2018 IGDF Seminar Down Under

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2 Guide Dogs NSW/ACT Australia 2018 IGDF Seminar Down Under Samantha McGill - Communications Officer Guide Dogs NSW/ACT, Australia With the 2018 IGDF Seminar less than a year away, exciting plans are being put in place to make sure the Seminar will be one delegates won t forget. Hosted by Guide Dogs NSW/ACT, the Seminar will take place from Thursday 14 to Saturday 16 September in one of the world s most beautiful cities Sydney, Australia. Delegates can look forward to a variety of engaging and inspiring presentations from keynote speakers, and a wonderful Welcome Dinner that will showcase Sydney s vibrant nightlife. Delegates will also have the opportunity to participate in a day trip to Guide Dogs NSW/ACT s Guide Dog Centre, and travel agents will be on hand to arrange post-seminar excursions around Sydney and beyond. Those who attend the Seminar will stay in the Grace Hotel, a heritagelisted hotel located in the heart of Sydney. Built by the Grace Brothers in the 1920s as a showpiece of their successful retail business, the Grace Hotel has been beautifully restored to its former glory, making it one of Sydney s most prominent historical landmarks; a fine example of Neo- Gothic architecture with contrasting Art Deco interior. The hotel offers a warm and personal service with the luxury of a four-and-a-half star hotel exuding a unique blend of old world charm with modern comfort to meet the needs of guests today. Guide Dogs NSW/ACT look forward to hosting you in September Save the dates and make the most of your trip to Sydney During recent years, extra effort has been made to maximise the benefit of often lengthy journeys to attend the bi-annual IGDF Seminar through tie-in events. Sydney 2018 will be no different only, this time around, there are 2 additional opportunities for you to start thinking about as you plan your busy schedules: 7th Breeders Workshop This will be held at the Guide Dogs NSW / ACT campus in Glossodia, New South Wales, on September 2018 Dog Guide Veterinary Symposium The exact location is to be announced and expressions of interest are being sought for this event which will take place between 11 & 13 September 2018 More information will be shared in future editions of Visionary and E-news. In the meantime, please contact the following people for further information: Breeders Workshop Caroline Moeser cmoeser@guidedogs.com.au Veterinary Symposium Dr Nicola Cotton Nicola.cotton@visionaustralia.org 2 the Visionary IGDF

3 Registered in England Company No Registered Charity No Blind Foundation Guide Dogs New Zealand Message from the Chair Contents IGDF Seminar Down Under Samantha McGill 3 Message from the Chair Paul Metcalf 4 IGDF Assessments 4 International Collaborations Between Guide Dog Breeding Programmes - History and Benefits Matthew Bottomley 6 With A Lot Of Help From Our International Federation Friends: IGDCB Opens New Puppy Development And Training Campus, Winter 2017 Lisa Baron Haet 7 Breeding Quality Guide Dogs in Slovakia Jarmila Viragova 8 Collaboration for the Highest Quality Dogs Jenna Bullis 9 Finding Success in Partnership Paul Adrian 10 Guide Dogs In The Czech Republic Hana Jasenovcova 11 Working Together - How Far We Have Come Jane Russenberger 11 Collaboration In The Veterinary Space Caroline Moeser Paul Metcalf - National Manager Blind Foundation Guide Dogs, New Zealand Hello everyone and, once again, welcome to the IGDF Visionary magazine. The IGDF Board recently held the second of this years face to face meetings in Sydney and our thanks go to Guide Dogs NSW / ACT for their generous hosting of not only the Board but, also, the IGDF Development Committee and the Accreditation Committee. Specific thanks must go to Karen Templeton and Jaci Armstrong who not only assisted with the planning of quite a large contingency arriving and meeting over three days, but also assisted with the administration needs of the Board during our stay. High on the agenda for the Board this time around was the issue of standards as you will know from recent correspondence, this is an important topic that will impact all within the guide dog field and, also, other assistance dog organisations in the coming years. On behalf of IGDF members and, indeed, guide dog users around the world, the Board have formally committed to leading the move towards internationally-recognised standards (ISO) for the ways in which guide dogs are bred, developed, trained and supported. This is to be carried out in two phases the first being to formally scope out the required standard that best meets our needs. This will be carried out with the support of NEN a standards organisation based in the Netherlands, and will involve consultation with all IGDF member organisations, and others who have an interest in this area. We have, to that end, commenced negotiations with Assistance Dogs International in order that they too may formally support what will ultimately benefit their members too. Please do watch out for opportunities to feed into the consultation process. Holding our Board meeting in Sydney also gave us opportunity to visit