The Guide Dogs, the vision-loss charity, will analyze eight-week-old puppies’ responses to see who handles surprises best, how they interact with human voices, and how they respond to difficult and sometimes impossible problems. The results will then be monitored as the dogs mature to understand what a good guide dog is and the information will be used to improve breeding programs. The charity is already making animal tampons for DNA samples to help improve the performance of future generations. “What we’re looking at is how our dogs can solve problems,” said Dr. Helen Whiteside, chief scientific officer at the £ 112 million-a-year charity. “From a breeding point of view, what we can do is look at what aspects of it are inheritable… so that we can make sure we retain those amazing traits that are fantastic in our breeding population.” Ziggy the Golden Retriever is involved in the work of the new object. Photo: Dogs Guides / PA The puppies will be involved in six tasks, including an unsolved task in which a closed container with visible food is placed in front of the puppy. his answers are monitored and after 30 seconds the box opens. In an odor detection activity, a puppy will be presented with two tubes: one with food and one without, which are changed to see if the puppy can determine where the food is. An amazing event work will include three different items that appear on an evaluation pen: a bucket bag containing crumpled paper, an umbrella opening, and a metal foil. The puppy’s reactions are then monitored. Giving an example of where a guide dog might need to solve a problem, Becky Hunt, a dog partner at the charity, said: fit both, the dog must solve this problem. “Is it safe to walk around this car?” Subscribe to the First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7 p.m. BST He added: “Essentially, we want to improve our breeding program, we want to improve what we do, we want to improve the support of our dogs.” Guide Dogs aims to work with 1,000 dogs each year with people who need them to help with daily life. The charity said the activities are designed to be fun and interesting, but if a puppy does not want to get involved or shows signs of feeling uncomfortable, the work will stop.
