Since May 16, 2022, we have been delighted to welcome Taïka, a young female dog in training to become a guide dog for the blind, to our headquarters in Ivry-sur-Seine (94).
Taïka, a guide dog in training at Grands Moulins de Paris!
Taïka was born at the CESECAH breeding center in Montsablé, Lezoux, in the Puy-de-Dôme department. CESECAH (Center for the Study, Selection, and Breeding of Guide Dogs for the Blind and Other Disabled People) is a dog breeding facility whose mission is to produce puppies that are as well-suited as possible to their future role as guide dogs for the blind. It is a unique facility in France, created at the request of French guide dog schools.
Taîka belongs to the Association des Chiens Guides d’Aveugles d’Île-de-France, which oversees his training and care for 10 years. The school is based in Coubert (77).
Taïka, together with Éric OBSTETAR, Logistics Director, initiated this initiative after obtaining approval from the CSSCT and informing the CSEU, as part of our CSR efforts and our disability policy.
“We’ve been volunteering at the Coubert Guide Dog School for about ten years. After serving as a weekend foster family—hosting dogs already in training during the week so they could relax—we decided to get more directly involved in their training by becoming a foster family.”
Taïka, a two-month-old female Labrador, will be part of our daily life until she starts school. We’re going to socialize her: she’ll come with me to the office some days, riding public transportation, and will join us in meetings. I’ll take her to different places people go: the market, stores, and around town. During this time, we’ll teach her some basic training, with the help of Manon, our dog trainer. Taïka will leave us around ten months old to start puppy school.
This initiative is governed by an agreement signed between Grands Moulins de Paris and the guide dog school, which outlines the procedures for caring for the dog within the company.
Guide dogs for the blind: What is their role?
A guide dog is trained to make daily life easier for its visually impaired owner, particularly when getting around. It can learn up to 50 different commands!
Contrary to popular belief, guide dogs are not reserved solely for blind people. People with low vision are also eligible. Through its training and guidance, the dog will provide its owner with:
• Independence in getting around: the owner no longer needs to be accompanied by a third party;
• Safety: the dog will naturally navigate around various obstacles;
• Smoothness: journeys become smoother and less tiring;
• Better social interaction: people are more likely to approach a visually impaired person when they have a guide dog;
• A reassuring presence by their side that helps break the daily cycle of loneliness.
Guide dogs for the blind: Learn more about their training
Puppies stay with their foster families for about 2 to 10 months. During this time, the family is responsible for stimulating the puppy’s development, helping it learn, and socializing it. Starting at 10 months old, the puppy will spend a year at a specialized training school to learn everything it needs to know to best support its future owner.
The puppy will need to get used to:
• All the different kinds of people he will meet throughout his life: children, the elderly, etc.
• Other dogs: He must be completely comfortable around and non-aggressive toward other dogs.
• All kinds of animals, big or small.
The puppy must be able to adapt as easily and quickly as possible to different types of environments. This key strength will be its greatest asset as a future guide dog. It is therefore essential to take the puppy to different environments, including the workplace.
The dog is also monitored by a veterinarian and a dog behaviorist to ensure that it is in good health, exhibits appropriate behavior, and has learned the necessary skills. If this is not the case, the dog may be “declassified” and will no longer be considered for training as a guide dog for the blind.
After completing its training, if the dog is deemed fit for service, it is placed with a visually impaired person until it reaches the age of 7. After that, it will retire to live with another family, often someone close to its previous handler or the organization.