the venue for the upcoming IGDF Seminar The Grace Hotel. Situated in the heart of Sydney with quick and easy access to many tourist attractions, the venue offers superb facilities for a first class Seminar and, also, great opportunity for an extended stay down under for all! You will also see, within this magazine, there are other opportunities for shared learning currently being organised to maximise the benefits of attending the Seminar. Finally, an update from the Internal Communications Committee in relation to future editions of the Visionary magazine. From March 2018, Visionary will be produced 3 times each year (March / July / November). A submission form, available from the IGDF office, is required for all articles as this enables the correct detail to accompany any articles published. Articles are usually subject to a maximum of 750 words and one accompanying picture. Exceptions may be possible to this depending upon space available. Remember, Visionary is a great way to share your news and developments with the international guide dog market and we always look forward to receiving your submissions. On behalf of the Board of the International Guide Dog Federation, I would like to wish all of our Members, Affiliates, Applicants, Enquirers and colleagues, the compliments of the upcoming season and we look forward to working with and for you in Kind regards, Paul Metcalf IGDF Chair Hillfields, Burghfield Common, Reading Berkshire RG7 3YG United Kingdom Disclaimer Whilst the International Guide Dog Federation (IGDF) retains editorial right to all articles presented within the Visionary, accuracy of specific detail and figures quoted are as provided by the author and their supporting organisation. The IGDF, whilst welcoming feedback on content, will not enter into any dialogue relating to perceived inaccuracies in these areas. Issue 34 November 17 3

4 IGDF COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE IGDF Assessments UK Guide Dogs International Collaborations Between Guide Dog Breeding Programmes History and Benefits Congratulations to our newest members to the IGDF: Helen Keller Guide Dog School, Brazil Servizio Cani Guida Dei Lions, Italy Congratulations to the following organisations which passed their five year assessment: Associacao Beira Aguieira de Apoio ao Deficiente Visual, Portugal British Columbia Guide Dog Services, Canada Ecole de Chiens Guides pour Aveugles et Malvoyants de Paris et de la Region Parisienne, France Fondation Romande Pour Chiens Guides d'aveugles, Switzerland Verein fur Blindenhunde und Mobilitatshiffen, Switzerland The following organisations have been accepted as Enquiring Organisations: Canadian National Institute for the Blind, Canada Fundacion Lucha contra la Retinitis Pigmentosa Fundalurp, Chile Matthew Bottomley Guide Dogs, UK There are many examples of international collaboration across the world. However, I believe there is no better example of collaboration and its benefits, than that of Guide Dog schools across the world and in particular, those that work together to improve their respective breeding programmes. Why Collaborate Internationally? For the health and prosperity of any breeding programme, it is important that genetic diversity is maintained. Within Guide Dog breeding programmes, fresh bloodlines have to be selectively introduced to ensure the continued health, vigour and quality of the colonies. At Guide Dogs UK, historically new bloodlines were often sourced from private breeders. However, it was recognised that the success of such lines for Guide Dog work was limited and now, new and exciting avenues have emerged through collaboration with other Guide Dog schools worldwide. Which Schools are Collaborating? In the late 1990 s an Original Cooperative Breeding Group was created, consisting of schools from the USA, Holland, Australia and the UK. The aim was to share knowledge, ideas, practices and processes, as well as importantly, to make a tangible difference to our respective breeding programmes through the sharing and exchange of bloodlines, usually via livestock or frozen semen. This proved to be a hugely successful and beneficial initiative to all the schools involved and a fabulous example of international collaboration. Since then, all the member schools have collaborated more widely and outside of the original group and many schools around the world have now entered into their own mutually beneficial collaborations. The Benefits of Sharing Sharing Bloodlines: The obvious benefits have already been outlined in terms of improving the quality of breeding programmes across the world. Sharing bloodlines enhances and improves the health and performance of all the breeding colonies involved. Please note there are additional organisations being processed. 4 the Visionary IGDF

