The association “Guide Dogs for the Blind Provence Côte d’Azur” aims to provide visually impaired individuals with high-quality guide dogs free of charge to create effective teams. An 18-month training period is necessary to educate future guide dogs. During these months, several key participants are involved in the process. The training combines work, play, and relaxation.
### The First Months of the Future Guide Dog
Most guide dogs trained by the school come from CESECAH (Center for Study, Selection and Breeding for Guide Dogs for the Blind and Other Disabled Persons), created in 1991 by the Federation. CESECAH provides the weaned puppies to affiliated guide dog schools. Occasionally, some dogs are born at the Pierre Aicard Center.
During the puppy’s first months, great care is taken with different tactile, sound, and other stimulations. The puppies are individually monitored. They are then selected at 2 months based on: behavior in the pack, tests, aptitude for sociability, and emotional balance.
The Host Families, an Essential Cog in Instilling the Basics of Education in Puppies
At the age of 2 months, the puppy is placed in a host family where it stays for about 12 months. The family’s task is to teach the dog the educational principles that will enable it to be a good companion and be well-behaved wherever it goes.
These volunteer families, recruited by the school, play a very important role. They must be highly available to socialize the dog and introduce it to all the environments it will encounter: noise, crowds, trains, trams, buses, supermarkets… They are also tasked with teaching the puppy basic concepts like recalling, sitting, standing, staying in place, not begging, and not climbing on beds and sofas. They must teach it to recognize certain words that correspond to commands its future master will give. Each of these volunteer families is overseen by an educator from the Pierre Aicard Center. A progress schedule for the puppy is established. Meetings and group obedience classes are also organized within the school. Finally, starting at a certain age, the puppy regularly stays at the school.
Today, the Pierre Aicard Center in Eze lacks volunteers to ensure the pre-education of future guide dogs. The priority for the School remains that the Host Family resides within 30 km of Nice to regularly attend the various sessions.
The Open House Day on the upcoming Sunday, September 27, will allow all the families wishing to pre-educate a future guide dog to discover this world of sharing and solidarity.
