Introduction
Welcome to the Guidebook for Volunteer Puppy Raisers on Public Interactions! This resource is designed to support you in your essential role as a CNIB Puppy Raiser, providing you with key strategies, tips, and knowledge to help you navigate the challenges you may encounter when interacting with the public.
Chapter 1: Understanding Your Role as a Puppy Raiser
What it means to be a puppy raiser
As a puppy raiser, you are crucial in the early stages of a guide dog’s life. Your responsibilities include basic training, socialization, and preparing the dog for life as a working guide dog.
Your Influence on public access
Although guide and service dogs in training generally do not have public access rights in most provinces in Canada, your behaviour as a puppy raiser can influence whether the dog is allowed in public places. While you may be asked to leave, explaining the importance of guide dog training and your role with CNIB as a puppy raiser may encourage service providers to allow you to stay. However, it’s crucial to remember that guide dog puppies in training must always be well-behaved and under control in public. If the dog is misbehaving, it’s important to remove them from the situation.
The Impact of poor behaviour on future access
Poor behaviour by a guide dog puppy in training in public spaces can have a significant impact on guide dog handlers who may access that space in the future. If businesses or service providers have negative experiences with a poorly behaved dog, they may become reluctant to allow future guide dogs in training or working guide dogs in their establishment.
This can create barriers for individuals who rely on guide dogs and affect their ability to access necessary services. As a puppy raiser, it’s important to model appropriate behaviour and work toward minimizing any negative impact on the guide dog community as a whole.
Chapter 2: Communication Styles
Recognizing your own behaviour
It's important that we reflect on our own behaviour and how it impacts what we're able to achieve. Let's look at three different types of behaviour that can impact our ability to successfully advocate for yourself, the guide dog puppy in training and for the sight loss community on behalf of CNIB.
1. Passive behaviour
Passive behaviour occurs when we prioritize avoiding conflict at the expense of meeting our own needs. It can take a variety of forms, including:
- Hiding, minimizing, or apologizing for your thoughts, feelings, and needs to avoid making a fuss
- Consistently prioritizing the thoughts, feelings, and needs of others over your own
- Beating around the bush to avoid directly addressing an issue
- Laughing when expressing difficult feelings
2. Aggressive behaviour
Aggressive behaviour occurs when we prioritize our own needs but ignore the needs of others. It can take a variety of forms, including:
- Leading with anger
- Leading with sarcasm
- Leading with accusations
- Pointing your fingers
- Not respecting the personal space of others
- Using insults or discriminatory language
- Threatening others
3. Assertive behaviour
Assertive behaviour occurs when we prioritize our thoughts, feelings, and needs while respecting the rights of others. It can take a variety of forms, including:
- Listening with an open mind
- Using your body language to show that you’re paying attention
- Expressing an interest in the thoughts of others
- Using “I” statements (e.g., I feel, I think, I need)
- Cooperating to find solutions
A note on anger
While anger is a natural response to encountering barriers or when dealing with public interferences, it is important to remember that leading with anger does not present well on you or the CNIB and will not help your self-advocacy efforts. It may even prevent you from effectively self-advocating. This is because anger does not facilitate communication or understanding. When you lead with anger, you will not be able to effectively collaborate with others to find solutions.
If you are feeling angry, take some time to process your thoughts and feelings before beginning your self-advocacy efforts. When you are able to enter into a conversation without leading with frustration, sarcasm, or accusations, your efforts will be much more successful.
Effective communication with the public
As a puppy raiser, you will often encounter the public during outings. People will be curious and may ask questions about the guide dog puppy in training. Communicating effectively is essential to educating the public about the importance of guide dogs.
Here’s how to approach these conversations:
- Be clear and informative: Share that the dog is in training and is learning important skills to become a guide dog. You might say, “This is a future guide dog in training. They’re learning how to help someone who is blind.”
- Stay calm and positive: Public spaces can sometimes be challenging but maintaining a calm and positive demeanor will help others feel at ease and encourage understanding.
- Set boundaries with kindness: If someone oversteps and does not follow guide dog etiquette such as petting the dog in vest, kindly set a boundary. Ask them not to pet and briefly explain why it is important that they do not do so. If someone challenges your access to have the dog in a public space, kindly explain that the dog is a future guide dog in training, and while they don’t have automatic access rights, you’re doing important work.
Chapter 3: Self-Advocacy Skills
Why self-advocacy is important
As a puppy raiser, it may be helpful to learn how to advocate for yourself and the dog you are training. You may face situations where public access is challenged, or the dog’s behaviour is questioned. Being prepared to respectfully explain your role and why you are training the dog will help you handle these situations with confidence.
In these situations it may be helpful to provide the Letter for Business Owners.