5 UK Guide Dogs International Collaborations Between Guide Dog Breeding Programmes History and Benefits cont. Sharing Knowledge and Experience: It is a great privilege to have worked with some very fine ambassadors of the Guide Dog world, whose knowledge and experience has been given both freely and widely for the greater good. How wonderful it is that we have Guide Dog organisations with hugely experienced staff, willing to share their own knowledge and expertise in such a selfless and altruistic manner. Sharing Learning/ Educational Resources and Training: All Guide Dog schools are, by their very nature, unique in terms of their environment, size, structure and finances, amongst many other things. Small and emerging schools may benefit from the support of more established schools in terms of educational materials, processes and practices. This can be facilitated through the provision of materials and/or mentoring support, as well as visits from key staff to schools where evidence and examples of best practice take place. Guide Dogs UK is proud to have hosted many visits from Guide Dog personnel from around the world to help inform and educate the best we can about our work, including the breeding, puppy walking and training programmes. In addition, the Derek Freeman Scholarship provides grants to successful applicant organisations to support their practical and academic endeavours relating to breeding and puppy-raising. Funding from the scholarship provides support for travel, accommodation and study at host organisations and Guide Dogs UK has supported and hosted recipients of the scholarship, from the first recipient in 2006 from South Africa, to a team of 5 staff from Bulgaria earlier this year. In the true sense of the word sharing, we have also been the beneficiaries of much learning from those we have hosted and from similar educational visits our staff have been lucky enough to undertake over the years. Sharing New Ideas: We are always looking to improve in every aspect of our work and welcome the opportunities that IGDF conferences, breeding conferences, website information and regular contact with our colleagues around the world, provide. Such forums and communication networks enable transfer of knowledge and sharing of new ideas and practices that may be beneficial to all our schools and ultimately, to our respective Guide Dog users. Sharing Friendship and Moral Support: Of as much value as all the other sharing opportunities, is the opportunity to establish and develop peer group support. Like minded professionals, vastly experienced and knowledgeable, willing to share expertise, opinion, ideas and materials as well offering a listening ear when required. I personally feel very honoured and humbled that I have been able to develop many valuable contacts at various schools around the world with whom, on behalf of Guide Dogs UK, I am able to share work related problems, ask for advice, seek direction and look for ways to Screen shot from ABC News continuously improve in our respective and very specific fields of work. I am truly fortunate to regard many of these colleagues as my friends! In Summary: Collaboration can be considered as working together to accomplish a common goal. It is simply teamwork taken to a higher or broader level and International Guide Dog Breeding programmes have exemplified this perfectly. Those involved have shared - shared in every conceivable way, primarily through practical exchanges but also by offering different perspectives and expertise to solve common problems and innovate faster, utilising the strengths and skills of all those involved. On behalf of Guide Dogs UK, I thank you all and your respective organisations for your continued support, expertise, willingness to share and especially, your friendship. Issue 34 November 17 5

6 IGDCB Israel With A Lot Of Help From Our International Federation Friends: IGDCB Opens New Puppy Development And Training Campus, Winter 2017 Lisa Baron Haet - International Liaison IGDCB, Beit Oved, Israel Our stunning new Puppy Development and Training Campus is nearing completion. This game-changing project covers 1.5 acres and will mark the opening of a new chapter in the history of the Israel Guide Dog Center. We will be able to raise and train more quality guide dogs and therefore significantly increase the number of guide dog teams in Israel for waiting blind and visually impaired people. We intend to increase our number of guide dogs in training by almost doubling the number of puppies born each year. Our expansive new campus includes two new state-of-the-art kennels; for whelping and training. The new Whelping and Puppy Kennel includes luxury suites for 6 brood bitches, including an observation/whelping room. There are also individual puppy development yards for each litter. The Training Kennel has 16 pens for 50 guide dogs in training with separate training yards. The outdoor training grounds include: intersection light and crosswalk with aural signals, large awning-covered obstacle course, maze and playground for guide dogs in training, enclosed grass and gravel relief areas. The Breeding and Kennel Department and the Training and Instruction Department will be housed together in a refurbished building with computer stations and meeting area specifically for their use. A dog memorial is planned to honour guide dogs, breeding dogs and for donors who wish to memorialize their pets. The dedication of the new campus will be on Monday,April 16, 2018 at 10:00 am. We hope that all of our