Posted by Jeanne on May 27, 2009
The first time you see a real big dog like the Great Dane or the St. Bernard you might wonder if it’s really a dog. lt’s so big that you might mistake it for a little pony. If you saw the dog in some European countries, you would surely think it was a pony. Big dogs are still used by farmers to pull carts of milk and produce.
Most big dogs are working dogs, and they do many things. Some, like those mentioned above, pull carts, others like the Collies, the Kuvasok, and the English Sheepdogs are experts at tending sheep. Mastiffs, Boxers, and Dobermans are often used as guard dogs. The German Shepherds are well known as guide dogs for the blind. But not all “seeing eye” dogs are Shepherds. They are usually big dogs, but they can be any breed – even a mongrel – just so long as they have a will to learn.
Among the most famous big dogs are the sled dogs of Alaska and other snowy regions. The Samoyed, Siberian Husky, and Malemute and the Eskimo dog all are good sled dogs. Just as all guide dogs are not pure bred, the same is true with sled dogs – sometimes they are mixed with timber wolf. Mushers in Alaska say that these wolf-mixed dogs have more stamina than pure breeds, but they don’t care to work like a dog.
Another working dog that is at home in the snow is the St. Bernard. Many an injured mountain climber or skier owes his life to this breed. Immediately after a bad snowstorm, these dogs would be sent out of the hospice in groups of three in search of people in distress. When someone was found unconscious in the snow, two of the dogs would lie down on either side of the victim to keep him warm while the third St. Bernard would go back to the abbey for help. When help arrived, the three dogs would go off to find more people in need of help.
Working dogs are the best dogs for children. They would like nothing better than to be with a child all day and guard him or her. They do not wander as do hunting dogs, and their size will scare away anyone who might want to harm the child.
Posted by Jeanne on January 5, 2009
No one knows when the concept of using assistance animals for the blind first came into being. It is suggested that dogs have been used in such a capacity in various cultures for a very long time. It is known, however, that there was no formal guide dog program in existence until after World War I.
Why German Shepherds?
Many people have probably wondered why guide dogs and Seeing Eye dogs are so often German Shepherds. The reason is actually twofold. First, the German Shepherd has a strong sense of loyalty to its owner, giving it a natural tendency to be protective. Having a very protective dog as a companion is an obvious asset for someone who may otherwise be easily attacked by less than scrupulous individuals. Second, the first guide dogs for the blind and visually impaired were trained in Germany to provided assistance for those blinded in the war.
After the end of World War I, Germany was devastated by financial depression. Many private businesses failed and the Potsdam, Germany school that trained the guide dogs for the blind was one of them.
The Beginning
An American woman named Dorothy Eustis had heard about the program and decided it was a very worthwhile endeavor. Because she owned a company that was training German Shepherds as working dogs, she decided she might try to train guide dogs for the blind. She did not start this right away, however. In fact, she was still considering the possibilities when she wrote a story for The Saturday Evening Post about the potential for guide dogs for the blind.
Morris Frank, a Nashville man named, had heard the story and decided to write to Ms. Eustis to ask her to train a dog for him. She did and Mr. Frank became known as the first blind person to use a guide dog.
As part of an arrangement he had made with Ms. Eustis, Mr. Frank started training guide dogs in the United States. The foundation that Mr. Frank started was dubbed “The Seeing Eye” and the so-called Seeing Eye dog was effectively born.
Today guide dogs are trained to assist people with many different disabilities. There are Hearing Ear dogs to assist the deaf and other dogs that assist the physically disabled. All the people who have benefited from the use of a guide dog, however, owe their thanks to Morris Frank of Nashville, Tennessee.
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