Additionally, when advocating for yourself and the guide dog puppy in training, remember that it is more of an educational conversation. Guide dog puppies in training do not have legal access rights so, this conversation with service providers is intended to help the service provider understand the cause and hopefully give you permission to stay. If you are still asked to leave, please do so.
Handling difficult situations
Sometimes you may be asked to leave a public space or encounter resistance regarding the dog’s presence. Here’s how to handle these situations:
- Remain calm and confident: If a situation becomes difficult, stay calm and don’t be afraid to assert your position. You can politely explain, “I am a Volunteer Puppy Raiser with the CNIB and I’m helping to train this dog to be a guide dog for someone who is blind or low vision. While they don’t have public access rights, this is an important part of their training.” It may also be helpful to provide a copy of The Letter to Business Owners.
- Be ready to leave, if necessary: If the situation escalates, it’s always best to remove the dog from the area if they are misbehaving or if the service provider asks you to leave. This shows respect for the space while ensuring the dog learns how to behave in public.
Chapter 4: The Impact of Behaviour on Public Access
Positive behaviour
Even though guide dog puppy in training do not have automatic public access rights, their behaviour can make the difference between being allowed to stay or being asked to leave. It’s essential that the dog is well-behaved, focused, and calm when in public.
Key points to reinforce:
- Training: Consistently work on basic commands like “sit,” and “stand” in various public settings. This helps the dog build confidence and reliability in unfamiliar environments.
- Socialization: Expose the dog to a wide range of situations. This prepares them for the diversity of public spaces they will eventually work in.
Handling misbehaviour
If the guide dog puppy in training starts to show signs of misbehaviour, such as barking, lunging on the leash, or becoming overly distracted, the puppy raiser should:
- Remove the dog: If the guide dog puppy in training becomes disruptive or is not responding to commands, calmly and promptly remove them from the public space to prevent further disruption and to avoid negative interactions.
- Reassess training needs: Speak to the CNIB Puppy Development team to evaluate the situation to see if additional training or a more gradual exposure to public spaces is necessary.
Long term impacts of poor behaviour
Poorly trained dogs that behave disruptively in public places can have lasting effects on future guide dog access. If a dog is allowed to misbehave in public spaces, businesses or other service providers may refuse to allow future guide dogs in training, impacting the ability of future guide dog teams to access the space. For this reason, it’s important to model professional behaviour and correct any issues early in the training process.
Chapter 5: Case Studies and Real-Life Scenarios
Case study 1: Communication breakdown
- Scenario: A puppy raiser was at a local cafe when a staff member expressed concern about the dog being in the establishment. The puppy raiser didn’t know how to respond and was asked to leave.
- Lesson: Be prepared to explain the role of future guide dogs in training. A simple explanation like, “I’m raising this dog to become a guide dog for a person who is blind or low vision” could have cleared up the misunderstanding and potentially allowed the puppy raiser to stay. Additionally, you can provide the “Letter to Businesses” that was provided to all puppy raisers.
Case study 2: Self-advocacy in action
- Scenario: A puppy raiser was shopping at a busy mall when a passerby excitedly approached and reached out to pet their guide dog puppy in training. The raiser politely but firmly explained that the dog was working and should not be distracted. The individual insisted, saying, “But I love dogs!” and “Just a quick pet won’t hurt.” The puppy raiser calmly reiterated that “when a harness or vest is on means hands off” and further explains that future guide dogs need to stay focused on their training, as distractions can impact their learning and future ability to assist someone who is blind or low vision. The passerby apologized and stepped back, acknowledging the importance of the dog’s training.
- Lesson: Advocating for a guide dog puppy in training requires clear and confident communication. By calmly explaining the reason behind the no-petting rule, the puppy raiser educated the public while reinforcing the importance of respecting working and training guide dogs.
Case study 3: Behaviour impacting access
- Scenario: A puppy raiser visited a crowded mall, and their guide dog puppy in training became agitated, barking loudly and lunging at those who passed by. The raiser was asked to leave the store.
- Lesson: The behaviour of the dog directly impacted public access. Removing the dog and addressing the behaviour with additional training would help in future outings.
Chapter 6: Tips for Ongoing Success
Training reminders
- Follow the steps and instructions provided to you by your Puppy Development Trainer.
- Consistently reinforce basic obedience and behavioural training.
- Gradually increase the complexity of public environments to build the dog’s confidence. Socialization and desensitization are important part of guide dog training however; it is really important that you follow the instructions from your Puppy Development Trainer as jumping ahead can have a lasting negative impact on your guide dog puppy in training in training.
- Use positive reinforcement to encourage desirable behaviours.
- Focus on quality outings versus quantity
- Keep things short and sweet so the guide dog puppy in training can maintain focus
Seeking support
Reach out to your Puppy Development trainer for guidance if you face challenges with the dog’s behaviour or public access situations.