If the dog is medically approved, he will come to our training center a few months after. During the first few weeks at school, the behavior of the dog in particular is observed in numerous circumstances and an evaluation is made as to whether he is also capable of starting his training.

The Training of the Dog

The training of the dog takes an average of about 8 months. The starting point of the training is that the dog should enjoy the training and the guidance work. That is why the dog is mainly trained in a positive way: with rewards and encouragement.

The dogs are trained with a lot of patience and love, to become reliable, self-confident guide dogs.

During the training the dog will both learn to perform certain commands on command, and to do a number of things completely independently for his owner. Working independently consists mainly of circumventing obstacles and choosing the most optimal road, for example when road-blocks on the sidewalk occur. Working independently also includes refusing a command. This means that the dog refuses a command given by the owner if the execution of the command would get the owner into a dangerous situation like stopping at a platform edge or deep hole in the road, while the command is given to walk straight ahead.