Oska

Beyond the Ring Oska, Indy’s son, was born in March 2015.

As he was such a calm and peaceful little puppy I offered him to Scale Dogs, an organisation I have supported for several years and which trains guide dogs for the blind and partially sighted.

One often has a false impression of a guide dog’s life.  We tend to think a guide dog works all the time but this is far from true. When it has finished working and its harness has been removed, it is like any other family dog with the advantage that guide-dogs are seldom left by themselves.

Scale Dogs mainly work with labrador retrievers, golden retrievers and crosses between these two breeds.  They also work with white Swiss shepherds and previously trained a poodle.  Oska is the first border collie to join Scale Dogs.  Some countries already work with border collies such as the ‘Ecole des chiens-guides de Paris’.

Border collies have different characteristics which might not be suitable for everyone. The visually impaired person will require prior experience with dogs and be consistent with their guide dog.  They will also need to be active in order to match Oska’s active nature and give him enough work and let him run and play regularly.

Someone with a visual disability is quite capable of exercising their guide dog and a family member often accompanies them when giving their guide dog a run.

When placing a guide dog with its new owner, Scale Dogs take great care in ensuring that the new owner will be able to care for their guide dog and give it the attention it needs.

They will be taught how to work and care for it.  If it’s an energetic guide dog needing a lot of exercise, off the lead walks will be taken with the new owner to make sure the dog comes back immediately and that where it is let free is safe.

Scale Dogs will make the right choice in finding the right match for Oska – if a guide dog doesn’t get what it needs, it won’t be a good guide dog.

They will take into account the following criteria:

• The guide dog’s stride must match that of the blind or partially sighted person
• There must be a strong bond between the guide dog and its new owner
• The dog’s personality must match that of its future owner
• The dog’s work capacity must match its new owner’s work needs

At the age of approximately 14 months and after some medical tests (hips, elbows, eyes) Oska will go to the Scale Dogs guide dog school and begin his training which will take about 8 months.

He will be taught to guide his blind or partially sighted master through traffic and avoid obstacles.  He will learn commands which will enable his master to tell him which direction to take. He will also learn to find orientation points to enable him to indicate a kerb, a pedestrian crossing, a shop entrance, a staircase, a lift and to stop in case of danger.  He will have to learn approximately 40 commands during his training period.

Even after Oska has been placed with a visually impaired person, Scale Dogs will visit them, at least once a year, to check that Oska is in good health and that the ‘couple’ work well together.