A guide to choosing a good dog

Each year, a number of Labrador and Golden Retriever pups enter the guide dog training program. At around 14-16 months of age the hard work starts, when a 5 month intensive training regime begins. During this time each dog has their health and temperament assessed, and this is where my work begins. Not all dogs entering this training program are suitable to become guide dogs, and through the use of a number of temperament and lateralisation tests, my project aims to identify unsuitable dogs. Training a guide dog costs around $26 000, so identifying unsuitable dogs is very important to ensure that resources can be focused on dogs with a higher potential.

I’m now in my second year of study and love it! So far I have assessed three groups of dogs, totalling 72 individuals, and have had the pleasure of watching two groups graduating (the third is still in training).

One of the main areas of my project is looking at motor and sensory lateralisation. I assess whether the dogs have a significant paw preference, so if they are left or right pawed, or if they are ambidextrous. As well as paw preference, I am looking at eye biases. This is of relevance to the program since nearly all dogs are trained to exclusively walk on the left of their handler. The importance of this may come into effect if the dog has a right eye bias, since the handler may block partial vision in that eye whilst walking, subsequently affecting the dog’s overall ability to assess the surrounding environment, and hence influencing their working performance.

The temperament tests employed aim to identify dogs that are fearful of loud noises or sudden objects appearing, are distracted by other dogs, or will not settle and rest in a quiet environment.

As well as lateralisation and temperament tests, I am also looking at kennel behaviours, salivary immunoglobulin A (sIgA) concentrations (as an indicator of stress), and hair whorl characteristics as potential predictors of success in the Guide Dog Program. The relationships between these additional variables will also be assessed in an endeavour to establish the suitability of dogs for guide work at the earliest possible age. By identifying early predictors of success and failure, unsuitable animals can be removed from training, allowing time and resources to be utilised more efficiently on dogs that have greater potential.


By Lisa Tomkins
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Profile: Izmira (Mira) Farhana Mohd Ismail

I was born... months after the first International Islamic Games held in Izmir, Turkey. It was quite a historical event and my parents decided to name me after the beautiful city... hence Izmira!

At school I... was very timid and quiet, I became talkative when I joined the debate team in University

My first relationship was... with my highschool sweetheart at 14, whom I am now happily married to :)

Friends say I'm... cheeky

If I wasn't me I'd like to be... a very glamorous TV host with my own talk show on prime time

At the moment I'm reading... ' Barking' by my favourite comic fantasy writer Tom Holt


My worst job was... none really. I've worked once as a chemist sales assistant and I loved every minute of it!


At the moment I'm... sequencing the ovine CLN6 gene to find disease-causing mutation/s

... which is interesting because... finding the mutation will not only help our affected sheep with Batten/NCL disease but also provide helpful information for children with a comparable human form of the disease.
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Profile: Michael Bertoldo

Mysteriously nicknamed 'Big Bad' for reasons unknown to the Eds, this second year PhD student has been busy jetting off around the globe in his quest to improve the reproductive performance of sows during seasonal infertility.

I was born... 1/1/1984

Friends say I'm... a d**k

If I wasn't me I'd like to be... dunno

At the moment I'm reading... The Costello Memoirs

My worst job was... Kitchen Hand

At the moment I'm... procrastinating

... which is interesting because... right now you probably are too!
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Profile: Meg Donahoo

Meg is a second year PhD student investigating the immune responses to vaccination against an intestinal disease in pigs. If she can find immune cells in the pig that are linked to vaccine protection then it might be possible to use these in the pig industry to determine whether vaccinated pigs are protected against future infection.

I was born... in the baby factory in Melbourne- that's right, I'm not a two headed Tasmanian

At school I… got picked on for being rosey in the cheeks, apparently I looked like a tomato

My first relationship was... with the floor, I couldn't walk until i was 3 so I polished the floor with my bum

Friends say I'm... feral because I could happily go a week or two without a shower, and showering when you go camping is sacrilege in my books!!

If I wasn't me I'd like to be... one of those hot looking tv presenters who gets to travel to cool places for free.

At the moment I'm reading... a quirky book about horsie people.

My worst job was... cleaning old people's toilets!!

