How to train a dog to properly cross a road?
Reading several articles on guide dogs for the blind I often found that, when it comes to the road crossing bit, they say that the dogs are not trained to pay attention to the crossing lights or the beeper some crossings are equipped with, they rather look at the changes in traffic movement.
Anyone knows how do they train the dogs to "look for cars" before crossing?
Edit: I'm aware that there is a command given by the handler but my question is about how they get taught to evaluate the traffic after the command is given.
This is an example of the various things I read (from guidedogsofamerica FAQ page):
Q: I heard that dogs are color blind, so how do they know when the
light turns green so they can cross the street?
A: Guide Dogs do not read the lights nor make the decision to cross
the street. It is the guide dog user that gives the command to go
forward. First the guide dog user listens for the traffic. When the
guide dog user determines it is safe to go forward, they give the
command and cross the street. If the guide dog determines it is unsafe
to cross the street when it is given the command, it will
“intelligently disobey”. This might happen if the guide dog user
misjudges the traffic or if a motorist suddenly comes around a corner
speeding. In many cases, guide dogs have saved lives because they have
protected their partners from dangerous situations involving unsafe
motor vehicles.
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Actually, they don't teach the dog to cross when the traffic changes, they teach the dog to stop at the corner when it is on wearing the harness (without regard for lights, signs or traffic) they teach the person to cross when the sounds indicate the traffic is favorable. When the dog is on a leash, it is "not working" and does not stop.
A guide dog who is "working" (wearing the harness) behaves much differently then when "not working". A guide dog out of harness and on a leash behaves like any other dog.
You can teach the dog, to stop when somethings occur (i.e. wearing a harness, and at a corner) but they only go when given a signal by the person.
I have some real life experience with guide dogs, they are smart and they are trained, but the level of expertise your research is indicating would be best case, and rare. There are occasions that a guide dog will make choices and disregard the blind persons direction and do something wonderful, but there are just as many where the dog will do something inappropriate. A guide dog is living tool, much like a cane or GPS. None are infallible, they give clues to the person who then makes the decisions.
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