After spending ten months with Éric Obstetar, Taïka, the dog in training to become a guide dog for the blind, is about to start school!
Since May 2022, we have had the pleasure of welcoming Taïka to our headquarters in Ivry-sur-Seine (94), a a young female dog in training to become a guide dog for the blind.
Taïka with her foster family:
For a year, Éric Obstetar worked with the dog every day, with the help of her trainer, Manon. Working hand in hand, they collaborated to help Taïka better understand and follow the rules she needed to start school. This work is carried out 50% by the foster family and 50% by the trainer.
Throughout the process, Manon monitored the dog’s progress, successes, and setbacks while advising the foster family and teaching them how to handle the situation or address any challenges through regular updates and check-ins. As a result, over time, the dog was able to calm down and develop her focus and understanding of commands. Her family can be particularly proud of her achievements:
• The response is almost instantaneous
• She is more composed and calm when there are other dogs or strangers on the street
•The dog (almost) never chases after bicycles or runners anymore...
“Training is achieved through the repetition of the same actions, words, and rituals so that the dog can understand and memorize the various routes. This will benefit the animal’s future owner. The key is to point out and explain the dog’s mistakes so that it can more easily understand and follow commands and rules (for example, stopping when there is an obstacle or a crosswalk). ” ÉricObstetar
Taika's Future: What's Next?
Starting in late January 2023, Taïka will leave Eric’s family to begin a full-time training program at the Île-de-France Guide Dog School for the Blind, where she’ll stay for a year! There, she’ll learn about fifty commands that will be used by the visually impaired person she’ll be working with. On weekends, she’ll go home to her family to relax and will even get to see Eric from time to time!
If the dog is reclassified—meaning she is not capable of guiding a visually impaired person—she may become a therapy dog for children with autism, a customs dog, an avalanche rescue dog, and so on. As a last resort, dogs that are not suitable for work are placed with private individuals (often relatives of the families that originally took the dog in).
Eric, what stands out to you about this experience?
“After spending nearly a year with the dog, I’ve learned a lot about dogs, their behavior, how they communicate, and how they test boundaries. After giving it some thought, I’ll take in puppies again—but this time as a weekend foster family!”—Eric Obstetar.
Eric told us that the dog has brought life and boundless joy into their home, and above all, has helped him build social connections with the people they’ve met together. It’s been a positive experience and a wonderful adventure that’s coming to an end here at our facility for Taïka.
The association and its school:
The Association of Guide Dogs for the Blind of Île-de-France, based in Coubert (77), is a school that has been training guide dogs for nearly 45 years, with the aim of making life easier for people with visual impairments.
Training at the guide dog school takes place in real-world conditions; over the course of about a year, the dogs undergo intensive training in traffic rules to ensure they do not endanger the visually impaired person. At the end of this training, they take an exam to assess their skills. They are then assigned to visually impaired individuals. They will continue to be monitored by the trainer and remain the property of the school.
Source: Guide Dog Association of Île-de-France
The association's achievements in 2022:
– 420 hours of mobility training supervised by an instructor
– 14 dogs placed with visually impaired individuals
– 44 daily foster families and 79 families for overnight and weekend stays
– 18 departments covered
– Nearly 1,550 charity items sold (stuffed animals, comic books, keychains, shopping bags, etc.)
– Numerous articles and media appearances
– A community of nearly 11,500 members on social media
– More than 50 days of events, including 10 markets and Christmas markets, 10 school events, 20 corporate events, and 10 service club events, and more than 150 students reached
Raising public awareness is a key focus of the association; since it does not receive government funding, it relies on donations from sponsors as well as various outreach activities throughout the year with businesses, schools, and other organizations.
