Must Love Dogs
After sending off a couple of important e-mails this morning, I decided it was time for a treat. It’s been a little while since I’ve actually done anything even remotely noteworthy during a weekend. So in the face of murky grey skies and incessant drizzle, Mum and I headed over to the Guide Dogs Victoria Open Day, held at their training facility in Kew.
I’m a big animal lover, and a total sucker for dogs. They’re great company, loyal, affectionate, perceptive and intelligent. I often think it’s such a shame that our pets have to rely on selfish beings like us for their care and welfare.
The inclement weather didn’t seem to deter people from showing up to the open day. The prospect of seeing lots of very cute and clever pups attracted older people, young couples, families with young kids and plenty of … er, bigger kids too. The biggest drawcard was the demonstration area, featuring a detailed rundown of the journey from pup to trained guide dog. It sure was an eye-opener. The organisation receives no government funding, so I’m guessing it relies on lots of donations from private sources. Each animal takes about 18 months to train and golly, it’s an expensive process to nurture one of these cute lil' critters.
If you think about what most dogs are like – sociable, inquisitive and impulsive, the process of training one of these amazing animals involves teaching them to behave in a way that’s quite contrary to their nature. Basic things like ignoring food on the ground, other dogs, cats, plants, wheelie bins, bikes, joggers, trolleys, little kids running up for a friendly pat … the average guide dog is taught to be indifferent to all these stimuli. Yet watching them after being put through their paces for the transfixed crowd, they’re clearly affectionate and responsive to their handlers’ praise. I can’t help but marvel at how these animals are trained for such a massive task - how they’re taught to lead … and if necessary, to disobey, in order to keep their unsighted handler safe.
It’s a constant source of amazement to me just how intuitive and intelligent these creatures are. As I said, it’s a shame that they have to rely on us for so much.
I’m a big animal lover, and a total sucker for dogs. They’re great company, loyal, affectionate, perceptive and intelligent. I often think it’s such a shame that our pets have to rely on selfish beings like us for their care and welfare.
The inclement weather didn’t seem to deter people from showing up to the open day. The prospect of seeing lots of very cute and clever pups attracted older people, young couples, families with young kids and plenty of … er, bigger kids too. The biggest drawcard was the demonstration area, featuring a detailed rundown of the journey from pup to trained guide dog. It sure was an eye-opener. The organisation receives no government funding, so I’m guessing it relies on lots of donations from private sources. Each animal takes about 18 months to train and golly, it’s an expensive process to nurture one of these cute lil' critters.
If you think about what most dogs are like – sociable, inquisitive and impulsive, the process of training one of these amazing animals involves teaching them to behave in a way that’s quite contrary to their nature. Basic things like ignoring food on the ground, other dogs, cats, plants, wheelie bins, bikes, joggers, trolleys, little kids running up for a friendly pat … the average guide dog is taught to be indifferent to all these stimuli. Yet watching them after being put through their paces for the transfixed crowd, they’re clearly affectionate and responsive to their handlers’ praise. I can’t help but marvel at how these animals are trained for such a massive task - how they’re taught to lead … and if necessary, to disobey, in order to keep their unsighted handler safe.
It’s a constant source of amazement to me just how intuitive and intelligent these creatures are. As I said, it’s a shame that they have to rely on us for so much.
posted by yossarian | 6:42 PM
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