Planning new routes

Learning new routes with your guide dog is key to your partnership and provides many benefits. You'll be able to discover new places, giving you a sense of independence and access to a wider range of destinations. Along the way, you'll also build your confidence, and let's not forget the fun your guide dog will have, experiencing your new shared journeys.

A guide dog owner practises a new route with his guide dog. His partner walks beside them.

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    Getting started with planning new routes

    Planning a new route is a positive and exciting experience, but it's also natural for you and your dog to feel a bit overwhelmed at first. However, help is at hand as there are many resources and support options to assist you along the way.

    • Introducing new routes to your guide dog

      Learning new routes requires a high level of concentration from your dog, and you’ll need to ensure you consider the four Guide Dogs principles when you’re introducing your dog to new routes: 

      1. Knowing each other: Knowing your guide dog’s capabilities and individual traits will help you decide the best approach for teaching them a new route.
      2. Managing for success: Thinking about the environment in which you teach a new route to your dog is crucial. Pick quieter times of the day to avoid unnecessary distractions. 
      3. Training together: You should always approach teaching new routes to your guide dog with patience and kindness. Remember – you're both learning. 
      4. Being a partnership: A partnership is about give and take. Respect your dog’s capabilities and accept that occasional mistakes are all part of the process!
    • Your sighted guide

      A sighted guide is a trained companion who walks alongside you, offering verbal directions, identifying obstacles, and helping you navigate new routes safely. They help you to plan the safest and most straightforward path while you’re getting to grips with a new area. However, a friend or family member can also be your sighted guide.
      When planning a new route with your chosen guide, there are a few key stages to keep in mind: 

      1. Preparing: Discuss your route and specific needs with your chosen guide before you set off so they can help you most effectively. 
      2. Briefing: Before starting the journey, your chosen guide will need to provide verbal directions, describing the route and any potential obstacles or challenges you may encounter on the route. 
      3. Walking together: Your chosen guide will walk beside you, offering ongoing verbal guidance and describing the environment, including landmarks and cues to help you navigate the route independently. 
      4. Communicating: Keep talking to your chosen guide throughout the journey. Feel free to ask questions, seek clarification, or express any concerns.
      5. Feeding back: Discuss your experience with your chosen guide after completing the route. Share any insights or suggestions to improve future journeys. 

      When planning routes with a sighted guide, whether it's a family member, friend, or trained individual, the five stages above will help you to get familiar with the route before introducing your guide dog.  Once you feel comfortable with the route, it's time to walk it with your chosen guide while your dog is on a lead. Take your time and repeat this process until you feel ready to progress.  

      As you move forward, your chosen guide can step back and take on a more supportive role, allowing your guide dog to take the lead in their working harness. Your guide will still be there to step in when needed, ensuring you and your guide dog are safe, until you're ready to walk your new route independently.

    • Long canes
      Using a long cane not only helps you gather information about the road or surface, such as texture and potential obstacles, but it also provides a physical signal to other road users and pedestrians that you may need assistance or to take extra care. Keeping up your cane skills on your regular routes is also important, as it gives you greater confidence and is a backup plan if your guide dog isn't able to work. If you need more help with using your long cane to plan a new route, you can contact one of our Vision Rehabilitation Specialists via Guide Line.
    • Technology and low-vision aids
      There are lots of apps and devices available that can help when planning a new route, such as Google Maps, Soundscape and Blindsquare. Google Maps is a widely used mapping and navigation app with great accessibility features. It provides step-by-step directions, voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation, and information on nearby places of interest. You can download these apps to your mobile phone or access them via a computer. If you need more help with using technology when planning new routes, you can contact one of our Vision Rehabilitation Specialists via Guide Line.
    • Support from family and friends

      Your loved ones can play a crucial role in supporting you as you scope out new routes. Having them act as your sighted guide provides an added layer of comfort and security as they can offer encouragement, identify obstacles and landmarks, and give emotional support throughout your learning process.

      Remember, planning a route with a familiar person or using a cane doesn't diminish the partnership with your guide dog. It's just a temporary measure while you gain confidence and familiarity with a new route. As you become more comfortable, you can gradually transition to relying more on your guide dog.

      Find out about our sighted guide training

    How to teach your guide dog a new route

    Once you’re familiar and confident with your new route, you’ll want to get your guide dog onboard too. Teaching your guide dog, a new route requires patience and planning, but a few simple techniques can make the learning process more manageable for your guide dog:

    Timing is key

    When introducing a new route to your dog, choose quieter times of the day and week, such as avoiding school pick-up times or busy bin collection days. This lets your guide dog focus on the route rather than the additional distractions. Once your dog is confident with the new route, you can come back at different times to introduce them to other challenges.  

