For those who are blind or visually impaired, a Guide Dog can be life-changing. When the Israel Guide Dog Center partners a dog with an Israeli in need, the 4-legged partner provides independence, safety, mobility, and emotional support. In short, the Center empowers our clients to navigate the world with dignity and confidence.

Once paired, our partnerships have a 99% success rate. This tremendous feat is because the Center prioritizes training our dogs to thrive in the environment where they will be living and working.


Training for Israel’s Unique Environment
Israel is a unique country, loved by people around the world for its history, culture, food, innovative technology, and so much more. But what makes Israel so unique is also what makes it so challenging for our Guide Dogs:

  • Unique Landscape: Israel has a distinct blend of densely populated urban communities, narrow sidewalks, open-air markets, heavy pedestrian traffic, aggressive drivers, complex traffic patterns, and uneven curbs. Each can be overwhelming and challenging to navigate for a Guide Dog.
  • Extreme Weather: You know, Israel can be uncomfortably HOT for people but can also be potentially dangerous for Guide Dogs, whose physical endurance is critical.
  • Cultural and Religious Practices: Israel is religiously, ethnically, and culturally diverse. Each group has its own values that influence how dogs are perceived, ranging from very welcoming to uncomfortable or resistance to the presence of dogs in homes, religious institutions, or at community events.
  • Security Concerns: Israel faces ongoing tensions, requiring increased checkpoints and security screenings which Guide Dogs need to comfortably navigate. Israelis also cope with sirens blaring and the 30-second critical run to a bomb shelter.
  • Limited Accessibility: While efforts have been made to improve accessibility in Israel, there are still areas where infrastructure and public transportation systems may not be fully accessible.


Why Hebrew Commands are Essential
Our dogs are trained to respond to voice command. For Israelis, these commands need to be conveyed in Hebrew. We can retrain dogs who are taught commands in another language, but this can take time and create confusion for the dog. Our dogs understand more than 40 Hebrew commands.

Some of those commands are:

Forward    Kadima    קָדִימָה
Turn Left    Smola    שְׂמֹאְלָה
Turn Right    Yemina  יָמִינָה
Straight    Yashar     יָשָׁר
Sit      Shev    שֶׁבֶ
No      Lo      לֹא
Stay     Hee’sha’er    הִשָׁאֵר
Lay Down   Artza    אֲרְצָה


A Personal Process
Creating a Guide Dog partnership can be a long and complex process. Each client is different — their walking pace, lifestyle, personality, and home environment. Our partnerships are built on compatibility and an intuitive connection between a dog and the client.

When dogs are bred, raised, and trained in Israel, the Center’s staff can oversee the entire life-cycle of each dog. This deep familiarity with each of our dogs enables us to more expertly match them with the right client.

Providing Ongoing Local Support for Graduates
Guide Dog training doesn’t end when the partnership begins. Lifelong support is critical to success. The Center provides follow-up visits, retraining, and in-person assistance when a change arises. Our trainers are able to travel across Israel to work directly with clients in their homes and communities. If our dogs were trained overseas, it would be far more complicated to resolve issues.

Creating a Long-term Cost-efficient Program
While we all want to help the Center focus on creating more partnerships, importing dogs from overseas may seem like a great solution. In fact, it may be a short-term solution but it is often more expensive. Purchasing, transporting, specific international processes, and re-acclimation involve significant financial resources and this often doesn’t result in successful matches. By investing in local training, the Center is building a sustainable and cost-effective model that has a larger social impact on Israel.

The Israel Guide Dog Center’s training of our dogs for Israelis in need, in Hebrew, with the nuances of Israeli culture and geography, is essential to our success. It is our commitment to excellence and your support that enables the Center to continue to change the lives of our clients and support all of Israel.