The History of Guide Dogs. Part One
Domestic animals have long become a part of human life, helping to gather food, sometimes becoming food themselves, guarding, hunting mice and rats, warning of danger, playing with children, and even calming them.
Our First Friend
The most loyal domestic animal to humans is the dog. This bond formed when humans managed to domesticate wolves several tens of thousands of years ago. For a long time, dogs were merely guards or hunting assistants, but over time, humans made dogs their companions. When dogs became companions, what we now call “breeds” emerged, and some dogs moved into human homes, becoming an integral part of them.
Illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages, Renaissance paintings, Victorian miniatures are full of images of dogs surrounded by their owners. In the British Empire, dogs even became symbols of some military units—the Irish wolfhound became the symbol of His Majesty’s Irish Guards. The British bulldog, initially participating in bull-baiting, transformed in the 20th century into the symbol of the illustrious and controversial politician Winston Churchill.
In the Russian Empire, the iconic dogs were Russian greyhounds, while various tiny lap dogs in the 18th century symbolized French absolutism. The Afghan hound reminds us of the harsh climate of the highlands of Central Asia, just as the Siberian husky does of the frosts of Eastern Siberia.
However, dogs did not just help with hunting or adorn the interiors of Versailles; they were loyal helpers to shepherds in various parts of the world. The Scottish collie, Polish sheepdog, New Zealand sheepdog, border collie, and many other breeds, known as herding dogs, still work in their field.
Interestingly, the kind-hearted Newfoundland dogs and Labrador retrievers were also once helpers to humans in obtaining food. They assisted Canadian fishermen on the island of Newfoundland and were used for a while in hunting as so-called gun dogs. Now, these beautiful and intelligent dogs have become faithful companions to humans and favorites of our children.
Faithful Companion
Tragic events often lead to decisions and changes that radically alter social life on our planet. World War I turned life upside down worldwide, particularly in terms of caring for the wounded and disabled. Blindness, which was previously mostly the result of trachoma epidemics, now had a completely different cause. Gas attacks on the frontlines left many soldiers from both sides blind, making their return to civilian life extremely difficult.
World War I and the beginning of assistance to those who became blind during combat are considered the starting point for the establishment of guide dog institutions in Europe and North America. Despite the controversial biography of German doctor Gerhard Stalling, he is considered the founder of the modern school for training guide dogs.
Gerhard Stalling’s merit lies in his systematic study of methods for training dogs to become reliable and faithful companions for blind people. His first guide dog training school opened in 1916 in Oldenburg (Lower Saxony) and, within a few years, Stalling’s school opened branches in other cities: Bonn, Dresden, Freiburg, Hamburg, Münster, and Hanover.
The results of Stalling’s work were impressive. In 1919, 539 former soldiers who had lost their sight on the front received guide dogs, and by 1920, the school had trained 867 such dogs. Starting in 1919, the school trained 600 dogs per year, which was a huge success for that time. Besides Germany, guide dog schools using Stalling’s method sent their dogs to other countries: the United Kingdom, Italy, France, the USA, Canada, Spain, and even the Soviet Union.
Unfortunately, the school in Oldenburg had to close in 1926 due to a decline in the quality of guide dog training.