Heavily face-tattooed people being employed to train guide dogs
Reading, UK - A charity that provides guide dogs to help people with sight loss has started hiring trainers with intense face tattoos after research suggested that dogs often react to unusual body characteristics.
Guide Dogs is a UK-based charity which trains and socializes guide dogs for people with visual impairments and/or blindness. The organization also campaigns for the rights of people with sight loss.
In a recent blog post, though, the organization shed light on a rather unusual part of its training strategy.
The organization explained that they're using people with extreme tattoos and facial modifications like piercings to help expose the dogs to differences they might encounter while working in the field!
The move is in response to research findings that "almost two-thirds (63%) of dogs have reacted with fear or confusion to attributes they have not seen or been exposed to before."
Why would you use heavily tattooed and body modded people to train your darling doggo?
For Guide Dogs, an organization that trains dogs which are then relied upon by people with sight loss, the socializing of a pup is extremely important.
By normalizing them to people who have an unconventional look, dogs will be less likely to respond in fear.
"One in five dog owners said their dogs have shown signs of fear or confusion when encountering unfamiliar physical attributes such as beards, facial piercings, tattoos, and unconventional hairstyles," Guide Dogs wrote on their blog.
It is unclear what study they are citing in the post, but studies do suggest that "dogs that are appropriately socialized as puppies are less likely to exhibit behavioral problems as adults, including aggression and fearfulness."
Haley Andrews, Head of Puppy Raising at Guide Dogs, said that the goal of the organization's initiative "is to have a dog who is comfortable and self-assured in all situations... by giving puppies a strong bank of calm, positive experiences in early life and continuing them into adulthood."
"Guide Dogs is looking to find new Puppy Raisers, with a particular callout to people with distinctive characteristics, from beards and brightly colored mohawks to facial piercings and tattoos." Do you fit the bill?
Cover photo: Collage: Screenshots/Instagram/@guidedogsuk