friends and supporters will come celebrate with us. We could not have planned and built this new campus without the critical input and support of our many International Federation colleagues. Over the past years, Orna Braun, Director of Breeding, Puppy Management and Kennels, visited and conferred with our valued colleagues at the International Federation and with numerous member guide dog schools in Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand, Asia and Africa. Orna is indebted to our colleagues around the world, who assisted her in gaining insight and knowledge as to how to properly plan our new training grounds and Training and Whelping Kennels. We are proud and excited to move forward with our important mission. We would like to express our genuine thanks to all of our Federation colleagues, who so generously shared their knowledge and expertise with us. Pictures of our new campus: Ariel view and Ami Toren, Director of Instruction and Training with guide dog in training in maze. Photo credit for Ami and dog; Yoav Ortov, GDMI. 6 the Visionary IGDF

7 Slovakia Guide and Assistance Dog Training School Breeding Quality Guide Dogs in Slovakia Jarmila Viragova Guide and Assistance Dog Training School, Slovakia Our organization, Guide and Assistance Dog Training School, is a very small non-profit organization that operates in Slovakia, Eastern Europe. So far, our work team has reached a maximum of 4 employed staff members. Despite our size, thanks to IGDF, our organization has got a successful small breeding program of Labrador Retrievers. I would like to encourage all the small organizations to embark on the journey of quality, of investing into their own specialized breeding for Guide Dog (Assistance Dog) purposes or acquiring dogs from specialized breeding programs for Guide or Assistance Dog. Our school started operating in 1993 and as, many other schools in those years, we were relying on purchasing Labrador Retrievers from common registered breeding stations. And we did have many problems with hip and elbow dysplasia, very high energy levels and unsuitable temperamental traits. In 2006 we acquired a 3-year old, pregnant, broodie Bronny, from Guide Dogs Victoria. We discovered that was the right way to go through the quality of Bronny s offspring, which was indeed much higher than the quality of the common Labs we had been training before. At the very beginnings of our breeding we were helped by Christine Baroni- Pretsch, Fondation Romande pour Chien Guides d Aveugles, Switzerland, who lent us one of her studs. As the travelling and all arrangements around natural mating was quite difficult and as we didn t have other possibilities at that time, we had to again rely on studs from common breeding lines. Later on we collaborated with Czech Guide Dog School and we shared a shipment of frozen semen from Guiding Eyes, USA and Guide Dogs for the Blind Inc, USA and we could again see the great difference in the quality of the offspring. To enlarge our colony with other breeding lines, we were extremely glad to acquire a breeding bitch Joanna from Guide Dogs for the Blind Inc, USA in GDBA supported us greatly also through the shipment of more frozen semen, however we were devastated when most of the material got destroyed by a mistake of our former inseminator. We were again at a point when we needed help from the outside. And we did receive it from the French breeding centre CESECAH and Association les Chiens Guides d Aveugles de l Ouest, France, that provided us with frozen semen. We also received a female puppy with the prospect of breeding qualities from CESECAH and as Anthony Morin was the person behind all this help, we named her, in his honour, Morin. Currently Morin is active in our breeding program. More recently, our school was donated a male puppy, Cosby, from Guiding Eyes, USA. Cosby was born and socialized in early puppy-hood at the Fondation Romande pour Chien Guides d Aveugles, Switzerland. Ten years has passed since the first puppies were born to Bronny in Slovakia and we are glad that in this time we have been able to give back and help others, who need it. We have provided a breeding bitch to the Czech school Mathilda, a stud to CESECAH, France and we shared frozen semen we were donated with the Centar Silver, Croatia. Dogs bred and/or trained at our school are successfully helping in Czech Republic, Germany, Malta, Poland and Belgium. And we are happy about the very positive feedback we are getting. There are many people who are behind this success. We would like to especially thank John Gosling, Jenna Bullis, Hana Jasenovcova, Anthony Morin, Christine Baroni-Pretsch and Jane Russenberger. We would like to thank Jane Russenberger for providing us with valuable training in using standardized assessment tools for dogs Behaviour Check List and GDBart test and for providing support in getting us started with the International Working Dog Registry database. Special thanks also to Bob Proesmans, who has provided invaluable input in discussing the use of PennHIP method with our veterinarian and who spent time with our inseminator teaching him to use the TCI method for artificial insemination. The existence of IGDF has a great value in the world of Guide Dogs. We are very glad that we are part of this and that we can, thanks to all of you, move forward in the right direction and join in supporting others. Issue 34 November 17 7

