There’s more to a dog guide than meets the eye: A preliminary exploration of potential health benefits of dog guide use

The value of dog guides in terms of mobility for people with severe vision impairment and blindness is well recognised. There has, however, been a paucity of research exploring the potential health benefits of working with dog guides. This article reports the initial stage of a research project, which aimed at redressing this dearth of research. The study used three focus groups to explore the experiences of 22 participants from three Australian states. The focus group meetings were the first of three components of a major research project into this important issue. The outcomes reflected a self-reported trend toward enhanced health and wellbeing for people who use dog guides as their primary mobility aid.