WEEKENDER How guide dogs and humans become partners

Completing professional training does not mean a guide dog is immediately ready to accompany a visually impaired person. The dog must first be matched with a suitable partner, and the two must learn to walk and live together.

Few understand this process better than Yoo Seok-jong of Samsung Guide Dog School. Born with a visual impairment, Yoo now lives with his fifth guide dog. Drawing on his own experience, he helps visually impaired people find dogs suited to their needs and lifestyles.

During an interview at the school in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, on Nov. 2, Yoo was accompanied by Gori, a 5-year-old demonstration dog. Yoo's own guide dog was at a veterinary clinic after falling ill that morning.

Friendly and sociable, Gori normally helps introduce visitors to guide dogs and accompanies visually impaired people on trial walks.

Yoo said one of the most important factors in matching a guide dog with a prospective partner is walking speed.

"The person's walking speed needs to match the dog's natural pace," he said. "Trying to force either one to adjust can be difficult."

Temperament is equally important. A very energetic dog may not be well suited to someone with a laid-back personality, while a particularly calm dog may struggle to keep up with a more active person.

The school also assesses whether the prospective partner can comfortably manage the dog's behavior.

Once a match is made, the pair undergo three weeks of training together.

During the first week, the visually impaired partner stays at the school to learn how to feed, bathe and groom the dog, manage its bathroom needs and communicate through commands and praise.

For the following two weeks, a trainer visits the person's neighborhood to help the pair become familiar with everyday routes.

As training progresses, the trainer gradually steps back, observing from a distance to ensure the pair can travel safely without assistance.

But completing the program does not mean the adjustment period is over.

Yoo compared welcoming a guide dog into one's life to suddenly having a child. Daily routines change as feeding, bathroom breaks and other responsibilities become part of everyday life.

He said it generally takes three to four months for the new routine to feel natural.

The school's involvement continues long after the pair begin living together. Trainers conduct follow-up visits every six months until the dog is around 4 years old and annually thereafter.

Additional support is available when a partner moves, changes jobs or needs help navigating unfamiliar routes.

Guide dogs typically retire around age 9, after about seven years of service, and go on to become ordinary pets — usually with a new family, but sometimes with their former partner. The school maintains contact with their partners throughout the dog's working life.

"After staying involved in their lives for so long, we come to regard them as family," Yoo said.

Greater independence, deeper companionship

For Yoo, the greatest value of a guide dog lies in greater freedom.

For visually impaired people traveling independently with a white cane, navigating their surroundings requires constant attention. They must identify obstacles, determine which direction to take and remain alert throughout the journey.

Yoo compared the experience to that of a novice driver concentrating intensely on avoiding accidents.

"When you're a beginner behind the wheel, you're not enjoying a leisurely drive," he said. "You're so focused on driving safely that you can't relax and take in your surroundings."

With a guide dog, visually impaired people who are familiar with their routes can rely on the dog to help navigate obstacles, making walking less stressful and providing a greater sense of security.

"Having a guide dog doesn't mean you can go everywhere," he said. "But it gives visually impaired people another option. Being able to make more decisions for yourself is enormously meaningful."

Guide dogs can also transform social interactions. People often respond to them with curiosity and affection, creating opportunities for conversations and connections that might otherwise never happen.

Beyond their working responsibilities, guide dogs also provide companionship and emotional comfort, much like other pets.

"Outside, they're guide dogs, but at other times they're just like any other pet," Yoo said. "Being able to spend so much time together brings tremendous peace of mind."

Etiquette when encountering guide dogs

People who encounter guide dogs may be tempted to pet them or offer treats, but doing so without permission is inappropriate. Yoo emphasized that understanding why such behavior should be avoided matters more than simply memorizing rules.

Like any other dog, a guide dog deserves respect. People should not touch or feed one without first asking its partner.

The same consideration applies to photographs. Taking pictures without permission, particularly when they are shared on social media, can violate the privacy of the visually impaired person accompanying the dog.

Guide dogs are highly sociable. They may respond to strangers who approach or call out to them, potentially distracting them from their work and compromising their partner's safety.

That does not mean touching a guide dog is always forbidden. Yoo said people can ask permission, and interaction may be welcome when the situation is safe and the partner is comfortable.

What matters most, he stressed, is respecting the person accompanying the dog rather than treating the pair as a spectacle.

"When you start looking at a guide dog as just part of the scenery, you lose sight of basic respect for the person beside it," Yoo said.