Guide dog training in an organisation

Abstract

This article contributes to the ethnomethodological investigation of the human-animal relationship, focusing on practically oriented and situated members' methods, categorisations, and forms of interactions. The analysis shows how members reconstruct the rules of the training of guide dogs at a particular guide dog training centre (SVVP), and, while acting, how they orient themselves towards the principles of the broader framework, namely, the 'institution of the guide dog'. The participation of the dogs in these interactions is also considered. The use of the rules and the principles is interpreted through the concepts of positioning (Harré, Davies), claiming (Bottero, Irwin), and, in general, the framework of the ethnomethodological respecification of the concept of organisation, that is, 'organisation-in-action'. The article demonstrates how the image of the professional charitable client-orientated organization is constructed in situ, and how the positions of the guide dogs and the visually impaired are presented by particular speakers. It also reveals that telling moral stories is one of the most frequently used ethnomethods of self-presentation, and that the positions and the claims of the actors are constructed in two main contexts: visual impairment and the 'dog companion culture'. © 2010 Sociologický ústav AV ČR, v.v.i., Praha.