Frequently asked questions

Can other family member play with your dog when he / she is off the head / harness?
When out of harness the dog in effect becomes a pet dog, but there are some important differences. Playing with balls and sticks shouldn't be encouraged as it can cause breakdown in the dog's work. The dog can be a member of the family, but it must primarily always be the Clients dog and not too attached to other family members.

The client should maintain the control of the dog and family members must respect this.  Many different people giving the dog commands may become confusing, buy when anybody does need to giving commands to the dog they must be the correct ones. When out of harness, friends and family can pat and play with the dog, with the owner's permission.

How much is a Seeing Eye Dog fed a day and what?                                                                                        

This varies a lot depending upon the dog's needs, but our dogs are fed a high premium food, Royal Canin, who are proud supporters of Seeing Eye Dogs Australia.  Our clients are given a discount card to allow them to get this food at reduced cost.  However, our dogs can generally adapt to most commercial feeds, if you have a particular feed you want to use we can talk to you about how to change from one feed to another. You will be advised about your dog's health history including any advice about it's diet.  For most dogs an occasional bone is useful to help digestion and clean the teeth.  An small amount of oil added to the dogs food can also help its coat remain nice and shiny.

How long is the working life of a Seeing Eye Dog?
Generally our dogs will graduate between eighteen months and two years old.  They can work until they're about eleven, depending on their general health and the workload asked of them.  Some dogs have worked for much longer, but experience tells us that ten and a half to eleven is usual. Once they retire the dog can enjoy a well - earned rest!

Does the dog adjust well if you take a holiday interstate?
Many dogs will be a little excited by new environments and initially there can be a need to work a bit harder to keep their concentration, but dogs will enjoy the change in the same way that we do.  We have one client that travels to America each year and the dog has not had any problems travelling, or navigating areas in a foreign country.  Many of our pups travel with Carers and Instructors interstate, and also undertake training lessons within the airport to become familiar with turnstiles, scanning machines and contained areas before they graduate.

Can you have your Seeing Eye Dog sleep in your room?
If your training is residential we will expect that the dog sleeps in your bedroom with you and lots of people carry this on when they get home. You can have your dog sleep in other locations around the house, as long as the dog has an identifiable bed and it is away from draughts.

Who is responsible for worming / flea treatment for your Seeing Eye Dog?
You will be expected to take the dog to the vets every six months for a check up and to ensure that parasite control is carried out. Seeing Eye Dogs Australia will supply you with Sentinel, but all other Veterinary costs will need to be met by you.

If your dog requires medical attention do you take him / her to local vets or has SEDA got their own vets?
For routine treatment you should go to your own vet. If there is a special or expensive treatment you should contact Seeing Eye Dogs Australia who may be able to help you with a referral or may want to discuss things with your own vet.

Are Seeing Eye Dogs scared of thunderstorms?
When our dogs are puppies, we try and expose them to as many unusual sights and sounds as possible.  Doing this at an early age usually makes the dogs aware of strange noises and relaxed with their surroundings. Thunderstorms are unique and dogs seem to be aware of the changing air pressure that can precede a storm. Most of our dogs will not be too concerned, but it is something that can develop with some dogs as they get older.

What happens if you walk your Seeing Eye Dog somewhere and someone in the public knocked you out cold and took your dog?
I really hope this never happens - it hasn't done so far! This would obviously be a criminal occurrence, and unfortunately we all live with the risk of being victims of crime. Seeing Eye Dogs are not guard dogs and they have placid temperaments. There can be no expectation that a Seeing Eye Dog would try and protect you. If it did happen it would become a police issue.

How you are matched to your Seeing Eye Dog?
It is an important thing that we get the right dog with the right person. Matching is based on needs and ability; the needs and ability of the dog and the needs and ability of the person. Some dogs need to do a lot of work and travel at a brisk pace.  Others are very content to do much less work, at a slow pace. When we come and interview you, we will talk about what your expectations are for a dog, if you have any preferences and we will also take you out on the street and walk with you with a dog in harnesses to get an idea of things like your walking speed, balance and strength. If you have any other health issues, we may talk to you about what they may mean to you when you work a dog. Also if you have some vision we would want to understand how you used that.

How long is the waiting list?
Right now we have about as many people waiting for a dog as we are able to produce in a year, this unfortunately means that the average waiting time is about twelve months, which is longer than we would like.  Some people do receive a dog quicker, depending on the availability and needs of both dog and client. 

What happens in the residential training centre when you go in?
The training course is a fairly long one, and one that we can't shorten too much, partly because it just takes time for the dog to become properly attached to a new Handler. The skills that are needed are often quite different from anything people may have learnt before. The dog will also go through a series of changes during the course and there may well be a ‘testing period’ when things don't seem to go well at all. This isn't unusual, but your instructor will be there to support you through this.

The first week is about settling in, letting the dog get to know you and learning the basic commands. The second week is when the dog begins to feel settled and you commence training at a distance from the Instructor. The third week is working in different environments and coming up with solutions to things yourself.

The residence that we have is a small house and there will be up to three people staying there. We will talk to people about their individual needs.  We have a cook to provided meals and help with medications and can arrange for staff member to stay overnight if there are any concerns.