Have you ever wondered how guide dogs know when to cross the road or how they know where to go? Most people believe that dogs know the difference between red and green traffic lights. In fact, some people even think guide dogs can tell time. Here's how guide dogs really work.

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I have been writing about Hunter, the Border Collie, who can find locations stored in my long-term memory with one or all of the 3 Tele's:

1. Telepathy is the ability to transmit words, emotions, or images to someone else's mind.
2. Telekinesis is the ability to move objects through mind power.
3. Teleportation refers to transporting yourself or your mind to a location miles away from you in fraction of seconds.

If you have read the recent article headlined at OpEdNews, Hunter finds Schuylkill: The "Hidden Trap Street" (about Hunter taking me to the address that only exists in Google maps), then scroll down to Hunter, Telepathy and the Self-aware Hippocampus of my Brain.

Long-term memory is divided into two types: declarative (explicit) memory and non-declarative (implicit) memory.

Explicit memories include all of the Memories that are available in Consciousness [1]

The night I brought Hunter home and parked three houses away, he found the house. Thirteen days later I took him to Hidden Hills where my cousin lives and parked over a mile away. I have never walked, hiked or done anything on foot in Hidden Hills.

If you have a of lot time on your hands, then you can watch the 9-minute video. The thumbnail on the YouTube video is the map of the route he took to get to their house. I also made a 5-minute version where you can watch Hunter find the house and run up the driveway into the garage to the back door.

Why is that important? He is off-leash and everyone who visits enters the house through the garage.

Either video will convince you that he isn't "finding" by scent, nor am I giving him non-verbal clues. We can also eliminate that his success at "finding" is not "an inevitable consequence of my mind searching for causal structure in reality, so that I can learn and adapt to my environment." [2]

When I told Hunter to find where I lived when I brought him home, where my cousin lives in Hidden Hills, and where I lived in Agoura Hills in 1974 [3] he was telepathically accessing my explicit memories of the locations at the request of my conscious mind.

Implicit memories are those that are mostly Unconscious

When Hunter found where I worked in 1972, he was telepathically accessing my implicit memory of the Informata office in Encino, at the request of my unconscious mind, the hippocampus.

Our brains are capable of storing an unlimited amount of information, almost indefinitely in our Long-Term Memory database, however not all long-term memories are available to us consciously.

The hippocampus area of our brains operates independently of our consciousness and manages the consolidation of information from short-term to long-term memory and is capable of making decisions about the information we acquire from learning and experiences, without any awareness on our part. Put another way, the hippocampus is self-aware.

When I am near a location that is associated with important events in my life, [4] my hippocampus gets triggered and wants to re-experience those memories.

I was not aware of why Hunter was pulling me down Ventura Boulevard until he turned right on Louise, and I recognized the island in the middle of the street. [5]

Hunter and My Hippocampus: The Real "House Hunters" is the recent article headlined at OpEdNews about Hunter taking me to the address where my girlfriend lived in 1970. My hippocampus was triggered subconsciously by her thoughts when I was driving west on Ventura Blvd near the street where she lived with her first husband. The address where she lived on the street did not exist in my long-term memory, therefore, my hippocampus connected with hers and then directed Hunter to take me to the address at 22542 Dolorosa.

I should have realized that Hunter didn't go into her brain: it was Nancy transmitting unobserved energetic information, which my Hippo processed and organized into emotion and behavior, when I was driving west on Ventura Blvd near Dolorosa.

Therefore I was correct that he is finding locations telepathically, but I should have added that it is my hippocampus that is telepathically telling him where to go.

My upside-down view of the human species (I am not a fan of the human race) influenced my thinking and I missed the obvious. Hunter wasn't going into mine or someone's brain that I am connected to, my self-aware hippocampus was in charge and directing Hunter to the location. [6]

Hunter, Telepathy and the Self-aware Hippocampus of my Brain.

I found scientific research that supported my conclusion that telepathic human and animal communication is possible, so I formed the hypothesis; My hippocampus was directing Hunter to find a location that either I knew consciously or subconsciously, or someone I was connected to, knew consciously or subconsciously.

To prove my hypothesis, I designed a "find location" experiment that could be duplicated.

I directed my daughter to use Google Maps to find a random address out of the 1500 houses in the Greater Mulwood neighborhood in Calabasas. She texted me the independent variable, 4199 Schuylkill Drive (4199). 4199 was not part of any knowledgebase in my brain: I didn't know the people that lived at 4199, didn't know anyone that knew the people that lived at 4199 nor did I have any idea of how to walk, drive, or fly to 4199.

