Happy International Guide Dog Day…

This year, our focus for International Guide Dog Day is all about ‘petiquette’ – the etiquette of handling your pet around working Guide Dogs.

In a recent survey, 70 percent of Guide Dog Handlers reported having to deal with distractions from poorly behaved pet dogs in the past 12 months, with the survey showing that off-lead pet dogs and uncontrolled dogs on leads are the most common distractions. As a result, more than half of the Guide Dogs Handlers surveyed said they felt unsafe in these situations.

This International Guide Dog Day we’re discussing the different ways pet owners and the wider community can practice good petiquette to allow Guide Dogs to carry on their important work of guiding a person with low vision or blindness undistracted.

Head to our website for more petiquette tips, facts sheets and colouring sheets for kids: http://bit.ly/IGDD2021FB

#InternationalGuideDogDay #IGDD2021 #GuideDogsPetiquette

[Video shows Ben, a Guide Dogs NSW/ACT Client, with his Guide Dog Jontie, a yellow Labrador. Ben and Jontie discuss the importance of petiquette over footage of poorly behaved pet dogs distracting a working Guide Dog, filmed in controlled circumstances. The scene moves to footage of a well behaved pet dog and their owner standing aside to let a Guide Dog pass, Video finishes with scenes showing Ben and Jontie walking together, flashback footage of the moment Ben received Jontie, and Ben and Jontie cuddling.]