At the moment I'm... playing with lots of poo, blood and intestines- it's fun, really!

... which is interesting because... you can find out a lot of information about someone (pigs) from their poo!

Meg facing her fears and making friends with a chook

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Profile: Dr. Gauthami Sudhamayee Kondagari

Gauthami is one of only a few postgrad students here who has actually worked as a vet! She joined us in February, 2005, and is working on a doctoral research project, entitled "Intra thecal enzyme replacement therapy in canine fucosidosis and investigation of pathophysiology". Before coming to Australia and starting her PhD, Gauthami worked as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physiology, College of Veterinary Science, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, India (2002-2005). She worked as a Veterinary Surgeon from 1999 to 2002.

Gauthami has completed her Master of Veterinary Science in Physiology (M.V. Sc.) and Bachelors in Veterinary Science & Animal Husbandry (B.V.Sc. & A.H.) at the College of Veterinary Science, Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University, Hyderabad, AP, India.

The story of how Gauthami came to be here with us in Australia is an interesting one. She had always been passionate about neuroscience, and loved dogs, including her family's German Shepherd, Buffy. When her husband, Ramana, found work in Australia, Gauthami started to look for roles here, and in May 2004 visited the Faculty of Veterinary Science here at the University of Sydney. She met a few potential supervisors, including Rosanne Taylor, who had a project looking at canine fucosidosis in Springer Spaniels. With such a good match for her interests, Gauthami was inspired to work on this project, and the rest is history.

Gauthami will be writing for us again soon to tell us more about living and practicing veterinary science in India. Here is her profile:

I was born... in Hyderabad, the most populous city of Andhra Pradesh which is the southern state of India.

At school I... was keen on becoming an Engineer as I was strong in Maths.

My first relationship... ended in marrying Ramana and we are blessed with 2 beautiful children.

Friends say I... am a naughty nut! "but now no more"

If I wasn't me I'd like to be... an Engineer.

At the moment I'm reading... only books related neuroscience as I am writing up my work.

My worst job was... while working as Vet in a rural area, I had to attend janmabhoomi where I was forced to attend meetings with politicians and villagers to resolve issues not relevant to my job profile.

At the moment I'm working... intra-thecal enzyme replacement therapy in canine fucosidosis

... which is interesting because... it gives encouraging information to parents whose children suffering with fucosidosis too.
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Profile: Karma Nidup

I was born... in the cowshed nearby a beautiful lake surrounded with thick broad-leaved forest. My late brave mother was alone and while in labour she saw star through the window and named me “Kam Mindu” – meaning Northern Star. Later, my Buddhist teacher changed it to Karma Nidup which means “blessing of the stars”.

At school I… was a bit hyperactive (unusual for a northern star)

My first relationship was... that was in high school. She dumped me after few days for a guy who was a singer in the school. It is okay because even I admire singers… No grudges!

Friends say I... don’t look like 35… Keep saying it folks.

If I wasn't me I'd like to be... a television journalist or radio jockey.

At the moment I'm reading... books on genetics – well, I have to.

My worst job was... so far I have no complaint.

At the moment I'm working... on genetic diversity of Bhutanese and Nepalese pigs

... which is interesting because... these animals will change my title from Mr to Dr –hopefully, fingers crossed!
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Profile: Kao "no middle name" Castle

I was born... in Townsville in the 70's. My parents lived on Magnetic Island (where compasses don't work properly!).
At school I... got comments on my strange sense of humour in every report card (including kindergarten), and didn't pay much attention to my teachers.
My first relationship was... with Sam in preschool, when I tried to convince him I could fly.
Friends say I... am good at remembering birthdays. They must not know about automated reminders from electronic diaries!
If I wasn't me I'd like to be... my dog, Miles, who gets to sleep for 22 hours a day.
At the moment I'm reading... I'm not actually reading any books, but I like to check salon.com, theonion.com and I love themonthly.com.au.
My worst job was... temping for a security company. One client stopped paying their bills when their security system was stolen along with all of their posessions, and the security company didn't notice.
At the moment I'm working on... a bone growth disorder called osteochondrosis in Thoroughbred racehorses.
... which is interesting because... individual animals can be worth so much, and the breed as a whole is very healthy.
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