In other words, I came up with an experiment to test the null hypothesis that my Hippocampus would be unable to direct Hunter to a location if it was not available to me or someone I was telepathically connected.

Although unlikely, I should have considered that 4199 was available to my daughter, someone I am telepathically connected.

Either Hunter or my Hippocampus got the image from my daughter's Photographic Memory, or Hunter has an iPhone and put the address in Google maps.

We have, according to Cognitive, Conative and Behavioral Neurology, an "eidetic memory (Photographic Memory):" the ability to recall images after only seeing them momentarily. [7]

Yes I agree that is a stretch but if you have another explanation please send me an email.

How Guide Dogs Really Work

Scientists still don't have any explanation for how the 15 Pets Who Returned Home From Remarkable Distances and the Cat that walked 2,000 miles across Australia to get home, but I am beginning to think that Hunter finding a trap street address that only existed in Google maps, is related.

When I found two other people whose self-aware hippocampus could communicate with their dog telepathically [8], I decided to do more research and read about guide dogs.

The Guide Dog organizations refer to the blind person and the dog as a team that share a special bond with each other. "The blind person learns to conceptualize the animal's own "dog world" so that he or she can build a firmer bond of trust. The effects of the emotional bond between guide dogs and their human partners is a connection that can grow, shape and enhance both lives in unique ways."

Read the article How Guide Dogs Work. I italicized related sentences and my comments are in brackets []

How Guide Dogs Work

Dec 27, 2006

Have you ever wondered how guide dogs know when to cross the road or how they know where to go? Most people believe that dogs know the difference between red and green traffic lights. In fact, some people even think guide dogs can tell time. Here's how guide dog works.

You might think it's the dog who makes the decisions when getting around, but it is the handler who decides when to walk.[or the handler's hippocampus] Guide dogs go through extensive training before they are given a handler. Some of the things a guide dog must be able to do is keep a direct route (no stopping to smell other dogs), always stop at curbs, avoid obstacles - including low overheads, bring the handler to elevator buttons and stop at the bottom and top of stairs.

Guide dogs know what to do because they have what is called "selective disobedience." [Telepathy?] Guide dogs must know when to disobey any command that would put the handler in danger. They know how to follow orders and rely on their own judgement of the situation. This is really important at crosswalks. If there is no traffic coming and the light is red the dog has no idea and will just go. Like all other dogs, guide dogs are color blind. It is up to the handler to decidewhen to go and up to the dog to know when it is safe. The handler listens for traffic and then tells the dog "forward." If there is danger, the dog will not move until it is safe. [Unlikely this is happening without the hippocampus telepathically deciding when to tell the dog "forward" or sensing danger]

Guide dogs don't know their handler's destinations so it must follow instructions on how far to go and when to turn. [Correct, like Hunter they can find unknown locations]. It is up to the dog to avoid any obstacles along the way. To do this, they rely on each other. Handlers get to know and understand their guide dog so they know the movements the dog makes. [the handler and the dog have a bond] Dogs that have been with their handler for a while get to know some destinations. All the handler has to do is tell the dog "go to the coffee shop" or "go to the grocery store" and the guide dog will know the entire route. [in this case we can assume the dog is associating the command "coffee shop" with a known location]

One of the most important rules for guide dogs is not being distracted by anything. While a harness is on, a guide dog knows it's at work. They shouldn't be petted or given treats unless the handler says it's ok. This helps them concentrate on the most important thing - getting their handler around and keeping them safe. [Hunter has been distracted numerous times, but the distraction is temporary, which is consistent with the hippocampus being in charge]

How does a dog know where a blind person wants to go?

Blind people generally know their own communities and can direct their dogs wherever they want to go. The basic commands are "forward," "right," and "left." In a new location, blind men and women, like sighted people, ask for directions and communicate them to the dog by using the proper commands. [Are the proper commands Telepathy?]

[End of How Guide Dogs Work]

Brian Fischler, a standup comedian and writer, runs Laugh For Sight, a bicoastal comedy benefit to raise money and awareness for retinal degenerative eye disease research.

Brian writes:

"Contrary to popular belief, we don't have magical extrasensory powers, either - we're just people, the same as you. Except for one thing: We can't see. Are the blind misunderstood? Sure, but even more misunderstood than the blind are our guide dogs.

