View source for Guide dog

:''For the upcoming album by [[Helmet (band)|Helmet]], see [[Seeing Eye Dog]].''
[[Image:Caoguia2006.jpg|thumb|A blind man is led by his guide dog in [[Brasília]], [[Brazil]].]]
[[File:Geleidehond testparcours.jpg|thumb|A blind person learns to use her guide dog in a test environment]]
[[Image:Modoken.jpg|thumb|right|[[Labrador Retriever]] guide dogs resting]]
{{Template:Disability}}
'''Guide dogs''' are [[assistance dog]]s trained to lead [[blindness|blind]] and [[Visual impairment|vision impaired]] people around obstacles.

Although the dogs can be trained to navigate various obstacles, they are partially (red-green) [[color blind]] and are not capable of interpreting [[street sign]]s. The [[human]] half of the guide dog team does the directing, based upon skills acquired through previous mobility training. The handler might be likened to an aircraft's navigator, who must know ''how'' to get from one place to another, and the dog is the pilot, who gets them there safely.

In several countries, guide dogs, along with most [[Service dog|service]] and [[hearing dog]]s, are exempt from regulations against the presence of animals in places such as restaurants and public transportation.

==History==
References to guide dogs date at least as far back as the mid-16th century; the second line of the popular verse alphabet "A was an Archer" is most commonly "B was a Blind-man/Led by a dog"<ref>Opie, Iona and Peter Opie, ed. ''The Webster Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes''. Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1952.</ref> In the 19th century, [[Elizabeth Barrett Browning]], in her verse novel [[Aurora Leigh]], has the title character, in describing her conversation with Lady Waldemar, remark "The blind man walks wherever the dog pulls / And so I answered" (Book V., ll. 1028-9).

The first guide dog training schools were established in [[Germany]] during [[World War I]], to enhance the mobility of returning [[veteran]]s who were blinded in combat. The [[United States]] followed suit in 1929 with [[The Seeing Eye]] in [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]], [[Tennessee]] (relocated in 1931 to [[Morristown, New Jersey|Morristown]], [[New Jersey]]). One of the founders of The Seeing Eye was America's first guide dog owner, Nashville resident Morris Frank. Frank was trained with Buddy, a [[German Shepherd]], in [[Switzerland]] in 1928.

The first guide dogs in Britain were [[German Shepherds]]. Three of these first were Judy, Meta, and Folly, who were handed over to their new owners, veterans blinded in World War I, on 6 October 1931. Judy's new owner was Musgrave Frankland. [http://www.exacteditions.com/exact/browse/381/412/1639/3/15]. This was followed, in 1934, by the start of [[The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association]] in [[Great Britain]].

==Breeds==
[[Image:Labradoodle Assistance Dogs.jpg‎|thumb|250px|right|A group of Labradoodle Guide and Assistance Dogs.]]
Early on, trainers began to recognize which breeds produced dogs most appropriate for guide work; today, [[Golden Retriever]]s, [[Labrador Retriever|Labradors]], and [[German Shepherd Dog|German Shepherd]]s are most likely to be chosen{{By whom|date=July 2010}}, though by no means does this mean other breeds, such as [[Yorkshire Terriers]], [[Poodle]]s, [[Collie]]s, [[Vizsla]]s, [[Doberman Pinscher|Doberman]]s, [[Rottweiler]]s, [[Boxer (dog)|Boxer]]s, [[Papillon (dog)|Papillon]]s, [[Border Collies]], [[Australian Shepherds]], and [[Airedale Terrier]]s, are not{{Citation needed|date=July 2010}}. 

Crosses such as Golden Retriever/Labrador (which are popular due to both breeds' known intelligence, work-ethic, and early maturation){{Citation needed|date=July 2010}} and [[Labradoodle]]s (Labrador/[[Poodle]]s bred to provide dogs with less shedding for those with [[allergies]] to hair or dander) are also common.

