“An Aid with Soul”—Understanding the Determinants of Guide Dog-Owner Compatibility from Qualitative Interviews

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Guide dogs can help visually impaired persons to feel more confident and independent. Twenty-one guide dog owners reported the following factors to be important for a good match between a dog and an owner: sharing hobbies, similar activity levels or higher activeness in dogs, similar expressions of calmness; happiness; greediness; and friendliness. Owners also felt like a good match with their dog when they were both open or their dogs were more open than themselves and when they were dominant personalities and their dogs were more submissive. Moreover, the relationship to a former guide dog can have a big impact on the next relationship. Owners who felt similar in their personality to their dogs, as well as owners who felt like a good match with their dogs, reported positive aspects such as a strong bond and less influence from previous relationships. However, a strong bond might sometimes also have negative effects. The findings can help to understand what makes a dog and an owner a good match and improve the matching processes of guide dogs and handlers. ABSTRACT: Guide dogs hold the potential to increase confidence and independence in visually impaired individuals. However, the success of the partnership between a guide dog and its handler depends on various factors, including the compatibility between the dog and the handler. Here, we conducted interviews with 21 guide dog owners to explore determinants of compatibility between the dog and the owner. Experienced compatibility between the dog and the owner was associated with positive relationship aspects such as feeling secure with the dog. Certain characteristics emerged as subjective determinants of compatibility, including shared hobbies, high levels of openness in both or only the dog, similar activity levels and higher activeness in dogs, similar expressions of calmness; happiness; greediness; friendliness; and a complementary dominance–submissiveness relationship. Owners who perceived themselves to be similar in their personality to their dogs often reported to have a strong bond, to feel secure with their dog and to be less influenced by previous relationships. However, our results suggest that a strong bond between the dog and the owner does not exclusively yield positive effects. Moreover, prior dog ownership seems to have a potentially strong impact on the subsequent relationship. Our results contribute to the understanding of dog–owner compatibility and may improve the matching process of guide dogs and their prospective handlers.