Assuming that you have gotten over the shock that blind people don't have magical powers, let's jump in." [No they don't have magical powers but they have a self-aware hippocampus.]

"It's a sad fact, no one is perfect, not even guide dogs. From time to time, Nash will make a minor mistake. When he does and I am with someone I know, the common reaction is, 'Is he supposed to do that? Maybe he needs a refresher course.' No, he doesn't - it was a simple mistake, it happens. [Brian, your hippocampus is not perfect] People assume that I just tell my guide dog where I want to go and it's as simple as getting in a cab. Not the case. Guide dogs are trained to go from point A to point B, and you are constantly giving them verbal and hand commands to tell them where to go." [You think they are getting verbal and hand commands, but they are actually getting the directions telepathically from you or someone that knows how to get there]

"Guide dogs are trained to go from curb to curb. If you want to go to a store in the middle of the block you might give your guide as many as five commands, and if it is a store you have never been to before on a block with several stores and doors, you are still going to have to rely on sighted assistance to find the door of the exact store you are looking for." [you are still going to have to rely on telepathic assistance to find the door of the exact store you are looking for]

"Unfortunately, guide dogs don't read the signs of the store and know exactly where you want to go, but if it's a store that you frequent often, you can train your guide dog to take you to the door for that specific store. It just takes repetition, lots of praise, and of course a food reward for the dog to know and learn where you want to go." [It just takes repetition because you are interfering with the telepathy by focusing on the dog]

"It amazes me how often I am asked if I am training Nash, and I respond, no, I'm blind. [You agree that you are not training your hippocampus] To which I often hear, really, you don't look blind. Okay, let's get beyond how unbelievably insulting it is to say that to someone, and focus on the guide dog here. Actually, guide dogs are always in training, as you are constantly teaching them new things. [Your hippocampus is constantly in telepathic communication] You are constantly going to new places, so whether it is teaching him a new bus stop, subway entrance, store, or any of a million things, guide dogs are always in training, even the fully working ones." [Constantly in telepathic communication]

Well Brian you are right you "don't have magical extrasensory powers," you have a self-aware hippocampus. [9]

Footnotes

[1]Explicit memory can be further divided into episodic memory (specific events) and semantic memory (knowledge about the world). You can read about Hunter finding locations in my long term at OpEdNews.

[2] The very definition of coincidence relies on us picking out similarities and patterns. "Once we spot a regularity, we learn something about what events go together and how likely they are to occur," says Magda Osman, an experimental psychologist at the University of London and one of the study's authors. "And these are valuable sources of information to begin to navigate the world."

[3] My Dog Found Where I Worked in 1972

[4] I worked directly for Don Henley, the president of Informata from 1972-1973. We developed software for Title Insurance companies. During the 10 or so years that I worked as an employee for a number of other companies I wasn't very happy; however, I have only positive memories working for Don Henley.

[5] Hunter is connected to me telepathically; my Hippocampus directed Hunter to take me to the 1972 location of the office building, that was replaced in 1980 by the Encino Town Center at Ventura Blvd and Louise Ave. My Dog Found Where I Worked in 1972 . My hippocampus retrieved the location from my implicit long-term memory, which was no longer available to me consciously.

The memory was so vague I went to the Van Nuys Building department to verify the office was at 17200 Ventura Blvd #121, Encino, CA 91316 and that the parking and entrance was on Louise not Ventura Blvd. My Dog Found Where I Worked in 1972, Part 2.

[6] Hunter and My Hippocampus: The Real "House Hunters"

[7] Being able to vividly retain an image in your mind after only brief exposure to it is incredibly rare. However, there are other types of phenomena that exist that are similar to photographic memory that boast an incredible ability to recall information. The most referenced type of extraordinary memory is "eidetic memory" or the ability to vividly recall images after only seeing them momentarily, according to Cognitive, Conative and Behavioral Neurology. Children are more likely to exhibit characteristics of this memory syndrome than adults. As per the research, there is no way to tell if your child has a photographic memory, but can you discern if your child has another memory syndrome?

[8] Kai: The First Dog to Graduate from the College of Telepathy

[9] Quora: How do guide dogs know the destination if they've never been there before?

Penina Winisdatter, Owned dogs for 30 years.

Answered Apr 23, 2018

The best analogy I can think of is this: Airline pilot and airline navigator.