    Preparation builds confidence

    You can enhance your confidence, as well as your dog's, by knowing new routes well before introducing them to your guide dog. Before you leave to go out, it’s always worth checking your route on an app like Google Maps in case there are road closures or heavy traffic that you need to be aware of. 

    Long-term and short-term goals

    Breaking down your long-term goals into smaller milestones is an effective technique for learning new routes, and the same is true when introducing your dog to a new route.

    Splitting a new route into sections lets you focus on each section in-depth. Before you do this, you should walk the full route several times with your chosen sighted guide, first with your dog on a lead and then moving to the working harness. From here, you can move to teaching the route in sections without your guide. Once your dog is comfortable with a section, you can start to fit the sections together, continuing to recap when needed. This step-by-step approach helps both of you feel safe.

    Putting safety first when planning new routes

    When it comes to planning your routes, safety should always be your top priority. Remember that the shortest path may not necessarily be the safest one. Instead, select the most straightforward and secure route for your journey.

    • Consider various factors such as pedestrian crossings, the width of pavements, or routes with no pavements.

    • Review the use or non-use of alleyways, underpasses, and areas with wide open spaces so you can assess any potential risks or hazards that may arise along the way. 

    • Check routes in advance, using apps such as Google Maps to get a general sense of the route timings and traffic conditions.

    • Identify where there is the potential to go off course on a route and, if this does happen, how to rectify it. For example, if you take a wrong turn, you could retrace your steps until you reach a familiar location. Use an app to tell you where you are or ask a passer-by for assistance. Having a plan and strategy in place and knowing where on a route you might miss a turning will help avoid or rectify any unplanned detours!

    By prioritising safety as part of your route planning, you'll feel more confident when you're out with your guide dog.

    Using your senses for orientation

    When it comes to knowing where you are when you're out and about, you have an incredible set of tools at your disposal - your senses! Here are some tips on how to use your senses to stay oriented.

    • Use any remaining vision
      If you’re partially sighted, look for familiar landmarks, signs, or objects to help you identify your location. Even if you can't distinguish details, the outline of a tall building or the flashing lights of a pedestrian crossing can help you work out where you are.
    • Listen to auditory clues
      Pay attention to sounds around you, such as traffic noise, children's voices in a school playground and other sounds associated with particular locations. These auditory clues can give you valuable information about your environment and help you maintain your sense of direction.
    • Feel what's underfoot
      The texture of the ground beneath your feet can provide helpful information. Notice changes in flooring surfaces, curbs or steps, or tactile indicators like textured paving. These physical sensations can help you understand your surroundings and make informed decisions about your route.
    • Follow your nose
      Your sense of smell can be a powerful orientation tool. Pay attention to distinct smells associated with specific places, such as the aroma of coffee from a nearby café or the scent of a park filled with flowers. These olfactory cues can help you recognise familiar areas and guide you along your route.
    Remember - while using landmarks and clues to orientate yourself on a route can be helpful, some of these cues may be missed when you're with your guide dog as your focus will be on their guidance, and they may move at a faster pace than if you were on your own.

    Lyn's story

    After Lyn’s guide dog retired, she was worried about how she was going to cope without her. Since joining the Ready to Train programme Lyn has received 1:1 support from Rachael, a Vision Rehabilitation Specialist to learn new routes using her cane.

    Additional training for new routes at specific times or locations

    Sometimes the routes you're planning might need some extra preparation and additional training. For example, night-time adventures may require specialised training to help with low-light conditions, such as identifying different surfaces, curbs, and obstacles. Reflective gear and accessories can enhance visibility and safety during night-time strolls.

    Similarly, group walks are fantastic opportunities to socialise and enjoy the company of others while exploring new routes together, but specific training may focus on maintaining proper alignment and coordinating movements to ensure a smooth walk without accidental collisions.

    The Highway Code and route planning

    The Highway Code is updated from time to time. Sometimes it may not align exactly with the advice we give here at Guide Dogs, so if you ever have any questions or notice any differences, feel free to give us a shout.

    If you have any questions while planning, learning or after completing a new route, please don't hesitate to call Guide Line, or get in touch with your Guide Dog Mobility Specialist.

    Learn more about keeping you and your guide dog safe when crossing roads

    Get in touch

    Call our Guide Line to speak to an expert who can provide information and advice - we're here to help. We're open 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday (except bank holidays).

    0800 781 1444

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