A look at Hong Kong's guide dog training
發佈日期: 2026-04-29 22:59
TVB News
Wednesday is International Guide Dog Day.
The Hong Kong Guide Dogs Academy said each puppy training takes about two years and can cost up to 300,000 dollars.
A guide dog training demonstration in process.
Volney, the six-year-old labrador from the Hong Kong Guide Dogs Academy, presents his navigation ability and receives a treat every time he does a step correctly.
Puppies usually enter their guide dog training when they are a few months old.
A trainer said the entire process would take between 18 months to two years, consisting of three stages: foster, guiding and pairing training.
The first status is foster training, (puppies) will play individually with volunteer puppy raisers.
Their responsibility include taking a puppy to various public places, on public transport.
For socialisation training, allowing the puppy to learn appropriate behaviour with strangers.
For the second stage, puppies need to undergo focus training, and the last stage is about matching a dog to a user.
In Hong Kong, the number of active guide dogs remains small.
Launched in 2025, the academy said it had matched two dogs to visually impaired individuals.
Normally, you would have to wait at least one year or two for a guide dog.
It's because we just not breeding enough, especially after COVID.
Wu said the estimated training costs for each guide dog is 300,000 dollars.
Asked if the government should provide funding to support the training development, he said that wouldn't be a good idea.
I think something like the Australian model will be a good model for Hong Kong to look at.
It's more like a reward system -- you do your work, you have done well then the government gives back the money that you have spend on your training, breeding, racing, everything.
Apart from breeding and training, the site has another "hidden" past that's well-known.
The academy is located at the former Lau Fau Shan police station, a grade 3 listed building. Behind me, it's a detention cell where you can come and explore the history of the architecture.