I decide when to travel, where I intend to go, how I intend to get there. I am half of the crew. My navigator finds the best way through the route I have chosen. From house to bus stop, from bus stop onto bus, then I, as pilot, listen for my street (having alerted the driver to call it) Off bus, and across the street, down the block to my destination, a store, an office, et cetera. While we travel, my navigator, the dog, sees a branch across the sidewalk. She cannot figure out exactly how to handle this, as it completely blocks the path. She relies on me. She shows me the branch, I determine that we will have to step out into the street. "Juno RIGHT." We get to the downcurb. She shows me the edge. Carefully, I listen for cars. None coming? "Juno, LEFT." we edge around the fallen branch. "Juno LEFT." but I haven't noticed a parked car. Juno knows I want to get back to the curb" she takes us around the parked car and when she can, turns left and back to the upcurb. She halts. I find it with a foot. "Good girl, Juno! Atta girl! " I step up "Juno FORWARD"RIGHT" Juno, find the door. Find the door!" and she takes me unerringly to the doorway that was beyond the fallen branch. In each case (curb, branch, curb, car, curb, door) she found the obstacle, and the safest way, and alerted me and waited for my decision. Teamwork.

for my part, I need to know the route and the end point. Two blocks to the bus stop means one block, a downcurb, street, upcurb, and the second block. Then, right or left? I have to have memorized, or recorded my intended path. IF it is a route my dog has taken before, she will know or will remember. Once, when I still had my beautiful Golden retriever Guide, I was very ill, and it was raining. I was COMPLETELY turned around, lost and in great pain from a back injury. I could NOT find my way back home" my dog, however, knew something was very wrong. Patiently, she brought me to my doorstep, even though I was crying, distraught, and scolding her for "getting us lost"" it wasn't HER fault!! I was being a four-star 24 karat solid gold b*tch and my poor little dog was incredibly patient with her suffering and nasty "human"! Needless to say, we were both rain soaked and miserable, but when we got indoors, she got a good rubdown with a heated towel, and about a hundred apologies before I got out of my OWN wet clothes! Somehow, our dogs KNOW when it's time to stop being the navigator, and take the emergency co-pilot seat!

A sightless person needs to have some sense of where they are going. A sightless person, wishing to get to a certain destination, needs to first be guided by a sighted person. The dog is being trained at that point so eventually the sighted person will no longer be needed.

I knew an unsighted attorney who, being guided by a sighted person, left his home and between walking and taking public transportation got to the courthouse everyday. The dog always went along. Eventually the sighted person was no longer necessary and the dog guided his master from his home to the courthouse.

Although a dog can be very helpful an unsighted person is usually limited to certain routes the dog has been trained to follow. While you and I can follow signs to help us find strange destinations, the unsighted person with only his dog is limited in the number of destinations he can visit.

Usually during training with their new owner they practice going places the owner needs to go. Being blind doesnt make the owner stupid. Blind people have to be very routine. They go tge same places taking the same routes every time. They dont often go to unfamiliar places without a sighted human companion. And Guide Dogs do more than just guide. They are there to keep the blind owner out of danger as well. To keep them from walking in front of a car or out of the path of bicyclists or from walking into water and that sort of thing.

Guide dogs don't guide the owners to destinations (although I'm sure they get to know familiar routes inside and out).

Rather, the owner has to know where they are going, or enlist a sighted guide, and just allows the dog to guide them on their route safely.

So, the owner could probably get themselves to the shops without the dog. But the dog will guide them around that box that someone has put on the pavement, or keep them from straying into the road by accident.

Lesser-known things about being blind

.bbc.com/news/blogs-ouch-28853788

Contrary to popular belief, guide dogs do not tell their owner when it is time to cross the road and they do not take their owner where they want to go based on an instruction such as "find the shops".

Guide dogs walk in a straight line, always on the left of a person, and are trained to keep an eye on their owner's right shoulder to protect against collisions. They avoid obstacles and stop at kerbs. They know their left from right. Sometimes dogs might lead their owner into overhanging branches because its trickier for them to judge overhead obstacles. It all takes practice. It's a partnership and owners often consider they're driving the dog rather than being led by it.

Unofficially, guide dogs can provide good companionship for isolated blind people. Their presence can help owners feel safer while out and about. And of course, a dog can be a good ice-breaker in a social situation.

Authors Bio:

I have been honing my craft as a writer since I graduated from Princeton University. I have been a newspaper reporter, a book editor and a Hollywood scriptwriter. My humor has been published in a number of publications. I have written two novels but neither of them were good enough to be accepted by a reputable publisher. I have been married to an outstanding woman for 20 years. We have three children.