Guide dogs enjoy their role with blind persons

I refer to the letter by Charles Camilleri titled Abnormal Life Of Guide Dogs For Blind (December 17).

I am a dog trainer and dog behaviourist. I have now been involved in the dog world for many years doing various studies, research and training. Nonetheless, I always acknowledge the fact that there is always much to learn, contrary to Mr Camilleri, who seems to know it all.

I introduced to Malta the Good Citizen Dog Scheme and, recently, am also training for the advanced dog sport, which is known as IPO. I am also the local trainer of guide dog puppies.

I was honestly shocked on reading the letter in question and truly wonder how people can still make such comments without knowing the facts or understanding the subject discussed. In no way do I pretend to be a know-it-all person but, surely, I can discuss this topic in much more detail than Mr Camilleri.

Has Mr Camilleri ever attended one of my training sessions? (I have my own training methods and philosophy and in no way am I associating myself with other trainers.) My training philosophy is that, in order to have a good working dog, the dog must love what it's doing. My methods are only focused on positive reinforcement and in no way do I stress or punish the dog, which is totally against my nature because I truly adore dogs. Indeed, stressing or punishing the dogs would be counter-productive.

A dog that is trained through harsh inhumane methods would never be a good working dog as it would only work out of fear of its trainer and would be unpredictable with its future blind companion. Such a dog would be anxious and lack total capability to use what it learned in real life.

On the contrary, guide dogs are happy animals that enjoy what they are doing and do it not out of fear but out of true love for what they are doing, unlike most people on their jobs. A treat, a toy and good praise is all a dog needs to reach a proficient level of obedience. I train guide dogs for GCDS in Malta and then they continue their training abroad where I was assured that training is based on my same methods.

We definitely cannot compare guide dogs to circus animals. Unlike Mr Camilleri, I cannot discuss training methodologies used in the case of circus animals as I have never attended any of their training sessions, and all I know is through hearsay. But I can certainly say one thing: You cannot compare tigers, lions, zebras, elephants etc. with dogs. The former are all wild animals with very sharp wild instincts whereas the dog has been domesticated. Dogs have been man's companion for centuries; they love human contact and would do anything for it.

Guide dogs are among the most happy dogs as they have the opportunity to stay with their owner all the time and feel useful. Remember that dogs are pack animals, so they look forward to stay with their pack members, in this case the blind person. Unlike many people who get dogs just for the sake of having a pet and then leave them for long periods of time alone and never bother to give them any training whatsoever, the guide dog feels useful and totally satisfied.

Dogs have instincts, which need to be satisfied in order to be happy. A guide dog knows it's useful and this is the most gratifying feeling for it. Can we say the same thing for all the dogs that people get as "pets"?

Instead of uselessly arguing about guide dogs' validity, it would be better if we discussed how we can be helped. I am always longing to learn more and have better facilities for dogs and dog training in Malta, but never has anyone bothered to give a helping hand.

Other issues that should be urgently discussed are, for example, how to change's the Maltese people's attitude towards animals, how we can be responsible dog owners and many other issues, which I will not go into here but which I would gladly tackle if anyone ever gave me the opportunity.

Anyone who wants to know more or join any of my training classes or even just come and watch is free to contact me at maltadogtraining@gmail.com.