Patting guide dogs puts handlers in danger

Guide dog handlers are urging the public to work on their "petiquette" and refrain from distracting the lifesaving assistance animals.

Guide Dogs NSW/ACT's latest public education campaign, Respect My Uniform, was launched in Sydney's Martin Place for International Guide Dog Day on Wednesday and asks the community to keep their feelings on a leash.

It comes after an external survey found 89 per cent of handlers had their dog distracted by someone else while working in the past year, and 83 per cent were thrown off track by another dog.

International Guide Dog Day Ambassador and Australia's Got Talent star, Matt McLaren, says patting, whistling, clicking, waving and even attempting to feed guide dogs can have long-lasting consequences.

"I know it's hard and he's cute and all the rest of it, but you just have to resist temptation," he said at the launch, with reference to his guide dog of eight years, Stamford.

"He's got to respond to me, and me only."

Fellow handler Katie Best said she finds people don't understand the toll small actions, such as talking, can have on her dog Benny.

"It's like putting a blindfold over someone driving a car," she said.

"It could put me in danger and it can undo his training."

Guide Dogs NSW/ACT chief executive Dr Graeme White said each dog takes two years to train and costs "well over $35,000".

"If their attention or their concentration drifts, if they're crossing a road or going up and down stairs or an escalator, it could actually have fatal consequences," he said.

Dr White added the early retirement of a dog assisting the blind or vision impaired is a costly, emotional and unnecessary experience.