A guide dog is a specially trained dog which actsas a tool to lead the blind. With the help of a guidedog, the dog partner can go somewhere more easily.It is important that guide dogs must be smart andhelpful.        The guide dog instructors are those who have astrong feeling to help the blind. In California, guidedog instructors are asked by law to be licensed.Instructors must finish a three-year training under alicensed instructor at a guide dog school beforetaking the exams to get a license.        However, how does a guide dog know where togo? In fact, dogs are color blind. How do they knowwhen the light turns green so they can cross thestreet? Guide dogs can neither read the lights normake the decision to cross the street. It is the guidedog partner that gives the order to go forward.
     The dogs go into formal training at about 18months of age. Formal training takes fourteen tosixteen months with the instructor. Then, each guidedog and its partner will spend three weeks in classlearning to work together as a team.      As for the training program, those blind peopleare taught to use the bus, the subway, and other waysof transportation with their guide dogs. Theinstructors also teach them how to use the escalatorwith their guide dogs.
    The truth is that not every dog can pass theprogram. There are a number of reasons that not allof the dogs are suited for guide work, and thereasons are different from dog to dog. Sometimesthey get nervous easily, and sometimes they areaffected by other animals (such as squirrels, cats, orother dogs). What is worse, some of them are afraidof traffic and aren’t able to work.
     To be a successful guide dog, the trained dogmust be healthy and react quickly. If a dog in theprogram is not suited for guide dog work, they willbe changed to another type of program, such assearch or rescue, or they will be kept as a pet athome.
【題組】4. When do the dogs be able to have the formalguide dog training?
(A) Twelve months old.
(B) One year and six months old.
(C) Fourteen to sixteen months old.
(D) Three weeks old.