The experience of owning a guide dog

Wiggett-Barnard, Cindy; Steel, Henry

doi:10.1080/09638280701466517

Cited by 52 publications

(69 citation statements)

References 14 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The research question posed was “What is the impact of volunteering to raise a guide dog puppy on human physical, psychological and social health?” The answer to this question is that there were positive and negative impacts upon self-reported human health. Like those people with vision impairment who received a guide dog [5] the experience impacted life substantially, but for the participants in this study, the impacts were more negative than positive. In this qualitative study, as opposed to the survey study by Vail [14], the costs outweighed the benefits.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…Studies on the relationship between the guide dog and the vision-impaired person are few. In a study from South Africa by Wiggett-Barnard and Steel [5] six people with vision impairment who had a guide dog were interviewed. The authors concluded that living with a guide dog was life changing and offered both positive and negative experiences.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Experience of Being a Guide Dog Puppy Raiser Volunteer: A Longitudinal Qualitative Collective Case Study

Chur‐Hansen

Werner

McGuiness

et al. 2014

Animals

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Simple SummaryGuide dogs are important service animals. They cannot be trained without the input of volunteer puppy raisers, who serve as custodians for the animals for around 12 months. To date very little research has considered the experience of being a guide dog puppy raiser, including the costs and benefits to psychological, physical and social health. In this study one litter of puppies and their raisers were followed from before the animal arrived until one year had passed. Overall, less positive experiences were reported than more negative ones. This has implications for the organisations that seek volunteers to raise service animals.AbstractThere are no published studies that consider the experiences of guide dog puppy raisers. As these people are volunteers, their continued willingness to participate in the training of dogs for assisting the vision impaired and blind is essential for the viability of guide dog schools around the world. Using a qualitative, longitudinal methodology, data were collected from nine guide dog puppy raisers at four time points: before receiving the puppy, one week, then three months after the puppy arrived, and 13 months after the puppy arrived (at which time all puppies had left the raisers). Participants reported more challenges than benefits in raising the puppies. Volunteering to be a guide dog puppy raiser may not be the pleasant experience that is anticipated when community members first offer their services. Understanding what it is like to be a puppy raiser and working towards ways in which to address problems is essential, given that, without volunteers to train and care for puppies, vision impaired and blind people would not have access to guide dogs.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Experience of Being a Guide Dog Puppy Raiser Volunteer: A Longitudinal Qualitative Collective Case Study

Chur‐Hansen

Werner

McGuiness

et al. 2014

Animals

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Studies from disciplines outside of HCI have looked at guide dog teams. This body of work concerns itself primarily with the impact on identities of guide dog owners [19], the benefits of guide dogs [11,23], and the experience of their usage [24]. However, research on technology and guide dog teams is conspicuously absent across intersecting disciplines.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving guide dog team play with accessible dog toys

Hauser

Wakkary

Neustaedter

2014

CHI '14 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

People with vision impairment have been a longstanding well-recognized user group addressed in HCI. Despite the recent interest in studying sighted dog owners and their pets in HCI, there is a noticeable gap in the field with regards to research on visually impaired owners and their dogs (guide dog teams). This paper presents portions of an ongoing study that explores interactions of guide dog teams revealing major opportunities for focusing on challenges faced in "off-work" everyday activities. In particular, opportunities point to promoting design interventions enriching play-interaction through accessible dog toys utilizing sensor technologies.

show abstract

“…Guide-dog partners who considered their dog a satisfactory mobility aid were more mobile compared with guide-dog partners who considered their dog an unsatisfactory mobility aid, or to when they were using other mobility aids prior to acquiring their guide dogs (Lloyd et al 2008a). However, beyond being a mobility aid, acquisition of a guide dog is a life-changing event for their partners, psychologically and socially: increased selfworth, confidence, independence, social interactions, and offers from others (Sanders 2000;Whitmarsh 2005;Wiggett-Barnard and Steel 2008). These psychosocial outcomes would have synergistic effects on the increased mobility of guide dogs' partners.…”

Section: Physical Activities Of People With Visual Disabilitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%