London Guide Dogs training centre opens to public

Dog lovers have been invited to take a look behind the scenes at the Guide Dogs' training centre in east London for the first time.

From September, the charity will open the doors to its south east regional centre in Woodford Green for tours of its refurbished facilities, so that visitors can understand the training journey of a guide dog.

The centre has been running for 40 years and is home to about 75 trainee guide dogs at any given time, with the dogs at various stages of training to assist people with sight loss.

Daniel Stacy, mobility specialist at the charity, said they wanted people to feel like they could "conquer the world" with their guide dog by their side.

Within his role, Stacy partners the trained dogs with their eventual owners.

"It's crucial that we get it right," he said. "These dogs are working potentially until nine years of age, sometimes a little bit more.

"We're looking at the longevity of the partnership."

He said the charity would look at both the person and the dog's workload and needs in order to form a match.

He explained that by using positive reinforcement training, visually impaired or blind people should be able to feel the "positivity" of a dog that enjoys its work.

"We want our service users to go out and feel like they can conquer the world," he said.

Stacy explained how the guide dogs that work in central London retire earlier than others due to the "volume of responsibility" from managing the demands of the capital.

"A lot of our dogs that are working in central London, they're kind of earmarked for that area when they're trained here at Redbridge," he said.

"If they enjoy the intensity of being around lots of people... they've got that drive to want to get onto the Tube, [they] will tend to be matched to someone that works or lives in central London."

Volunteer Suzanne fosters guide dogs as they go through their training.

"It's so rewarding," she said. "During the day they come to school and they learn and they come home in the evening absolutely shattered.

"It will be like a family pet when it's at home. As a fosterer, you just reinforce the training. It's lovely to have them in our home.

"When they've finished living with us, they go off to be life changers."

The charity said more than 800 people across the UK were waiting for a Guide Dog, and more volunteers were needed to fulfil the roles of puppy raisers and fosterers to help bridge the gap.

Volunteer Stuart, who looks after retired guide dog Gem, likened the work at the centre to "magic", adding: "You take a soppy little dog and you turn it into this amazing creature who just takes visually impaired people through their life.

"They change lives - it's very inspiring."

Stuart said he started volunteering for the charity in order to "give something back".

"What I hadn't realised is how many friends I'd make," he said. "It's been great."

He said Gem worked "really hard" during her days of service, and would be working for about 16 hours each day.

"Now in retirement, we're just trying to make her happy," he said.

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