8 Guide Dogs for the Blind Inc USA Collaboration for the Highest Quality Dogs Jenna Bullis Guide Dogs for the Blind Inc, USA 2017 is Guide Dogs for the Blind, Inc. s 75th anniversary and we have very much enjoyed celebrating our organization and our community this year. We remain steadfast in our commitment to serving the global blindness community by helping clients from across North America and beyond and actively participating in the International Guide Dog Federation as assessors. We also greatly enjoy sharing our insights and knowledge with schools from around the world through visits to their sites and by hosting guests who are interested in learning about our approach to positive reinforcement, organizational best practices etc. We are also extremely proud of our efforts to support the genetic diversity of guide dogs through exchanges of breeding stock, puppies, and more with schools both near and far. Interestingly, originally, most of our dogs came from animal shelters. But it soon became evident that we were looking for something very specific: dogs that not only had excellent health, intelligence, and temperament, but also exhibited a willingness to work and thrive on praise. So in an effort to ensure consistent production of dogs with desirable traits, we started our first specialized breeding program in the late 1940s. In 1965 we received a very generous donation from Guide Dogs for the Blind Association. Two yellow Labrador puppies, Guidewell Representative Rep and sister Guidewell Rally -- a gift that proved to have a tremendous impact for us since these two dogs matured into breeding stock and became the foundation of our current colony. Today, nearly every GDB Labrador working in the field is a descendent of one of these dogs. This donation marked the very beginnings of a practice that would become very important for us in later years: collaborations with other schools. In the early 1990 s GDB was invited to join the Original Collaborative Breeding group founded by Mr. Paul Keymer of the Minnesota Guide Dogs Breeding Center. Mr. Keymer proposed a collaborative partnership to six guide dog schools, who were responsible for breeding over 80% of guide dogs in use. GDB eagerly joined the Original Group along with Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, The Seeing Eye, Guiding Eyes for the Blind, KNGF, and Guide Dogs, Victoria. This collaboration has enhanced each school s progress in reproductive practices, canine selection strategies and has ultimately improved the services provided for people with visual impairments. Because GDB operates the largest breeding colony in North America, international collaboration not only contributes to the genetic diversity of our own breeding colony, but also our reach and impact. Genetic diversity ensures that we have the highest quality dogs to partner with our students and that we put our teams in the best possible position to have long and successful partnerships. I directly benefited from this collaborative spirit in 2006 when GDB donated a fully trained German Shepherd guide to Guide Dogs Victoria (GDV). In return, GDV offered to host Susan Armstrong, now our VP of Training and Operations, and I for a 3- month O&M training course. Developing personal relationships and directly experiencing operations at another school gave us both a much broader perspective on the guide dog industry and had a profound effect on both our careers. Over the years GDB has enjoyed our many exchanges with Original Group members and a number of schools in Asia, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. We regularly donate puppies, germ plasma, and adult dogs around the world. These exchanges can also result in connecting people in fun and meaningful ways. For example, we recently received a brood from the Netherlands (KNGF) who we placed with a volunteer who emigrated from the Netherlands. She enjoys speaking Dutch to the dog and has even visited the puppy raisers on a recent trip to the Netherlands. On the occasions we donate an adult female dog, we do our best to ensure she is pregnant when we send her to her new home. This increases the impact of our donation by enabling the arrival of a litter of puppies immediately with additional litters to follow. We have also maximized our impact by sending frozen semen to multiple schools in Australia at the same time, saving on shipping costs and benefitting those schools with the combined shipment. While we live in a complicated world with many political and ideological differences, our international collaborations help us all rise above those differences. These collaborations are an essential part of GDB s past, present, and future and a compelling part of being a part of the IGDF family. 8 the Visionary IGDF

