A Guiding Paw

A rhythmic clicking sound rises above the soft hum of Pullman’s Daily Grind coffee shop.

The tip of an ink-black tail peeks over the tops of coffee tables, weaving in and out of the crowded shop.

As it approaches, two beady, black eyes gleam from between the legs of different patrons, and a glistening nose sniffs eagerly at the many scents wafting from the front counter.

“Mulder, down.”

Sydney Gueller stares down at her dog with stern eyes. With one look, Mulder, a black Labrador Retriever, knows just what to do.

The guide dog-in-training takes a seat on the hardwood floor, with a face that depicts both loyal obedience and a deep curiosity. From around the shop, onlookers gaze at Mulder, who still looks the part of a puppy. However, his green vest signals that Mulder, no matter how cute, has a job to do.

“I definitely have a soft spot for him,” Gueller said. “He’s going to be a hard one to let go. They’re bred for this. This is what they’re meant to do. If he stays here, he’s just a pet. He could go on and do so much more.”

Gueller, a Washington State University junior, said she has been training potential guide dogs since her interest was first piqued in high school.

Now working with her fifth puppy-in-training, Gueller said she underestimated the amount of good training seeing-eye dogs can do.

The five-year veteran said she initially began her journey to becoming a puppy raiser after a volunteer recommended joining a local club in her hometown of Chelan, Washington.

“Our local leader convinced me to come to meetings. ‘Come, you’ll get to meet more dogs, hang out with dogs,’” she said. “But, once you get involved with Guide Dogs, you can’t stop. It’s always growing, and it helps so many people.”

Gueller became a member of Guide Dogs for the Blind, a national organization that relies on the help of local volunteers across the country to raise and train puppies who eventually go on to help those in need. Once in college, Gueller joined Guiding Paws of the Palouse, a subset of the national organization.

The 76-year-old company began training dogs for visually impaired veterans returning home from World War II. With a large number of training facilities present on the East Coast, Guide Dogs for the Blind sought to bring that same level of aid out West. Now, the organization has expanded to seven states, including Idaho, Oregon and Washington, according to the organization’s website.

“One of our sayings in this organization is, ‘Raise a puppy, save a life,’” Gueller said. “You get to play with a puppy, and you get to help so many people.”

Gueller said puppy raisers often spend about a year with their animal, which is bred and pre-chosen by Guide Dogs for the Blind.

Raisers are sent either Golden or Labrador retrievers, which she said are naturally born with a temperament suited for learning and obeying commands.

Their affinity for eating, Gueller said, results in an easier training experience, as the puppies are always eager for another reward in the form of a treat.

Meanwhile, Canine Companions for Independence (CCI), an organization parallel to Guide Dogs for the Blind, employs similar methods.

Renee Piper, who promotes CCI through her local business, said no matter what organizations provide the dogs, the chance to help someone in need is priceless.

“A lot of people will ask me, ‘How can you do this?’ The end result has been so rewarding,” Piper said. “You just want to get another puppy after you get to experience meeting the person the dog gets match up with.”

Piper has trained several dogs, all of which have gone through the CCI training process. Once Piper’s puppies complete the basic trainings with her, they are sent back to “puppy college” at CCI’s headquarters in California.

Once there, CCI trainers build off the basic commands Piper has taught her K-9 companions until the pup is ready to be matched with an owner.

She recently observed a graduation of one of her dogs, and said she would not soon forget the feeling of seeing her puppy go on to do bigger and better things.

“It’s all been super rewarding,” Piper said. “It is the best feeling you can ever experience when you actually get to meet the person your dog is being matched to. Seeing the emotion and the connection that the person and the dog has made, it is so overwhelming and joyous. It just makes you want to get another puppy and do it again.”

However, both Piper and Gueller said the process of puppy training is not always full-proof.

Sometimes, a dog is simply not cut out for the demanding tasks required of guide dogs.

Less than 50 percent of trained dogs actually go on to guide the blind, Gueller said. In that instance, the original trainers become more involved in the process of choosing the future home of the animal.

Gueller said one of her puppies did not meet the requirements to move on to the next step. She later helped find the dog a “forever home” on the Palouse, and often visits her once-companion.

Alternatively, the dogs can be sent to different organizations that offer service animals to people of varying disabilities. Some dogs, Gueller said, can help those with Autism or become an emotional support animal.

Piper discovered her sixth puppy, Gratzi, had visual and hearing impairments, which inhibited the training process and eventually led CCI to find her an alternative occupation.

Piper said she took over Gratzi’s training, teaching the dog commands via sign language as Gratzi’s condition progressed.

Once she was ready, Gratzi became a therapy dog for Palouse Paws, a local organization that visits college campuses, offering students the chance to relax and briefly bond with animals.

“It’s hard, trust me,” Piper said. “It’s never easy to give these puppies up, but the end result just makes it super rewarding.”

Piper, now a puppy training expert, began her own initiative on the Palouse, which better enabled her to better help others in need.

In 2017, she founded Tail Waggin’ Adventures, a company that helps train not only guide dogs, but offers a wide variety of services, such as dog boarding and basic animal training. Piper said she saw a need in her community and could not — in good conscious — sit by without bringing her skills and the skills of well-trained dogs to the community.

“It’s always been a passion for me to provide a service to a community that was in need,” she said. “I just felt like the Palouse area needed a strong location to provide a place that I can provide safety for their dogs to be able to play and not have parents stress about if their dog is being taken care of.”

When it comes to interacting with guide dogs in training, Gueller said the less others pay attention to the dog, the better.

When in doubt, she said others should treat the dog like a piece of medical equipment.

“Don’t look at them, don’t talk to them. You’d never walk up to someone’s wheel chair,” she said. “It’s just like walking up to the dog, it’s never a good idea. Since they are puppies, they are not as good as ignoring you. Just making eye contact with them can get them super amped up and wiggling them and they want to be pet.”

Younger puppies, such as Mulder, can be easily distracted, Gueller said, and require extra attention to become effective guide dogs.

She said she often receives older dogs transferred from another trainer, and was challenged early on in her and Mulder’s relationship.

With a younger puppy comes added responsibilities, as trainers are expected to teach the dog to relieve itself on command and ignore the many distractions present on a college campus.

Despite Mulder being the youngest puppy Gueller has ever trained, she said he is also one of the most mellow and well behaved.

While both Piper and Gueller reside in Pullman, they said they would like to see more involvement in the Moscow area, and encouraged anyone interested in joining a local organization to reach out.

“We are open to others in the area that would like to get involved,” Gueller said. “Any U of I kids, anyone in Moscow is welcome to get involved. It would be great to get some dogs over there.”