We all know the story of the blind man and his guide dog. What’s perhaps less known is how that duo – the visually impaired and their canine assistance – was first trained. In this clip from our new video series called “How’s Your Health”, the blind and his guide dog go for a walk and then visit a hospital, where a team of doctors examines his eyes and eyesight. We discover how a dog first learns to assist his blind owner, and then how a dog-training business is using that training to improve the lives of people with disabilities. Dogs are helping a number of blind people to navigate their surroundings. We’re highlighting some of their stories in this episode of our new video series “How’s Your Health.” What’s perhaps less known is how that duo – the visually impaired and their canine assistance – was first trained. They start with simple things like a turn or a straight line, and then move on to walking a distance, which requires the help of their canine companions. So today, we have Kyla Pugh. She is blind and her dog, Smitty, is helping her navigate the world. They recently went on a walk to meet some of the people who work at the school where they both went to school. It’s one of many places around town where guide dogs have changed Kyla’s life. They were trained by Helen Keller Services, and Kyla is just one of the many success stories from this group. “They say all of my success is because of Smitty. That’s true, but it was so much more than that,” Kyla said. She talked to the doctor about Smitty and how that has helped her. And as Smitty has taught her to navigate her world, he has become more like her own eyes. And you know, it takes a lot of coordination to do it, but Kyla says it has made her see the world in a different way. “Having this relationship with Smitty has taken all of the noise away, that can be loud in your head,” Kyla said. A dog's primary job is to be there and be there for you, even if that means helping you navigate the world. “Now, it’s the world where my eyes don’t work, it’s the world where my ears don’t work, but I still have the ears and the ability to smell,” Kyla said. And she said she can smell things that she couldn’t see before. What’s also great is that dogs have the ability to teach you to rely less on sight. “A lot of it was me learning to do things without sight and then my dog being like a little mirror and me having to rely on him, but now I can rely on him and do things,” Kyla said. Kyla said the key is patience and practice. That’s how the dogs learn as well. Dogs learn by doing. They also learn by getting rewarded for their efforts. Kyla and Smitty take a trip around town. She does all the navigating while he follows her lead. “I’m pretty confident in my abilities, so I can go places, and I know that he’s going to be OK, he’s not going to go too far off. I don’t even know how to describe it, but he’s just such a part of my life that he’s just there with me and he’s really part of my team,” Kyla said. As she learned, so did the dogs. It was about taking responsibility for her dog, and that is why they came to the city to help. “Helping me out with getting on and off buses, getting off buses, things like that, so they can walk alongside of me and help me out in places and on the bus,” Kyla said. The dogs even walk alongside Kyla at school. While dogs are used to help people who are visually impaired, their trainers are helping people who have other physical disabilities as well. We see this in the video as they visit a doctor at a university hospital. “They were actually trained by a doctor, Dr. Lerman, to be certified as service dogs, and Dr. Lerman was an orthopedic surgeon who has two legs amputated,” said Jodi Ackies, the doctor who trained the dogs and now works with the dogs at Helen Keller Services. What these dogs can do is be a source of motivation for the blind. “So many of our clients are not interested in blindness, they are interested in independence, and when they are given the tools to do that, they want to do it,” Ackies said. Ackies said it takes a lot of hard work to train a dog, so it can be difficult to find someone to take over the training of the dogs who are on their own. Ackies said they need the owner to be able to make sure the dog is trained in all of the skills that they’ll need when they go home. They also have the time to be a part of a dog training course where the training will take place. One of the dogs is also a diabetic and must go through training to become a guide dog for a blind owner. In some states, dogs are allowed to work, so it’s not unusual for them to walk down the street with their owner, helping to navigate the way. They are trained by Helen Keller Services, and they’ve trained over 800 dogs over the years. To learn more about Helen Keller Services, click here. To see a video with all of the stories and for more information about Helen Keller Services, visit us on Facebook.com/KidsHealth.