Independence Dogs Austria – Verein zur Ermöglichung der Selbstständigkeit durch Assistenzhunde

September 21st to 29th, 2024: Guide dog teams on the St. James Way of the Camino Inglés

Guide dogs for the blind and the people they guide walk together, 15km per day, along the Camino from A Coruña to Santiago de Compostela. The teams come from Austria, Germany and Spain, an international cooperation for the first time. This is made possible by the charitable organization “Independence Dogs Austria” and the generosity of sponsors such as Purina Austria and individuals like you.

The end of this seminar adventure will be marked by a concert in Santiago de Compostela, in which local and international musicians participate.

In ORF 2 on 21.8.2024, 18:30, in the show “Konkret”, there will be a segment on this incredible adventure!

ORF Konkret

5 people with 3 guide dogs in front of a statue of St. Jacob. One of the dogs is a white poodle, then two black retrievers. — 3 Guide dog teams in July 2024, after walking the Austrian Camino from Schönbrunn to Purkersdorf. Tired and happy.

We need you: Would you like to support this project? Please get in touch with us! office@hillfshunde.at or donate directly:

Account Name: Independence Dogs Austria

IBAN: AT16 4477 0217 7021 0000

BIC: VBOEATWWGRA

Donation Page

2023 Seminar Adventure from September 10th to September 16th in the Salzkammergut, Austria

Beautiful 6 days in the Salzkammergut with the group of guide dog teams. Fun and exhausting. A truly beautiful harmonious experience.

Guide dogs and service dogs colored black and white lie on a sea wall in front of tourist passenger boats. The sky is foggy, a mountaian issubmerged in clouds — Guide- and service dogs lie on the sea wall, patiently waiting for the next step- doing outreach with grade school children. They had at this point taken 2 different boats and explored Toskana Park by the beautiful castle “Schloss Orth”.

Outreach with 2nd graders of the primary school in Gmunden

Teaching a group of kids about guide dogs

The group of kids walks with a girl wearing a dark mask walks with a black guide dog in harness during the outreach program in Gmunden.

The group of service- and guide dog teams crosses a large green field in the rain, on their way to a tasting of spices at the boutique spice manufacturer Marcel Ksoll, his wife Ulli and daughter Elaine at his store, “Cook and Grill”, where we visited the production area and were blown away by the combination of tastes and smells.

2022 Seminar Adventure from October 2nd -October 5th in Innsbruck and Wattens, Austria

Blessed with sunshine for the days the seminar was held, mostly in public spaces and outdoors.

Ambras Castle, the famous Spanish room. 5 guide dogs are lying quietly while their handlers pose for a photo in front of a large, carved and very old wooden door.

The guided tour afforded us in the Castle by the head curator, Dr. Seidl, was superb.

During the days we spent together from 7am until 8pm in the evening, it was wonderful to see all the teams master real life in completely different environments.

A chamber of a million mirrors in the Swarovski Crystal Worlds in Wattens, Tirol

The Swarovski Crystal Worlds were a big challenge for the dogs and their handlers. Many rooms were dark, floors and walls often studded with crystals and reflective The acoustics, sizes, experiences and soundscapes different in every space. One room called “The Forest”, was a maze of metal trees in the dark which the dogs had to navigate through individually. Here on the group photo, we are in the snowscape of “Silent Night”, it is quite chilly but the 8 people and the 4 visible guide dogs are relaxed and laughing.

A snowscape with guide dogs and their handlers in a Swarovski Crystal Wonders space

5 Menschen, 4 Führhunde sind vor dem Goldenen Dachl von Innsbruck — Innsbrucks famous Golden Roof in the old city, with guide dog teams in front.

Public Presentation of “Independence Dogs Austria” and a multi-day seminar adventure for assistance dog handlers and their service dogs

2021 Seminar Adventure from September 8th to September 12th

It was a great couple of days. Luckily the weather was with us all the way and our local township was supportive as well, ready to provide shelter if needed. The opening was cheerful and the service dogs highly impressed the police dog trainer that attended with their excellent discipline.

Getting ready to enter the train station in Gleisdorf with all the teams lined up indicating the sidewalk. A half hour train ride to the city at Graz main train station followed.

The group of assistance dog teams waiting patiently for the right tram to arrive at Jakominiplatz in the center of Graz, after walking down the pedestrian street “Herrengasse” with its bifurcation of trams. They are on their way to “Murpark”, a major shopping mall, where we demonstrated a whole obedience training unit on the red carpet.

Expert GDMI Maria Gerstmann asks the guide dog and his handler to move around obstacles at the camping site and to indicate the stairs made of pallets. He then continues up them into a Semi trailer and the handler instructs his guide dog to move along in a straigt line to explore the space ahead. This meant going to the end of the interior of the trailer. As there is no way forward at this point, the guide dog leads his owner back to the entrance point. Praise for good work is essential.

There is no video here, but here is the description: There was a lorry trailer on the field, which the teams entered via a staircase made of pallets. The teams went to the end of the trailer one by one and turned back as there was no way further. However, the entrance wing was then closed towards the stairs, while the other side with the abyss was open. The guide dog refuses to go any further as he realises that there is a precipice in front of the team and the actual exit is now blocked. The guide dog handler perceives so well what the dog is communicating to him through the harness that he can now use the mobility cane to find the problem that the dog is indicating to him.

Campfire lullaby after a very long day in the city

Our training area was lined by tents for those adventurous enough to camp out. And of course we had had a camp fire and roasted marshmallows, an amazing schnapps tasting and even sang some songs and listened to some fiddle playing..

The last day, several teams ventured through the nearby picturesque ravine to a pop-up water hole at the end of the trek.

It is wonderful to see the mobility support and guide dog, a dog trained specifically for his handler’s multiple disabilities. He supports her by bracing himself, as she loses her balance in the ravine.