[Cagdu] FW: Fw: Trainer is a guiding light

Sun Apr 1 12:39:49 PDT 2007

t: [GDUI-Friends] Fw: Trainer is a guiding light

The Wilmslow Express, Cheshire (UK)
Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Trainer is a guiding light

By Ria Nortcliffe

Caption: DAMIEN Riley with one of his pupils!

TRAINING a pet pooch is enough to send some people barking mad - but not
Damien Riley.

That's because Guide Dog mobility instructor Damien knows how valuable these
four legged friends can be to human life.

And he should know - for he turns playful pups into man's best friend.

AdvertisementMany are destined to give blind or partially sighted people
back some freedom and independence.

Damien, an instructor with the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association for 10
years said: "They can change people's lives and give them the confidence to
go out and get jobs or take their children to school. The dogs are their
link to the outside world."

Although basic training begins when the dogs are just six weeks old, they
come to Damien after 15 months. His job is to build on the guiding
principles the dogs have learned and fine tune their training as well as
teaching their new owners how to handle them.

Damien, 29, of Cumber Lane, Wilmslow is now based in the town and trains
guide dogs and their new owners across the district from Runcorn to Crewe.

He uses the Holiday Inn Hotel as a base for training before taking the dogs
out into the town centre where they can practice walking with their new
owners.

Damien, who is back at the hotel all this week training three more dogs and
their owners, said: "I used to be situated in Bolton where the main training
centre is but Guide Dogs decided to put instructors in local areas and cover
a certain patch. I now cover this part of Cheshire.

"My job is to take on people who are receiving a new dog because their old
one has retired or people who have never had a guide dog before and need to
start training from scratch.

"During a three week period I teach them how to handle their dogs in social
situations such as town centres and shops and then I go into the owner's
homes to teach about the welfare of the dog and such things as grooming and
obedience. This also allows me to train the dogs on specific routes the
owner makes daily to the local shops or doctors for example. We gear all
training around the owner's needs."

Golden retrievers, Labradors or German shepherds are seen as the best breeds
for the task due to their temperament, intelligence and capacity for
learning quickly.

They are bred at a centre in Warwickshire and go on to be handled by
volunteer puppy walkers from six weeks old for the first year of their life
to enable them to be house trained. They are then introduced to street life,
going into shops or on public transport.

At 12 months old the dog then goes to a kennel to begin its serious training
before going on to train with a mobility instructor.

The charity, now more than 70 years old, commits to every dog for life which
is why the cost of looking after and training each dog costs around £35,000.

"Guide Dogs doesn't receive any government funding and there are around
5,000 guide dogs out there which need veterinary treatment, food, and
training," said Damien.

"That is why we need as many volunteers and donations as possible. In the
Wilmslow area for example we're quite short of volunteer puppy walkers who
are essential in the first stages of the dogs' training."

And for those trying to teach their old dogs new tricks, Damien is also
starting up his own business on spare evenings and weekends.

He said: "Increasingly people in the town have been asking me if I would do
any one to one training with their pet dogs so I decided to start up my own
business doing private behavioural work - but it's still in its infancy."

For more information about becoming a volunteer for the Guide Dogs for the
Blind Association or Damien's one-to-one behavioural sessions can contact
him on 07798701619.

http://www.thewilmslowexpress.co.uk/news/s/224/224611_trainer_is_a_guiding_l
ight.html

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