9 Guide Dogs NSW/ACT Australia Finding Success in Partnership Paul Adrian - Guide Dog Services Manager Guide Dogs NSW/ACT, Australia The collaboration behind the purpose - designed breeding program in Sydney, Australia Only a few years ago Guide Dogs NSW/ACT was sourcing its puppies from local breeders and using these pups to fulfill the requirements of its Guide Dog and Pets As Therapy Programs. This proved a very challenging endeavour due to an enormous range of issues including a shortage of suitable pups, as well as issues with the health, temperament and behaviour of the pups. In short, we were unable to exercise control over the breeding decisions that would enable improvements in characteristics that we desired most. What we had were some absolutely fantastic dogs but a large percentage of high energy dogs with lower degrees of compliance, many of which really didn't meet the needs of our clients. The solution was to begin our own breeding program. The plan was to transition to our own purpose-bred dogs in a period of just a few years. But how? Collaboration is how! In the initial stages we were reliant on the community that exists among Guide Dog schools all over the world. These schools helped with advice and expertise, as well as a supply of dogs which we could source to begin our own breeding program. We were fortunate to garner the support of our colleagues at Guide Dogs Victoria in Australia who provided us with a substantial number of pups which we could raise and select our foundation breeders from. The first of those pups to become a breeder was a female named Helinka and she is now immortalized as a significant part of Guide Dogs NSW/ACT history. Many other Guide Dog schools also helped. Guiding Eyes for the Blind, Guide Dogs for the Blind USA and Guide Dogs for the Blind UK have all donated frozen semen to our breeding program and helped us become productive, successful breeders in a very short space of time. We love telling people we have more than 30 breeding stud dogs in the tank and that they have come from Guide Dog schools all over the world. We feel closer to the Guide Dog community as a result. We were also very fortunate to obtain a Derek Freeman scholarship which funded a study tour by our Breeding Manager, Dr Caroline Moeser, to the USA. During this tour, Dr Moeser visited Guiding Eyes for the Blind, Guide Dogs for the Blind and the Seeing Eye. Each of these Guide Dog schools willingly shared their knowledge and vast experience, which has helped us enormously. Our clients have also reaped the benefits of our breeding program. We have many testimonials from those who have found their new Guide Dogs to be so much easier to manage and more effective to use than earlier Guide Dogs. Our volunteer puppy raisers have also noted the difference in our purpose-bred dogs. As collaboration is a two-way street, our increasing success has given us the opportunity to share with others. We have done this in various ways, including providing trained dogs to other schools as we found ourselves with more dogs than we needed! Sharing stud dogs and frozen semen is also on the horizon as other Guide Dog schools see the quality of the dogs we now have on offer and our willingness to reciprocate the generosity shown to us. Importantly, we also took the decision very early on to gather behavioural data that we could share with other Guide Dog schools to further collaborative breeding efforts. Our choice to use the Behavioural Check List (BCL) and GDBART assessment tools means that our data can be shared with others via the International Working Dog Registry (IWDR) breeding data base. Shared data is essential to meaningful longterm collaboration with others in the project to breed better Guide Dogs. The work of the IGDF was founded on the generous support provided by members to one another over many decades. It is fantastic to see that the spirit of co-operation and a shared interest in meeting the needs of our clients has led to a continuation of this generosity today. More information about the IWDR can be obtained from support@iwdr.org Issue 34 November 17 9

10 Mathilda Guide Dogs Czech Republic Guide Dogs In The Czech Republic Hana Jasenovcova Mathilda Guide Dogs, Czech Republic I began to work with guide dogs at those times when half of Europe was hidden behind the Iron Curtain. We did not have information from the outside world, we had to work out our own path. We were mainly working with German Shepherds, dogs of high temperament, excitable, not always stable in nerves. Something we could not even imagine today. In 1989 the fall of the communist regime meant we had the chance to receive a huge amount of new information. In the 90s the first Czech Guide Dog School was built and a little time later we managed to become part of the IGDF, I say we as I worked at this school from the beginning. Thanks to information from the IGDF, we began to work with puppy walkers. We were learning how to choose puppies, how to teach the puppy walkers what they should do with them and also to evaluate their progress. Still, we did have problems with the dogs' characters and quite a big problem was also their health. This all, logically, led us to a creation of our own breeding program. In 1997 our first brood gave birth to our first litter. She and the other broods - Golden Retrievers and Labradors - came from commercial breeders. The percentage of young dogs that had to be released from training was reduced, but we still searched for a possibility to improve our breeding program. There is a Czech saying Luck favors the prepared. - and we were really lucky. In 2006 the assessment was done in the Czech Guide School by Ken Lord. Thanks to his huge help we obtained six female dogs to become guide dog broods in our school! Huge thanks also go to a number of guide dog schools: Leader Dogs for The Blind, The Seeing Eye and Guiding Eyes for the Blind, The Guide Dogs for The Blind Association and Guide Dogs Victoria. We kept all of these females for breeding and in 2011 we used frozen semen from Guiding Eyes for the Blind. Since 2012 I no longer work in the Czech Guide Dog School, but in a much smaller organization, Mathilda Guide Dogs. From the beginning, we wanted to follow the breeding success and cooperate not only among the Czech Republic but also with countries around. We started cooperating with the Guide and Assistance Dog Training School from Slovakia. In this school, the quality of dogs put into training is very high. I would like to thank them for the very great job they are doing and also for the possibility to cooperate with them. In 2016 I had a chance to attend a breeders' workshop in Prague which took place thanks to the development committee of the IGDF. We obtained a big amount of information coming from research and breeding work of many people. We were informed about the IWDR and especially about the GDBART testing, which we had a chance to try out. We would like to thank Jane Russenberger, Bob Proesmans and Paul Keymer for their generosity and willingness to spend their time with us and teach us new and very useful things. The breeders' workshop was followed up by 16 Skype lectures led by Jane this year, during which she taught us and staff from other guide dog schools in Europe how to use and score the GDBART tests using the Behavior Check Lists. She showed us how to look at the dogs' behavior during the test, why correct scoring is important, how to evaluate the tests and how they can help us in breeding. We would like to thank Jane for the time and effort she dedicated to us and for her obligingness and patience. We would also like to thank her for all the time and work she dedicates to improving the genes of guide dogs. Ivana Merryman Boncori and Bob Proesmans are also people who we would like to thank for organizing (and Ivana for translating) the Skype trainings. I would like to thank the whole IGDF which, thanks to its experts, is sharing the knowledge among all of the guide dog schools. I think I am thanking all of you especially in the name of us, small schools, which do not have their own big gene pool, but can cooperate with each other so that the work of people from the IGDF helps improve the lives of a bigger and bigger amount of visually impaired people. 10 the Visionary IGDF

11 Guide Dogs NSW/ACT Australia USA Guiding Eyes for the Blind Working Together How Far We Have Come Jane Russenberger Guiding Eyes for the Blind, USA Ken Lord, the founder of IGDF, infectiously shared his vision with everyone, and through the many whom he inspired his legacy lives on. At first blush, one may think that sharing your best dogs, reference materials, and approaches will give the competition an edge, but the reality is that by working together, we expand everyone s ability to match high-quality, well-trained dogs with more of the people who need them. I am grateful to be at Guiding Eyes for the Blind where the culture of sharing is strong. We give and we also receive from interacting, learning and sharing with others from around the globe. From our first collaborative breeding in 1991, when our brood Clover was mated with Guide Dogs for the Blind Marco and the litter was split, the benefits of collaboration were Collaboration In The Veterinary Space Caroline Moeser Guide Dogs NSW/ACT, Australia I have been the vet for Guide Dogs NSW/ACT for almost ten years now, and hadn t realised how much I have grown in that time. I have recently reflected on the differences between regular veterinarians and those in the Guide Dog and breeding industries. As a vet in private practice, most of our work is reactive. A dog will present with a condition. We treat the dog, and the owners are happy. In the Guide Dog world, not only do we need to resolve the condition for the dog, we also need to ask ourselves various questions, such as: 1. What is the likelihood this condition will re-occur? 