Understanding Psychology (10th Ed)

BECOMING AN 
INFORMED CONSUMER 
of Psychology
Lowering the Risks of Date Rape
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PsychWork
SEEING EYE GUIDE DOG TRAINER
Name: 
Lea Johnson
Position: 
Seeing Eye Guide Dog Trainer
Education: 
BS, Geography, Dartmouth College, 
Hanover, NH
For decades, guide dogs have provided a set of eyes to the 
visually impaired, expanding the opportunities open to them 
and increasing their independence. But it takes a great deal of 
training to make a dog an effective seeing eye guide dog, 
according to Lea Johnson, who works with The Seeing Eye 
agency in Morristown, New Jersey. Johnson teaches apprentice 
instructors to carry out the demanding, but rewarding, process 
of training dogs. 
“We hire college graduates, and while we don’t require a 
specifi c major, a background in psychology or animal science allows employees to 
more easily connect with different aspects of the job,” she said. 
An apprentice instructor needs to have self-motivation in order to complete all 
aspects of the dog’s training. In addition, they need to be able to work in a team 
setting, according to Johnson. But that’s only part of it. 
“The process of training the dogs is complex,” says Johnson. “For example, the 
dog must be obedient and respond to their visually-impaired owner. But they also 
get praised for sometimes refusing their owner’s commands, if it would put their 
owner in danger.” 
Once a dog learns the skills it needs, the trainer must then teach a visually-
impaired person how to work with the dog. 
“After training dogs for four months, the trainers must be able to teach blind 
people the skills to care for and travel with their Seeing Eye dog safely,” Johnson 
said. Not only must trainers relate well to dogs, but they also must interact well with 
blind people. She adds, “The training of people is intense and emotionally challeng-
ing in a very different way from the dog training portion. Without a good heart to 
start with, trainers would never be successful.”
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