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Ashley is standing at a curb on the sidewalk of a tree-lined street. She is smiling at the camera and walking with a yellow lab in Leader Dog harness.

Clicker Training Your Dog

By Guide Dog Mobility Instructor Ashley Nunnelly In this post, Ashley explains the why and how of clicker training, which is the positive reinforcement method that our guide dog mobility instructors use to work with Leader Dogs in training. If ...
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A yellow lab in leather Leader Dog harness sits on a sidewalk looking up at the camera. Its mouth is open as if smiling. The legs of the person standing behind and holding the dog's leash are visible.

You Can’t Legislate Respectful Behavior

By Client Joanne Lax We have plenty of laws in the United States protecting the rights of people with disabilities. The grand-daddy of them all is the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act, which since 1990 guarantees disabled individuals employment opportunities ...
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Joanne sits in front of a gray photo background. She is wearing a black and white flowery shirt and smiling. Next to her is a seated black lab in harness.

Meet Client Joanne Lax

Greetings, fellow Leader Dog users and supporters. Let me introduce myself, since I am a new contributor to Leader Dog publications. My name is Joanne Lax. I lost my vision around 1980, when I was 27 years old. I had ...
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Ashley sitting in a chair with a light gray blanket over her legs. She is leaning over to give a pointy-eared merle dog a kiss

Dogs Don’t Speak English

By Guide Dog Mobility Instructor Ashley Nunnelly Wouldn’t it be nice if they did? If I found a magic lamp, one of my three wishes would be to be able to talk to my dogs. Even if it was for ...
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Photo shows the entrance to the canine center on Leader Dog's campus. There is a blue wall with Leader Dog's logo on a white plaque. Beneath in white lettering is our mission statement. There is a brown double chair on the floor.

Webinar: Leader Dog’s Application Process

In the fifth installment of our webinar series, team members outline the application process for Leader Dog programs. Learn about the pieces of the application prospective clients need to complete and how we use the information to fulfill services. View ...
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White Leader Dog logo on a solid black background

A Message from Leader Dogs for the Blind President & CEO and Board Chair

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” These are the compelling words spoken by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. more than 50 years ago. Sadly, we are reminded again by the recent death of George Floyd and by similar ...
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Two women kneel outdoors with a black lab in Leader Dog harness between them. They are both smiling. The left woman is wearing glasses. The woman on the right is instructor Ashley

Stage Left – Enter Leader Dog

By Guide Dog Mobility Instructor Ashley Nunnelly I never wanted to be a guide dog instructor. Seriously! That was never on my radar for a career choice. I always loved animals growing up—dogs and horses especially—and was the child that ...
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Photo of a golden retriever whose face is only partly visible with its paw resting in a person's hand. Only the person's hand and forearm are visible

Cooperative Care – Training Your Dog the Low-Stress Way

People are spending much more time at home right now, and many have been looking for new activities and companionship. This has contributed to a surge in adoptions of shelter animals and the number of people fostering pets. If you ...
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Photo of the canine center lobby. One woman walks with a dog through the mostly empty space, and another woman sits at a desk. A dog behind the desk is looking out the floor-to-ceiling windows toward the parking lot.

Amid Coronavirus, We’re Hopeful for the Future

Just last week, the Leader Dog campus was bustling with activity. Guide dog mobility instructors worked with their dogs in training, preparing for the clients who were soon to arrive. Puppy raisers arrived for vet visits with their Future Leader ...
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Close up photo of someone hand stamping part of a leather harness with numbers, using a metal tool

Old Skills, New Friends – Making Harnesses for Leader Dogs

By Steve Williams Steve works in the tack shop on Leader Dog's campus. After working as an orthotist (a person who makes custom orthopedic devices) for 39 years, my wife and I closed our family business in 2015. Shortly after ...
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