2. What is the potential that a future Guide Dog handler will need to manage this condition long term? 3. Is it hereditary? If so, what is the mode of inheritance? Should we breed from this dog? 4. Is it contagious? What preventative procedures do we need to put into place to protect the rest of the colony? It is a very different way of thinking. It is clear. The success rate among these puppies was far better than what Guiding Eyes was obtaining by mating to privately bred Labradors. I wonder where we would be today without the vision of Dr. Eldin Leighton who patiently taught us genetics. And Paul Keymer from the Minnesota Guide Dog Breeding Center who 25 years ago spoke of a day when we would all be sharing our best dogs with each other to collectively produce the best guide dog the world has ever seen. Paul made the sharing and use of frozen semen around the world possible for us with a 1993 donation enabling Guiding Eyes to establish the first cryogenics center in a guide dog organization in North America. Now, Clover Williams, our Reproduction and Cryogenics Manager teaches others from around the world how to use TCI and frozen semen, and they, in turn, are passing that knowledge along to others. As IGDF members sought to optimize canine development with early socialization and puppy raising, multiple organizations shared their expertise. Guiding Eyes joined in by making our Successive Training and Enrichment Program (STEP) program for puppy development available. If you are interested contact Michelle Meunier at proactive. Being a Veterinarian for a Guide Dog school has improved my skills and, I believe, made me a better vet. Not only do we need to predict the future of dogs that are showing clinical signs, we need to also predict which dogs will develop disease in their lifetime, and when, even though they are currently presenting as normal. Identifying the earliest indicators of future disease, before they affect the dog, is paramount. It is a very unique skill and I feel lucky to be in this industry, not only for the opportunity it brings to improve myself, but also for the ability to connect with others in the same position. Having recently met with staff from schools around the globe, I have been blown away with how willing they are to share their experiences and knowledge. In other industries, like-minded businesses are seen as competitors but in our industry, we are moving forward together, openly trying to help each other improve. This is where the International Working Dog Registry (IWDR) fits in. This database has the ability to collect and analyse all our health diagnoses. Calculating Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) reduces subjectivity in our decision making. How many of us have asked for a second opinion, only to receive conflicting advice on our health? The same is true for veterinarians. Our advice will be based on historical cases that we have seen (and remember!), which papers we have read, and in some cases, just the gut feelings that we get. We try to be objective but there will mmeunier@guidingeyes.org. Collaboration has also helped us all talk the same language to score dog behavior using Dr. James Serpell s Behavior Checklist (BCL). Multiple organizations worked with Dr. Serpell to create definitions and expand the original version of the BCL in use at The Seeing Eye. Others generously contributed by translating the BCL to French, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Slovak and Dutch. Paul Keymer s brother Kevin has given literally thousands of hours of time programming aspects of Reldog, ReldogLite, and now the International Working Dog Registry (IWDR). Collaboration once again played a role with Guide Dogs for the Blind providing the initial file structure for Reldog and Guiding Eyes providing ReldogLite. IWDR is now in the early stages of making it possible for all organizations, regardless of size, to use advanced genetic tools to improve their dogs. Contact support@iwdr.org for more information. So many have benefitted from the hard work of those who have gone before us. Because they were willing to give and share with others, blind people today are the beneficiaries, now making their journey through life paired with guide dogs who are much improved over those available in decades past. always be some degree of personal opinion in the decisions that we make. As an industry that shares genetic material, together we will improve at a faster rate when we share information and our diagnoses are consistent, objective and based on international standards. Difficulties occur when each country has their own protocols around methods of diagnosis. For example, there are many different opinions on the best method of diagnosing elbow dysplasia with recommendations varying from the use of a single flexed lateral radiograph to the use of four radiographic views or the use of CT. Development of recommended diagnostic protocols would assist all schools, especially those without dedicated veterinarians on staff, to move forward in their breeding programs. Over the past 9 months, I have been assisting Jane Russenberger in maintaining the health diagnoses on the IWDR. It has been an incredible opportunity, encouraging me to research the current international standards of diagnosis, and enabling me to connect with veterinarians from other Guide Dog organisations. Our hope at Guide Dogs NSW/ACT is that we will soon be able to use EBVs in our breeding program, providing the ability to use genetic selection to further improve our mating decisions. We understand that the associated genetic improvement may take time, but we are excited to be starting on that journey. Issue 34 November 17 11

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