==Guide dog accessibility==
{{Ref improve section|date=June 2007}}
Despite regulations or rules that deny access to animals in restaurants and other public places, in many countries, guide dogs and other types of assistance dogs are protected by law, and therefore may accompany their handlers most places that are open to the public. Laws and regulations vary worldwide:
*In the [[United States]], the [[Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990|Americans with Disabilities Act]] prohibits any business, government agency, or other organization that provides access to the general public from barring guide dogs. However, religious organizations are not required to provide such access. The [[Civil Rights Act of 1968|Fair Housing Act]] requires that landlords allow tenants to have guide dogs in residences that normally have a ''No Pets'' policy and no extra fees may be charged for such tenants.  Whether guide dogs in training have the same rights or not usually falls on each individual state government.
*In most [[South America]]n countries and [[Mexico]], guide dog access depends solely upon the goodwill of the owner or manager. In more tourist-heavy areas, guide dogs are generally welcomed without problems. In [[Brazil]], however, a 2006 federal decree [http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato2004-2006/2006/Decreto/D5904.htm] requires allowance of guide dogs in all public and open to public places. The [[Brasília Metro]] has developed a program which trains guide dogs to ride it.
*In [[Europe]], the situation varies{{Clarify|date=July 2010}}. Some countries have laws that govern the entire country and sometimes the decision is left up to the respective regions.
*In [[Australia]], the [[Disability Discrimination Act 1992]] protects guide dog handlers. Each state and territory has its own laws, which may differ slightly.
*In [[Canada]], guide dogs are allowed anywhere that the general public is allowed.
*In [[South Korea]], it is illegal to deny access to guide dogs in any areas that are open to the public. Violators are fined for no more than 2 million [[South Korean won|won]]. [http://mydog.samsung.com/blind/guidedog1_1.html] {{Dead link|date=December 2009}}

==== Muslim objections ====
{{See|Islam and dogs}}
Because Islam considers dogs in general to be unclean,<ref name="Fadl">[http://www.scholarofthehouse.org/dinistrandna.html ''Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature''], s.v. "Dogs in the Islamic Tradition and Nature." New York: Continuum International, forthcoming 2004. By: Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl</ref> many Muslim taxi drivers and store owners have refused to accommodate customers who have [[guide dogs]].<ref>http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1295749/Muslim-bus-drivers-refuse-let-guide-dogs-board.html</ref><ref>http://www.christian.org.uk/news/muslim-drivers-barring-guide-dogs-from-vehicles/</ref><ref>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/7847571/Is-a-religious-bus-ban-on-my-dog-right.html</ref> In 2003, the [[Sharia]] Council, based in the United Kingdom, ruled that the ban on dogs does not apply to those used for guide work.<ref>http://menmedia.co.uk/asiannews/news/s/480595_guide_dogs_not_haram_rules_shariah</ref>

However, many Muslims continue to refuse access, and see the pressure to allow the dogs as a restraint upon religious liberty.<ref>http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/538</ref> Sheikh [[Ibrahim Mogra]] of the [[Muslim Council of Britain]] has argued strongly that Sharia does not preclude working with guide dogs, and it is actually a duty under Sharia for a Muslim to help the visually impaired.

==See also==
*[[Argentine Dogo]]
*[[Assistance dog]]
*[[Service dog]]
*[[Blindness]]
*[[Guide horse]]
*[[White cane]]

===Guide dog schools===
*[[Leader Dogs for the Blind]]
*[[Guiding Eyes for the Blind]]
*[[The Seeing Eye]]
*[[Guide Dogs for the Blind]]
*[[List of Guide Dog Schools]]

==External links==
<!--Please do not links to individual guide schools. If you are interested in adding information about a specific organization, please see the "List of guide dog schools" article.-->
{{Spoken Wikipedia|Guide_dog.ogg|2006-03-09}}
{{Commons category|Guide dogs}}
*[http://www.ifgdsb.org.uk/ International Federation of Guide Dog Schools]
*[http://www.assistancedogsinternational.org/assistancedogproviders.php Assistance Dog International's directory of membership organizations]
*[http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/qasrvc.htm Legal information about service animals in the United States]
*[http://www.cafonline.org/Default.aspx?page=15033&WT.mc_id=380 2008 is the year of the guide dog]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Assistance dogs]]
[[Category:Blindness]]

[[ca:Gos pigall]]
[[cs:Vodící pes]]
[[da:Førerhund]]
[[de:Blindenführhund]]
[[es:Perro guía]]
[[eo:Gvidhundo]]
[[fr:Chien guide d'aveugle]]
[[ko:안내견]]
[[id:Anjing pemandu]]
[[is:Blindrahundur]]
[[he:כלב נחייה]]
[[nl:Geleidehond]]
[[ja:盲導犬]]
[[no:Førerhund]]
[[pt:Cão-guia]]
[[simple:Guide dog]]
[[fi:Opaskoira]]
[[sv:Ledarhund]]
[[zh:導盲犬]]
[[Category:2Fix]]