Guide Dog Glossary.
The following glossary of Guide Dog terminology is Guide Dog Foundation For The Blind specific. Each Guide Dog School has its own way of phrasing commands, thus some of the wording for issuing any command varies.
Guide Dog: A dog specially trained to guide a blind or visually impaired person.
Collar: A leather or metal band or a chain, fastened around the neck of the dog. Used for restraint or identification.
Leash: A chain, strap, ETC. for controlling or leading the dog. Used while working for communication and control purposes.
Harness: The piece of equipment worn by the dog when working with its blind handler. Brown in color and used for communication purposes between the dog and the handler.
Heel: The dog stands at the left side of the handler. The dog walks on the left side with the handler.
Sit: The dog sits.
Stay: The dog stays.
Down: The dog lies down.
Come: The dog comes.
Hup Up: Used when the handler wants the dog to travel at a faster pace.
Steady: Used when the handler wants the dog to travel at a slower pace.
No: Used when whatever the dog is doing is unacceptable.
Leave It: Used when the dog is attempting to sniff, look at, pick up, ETC. something that it should not be. Used while working when the dog is distracted and the handler needs the dog to regain its focus.
Out: Used when the dog has something in its mouth that it is not supposed to.
Watch It: Used when the dog makes clearance errors. The handler points out the error to the dog by tapping the object.
Rework: A do over. Used when the dog does not work something correctly the first time around.
Leash Correction: A snap of the leash varying in intensity depending on the situation. Leash corrections do not hurt the dog, but remind the dog to pay attension to the handler. Used only after a verbal correction is not affective.
Hand Signal: A gesture of the hand indicating the direction for the dog. Used in conjunction with verbal commands. Acts as a visual cue for the dog.
Forward: The dog moves forward continuing traveling.
Left: A 90 degree turn to the left.
Right: A 90 degree turn to the right.
Over Left: The dog turns left continuing traveling. The dog takes the upcoming turn to the left continuing traveling. The dog moves farther over to the left continuing traveling.
Over Right: The dog turns right continuing traveling. The dog takes the upcoming turn to the right continuing traveling. The dog moves farther over to the right continuing traveling.
Left About: The dog and handler turn 180 degrees to the left.
Right About: The dog and handler turn 180 degrees to the right.
Halt: The dog stops traveling.
Find: The handler asks the dog to find an object the dog is familiar with. The handler can teach the dog to find a variety of things.
Clicker: A small device that emits a click when pressed. Used for training the dog.
Food Pouch: A small pouch worn by the handler containing food or treats. Used for training the dog.
I hope you find the information above to be helpful in your understanding of Guide Dogs.
Love,
Kolby