Many dogs are bred to work. Collies can herd sheep, while even smaller breeds such as pugs were bred in ancient times to be companions to Chinese ruling families.

But some four-legged friends go on to find a new calling that was not necessarily their intended purpose - being a guide dog.

Sight loss charity, Guide Dogs have centres up and down the country working hard to train as many of these incredible pooches.

Ahead of International Guide Dog Day (April 24), KentOnline paid a visit to one of the training bases in Maidstone to learn how it all works and how they transform the lives of the blind.

Turning up I was introduced to Stacey who has worked for the charity as a dog trainer for 11 years.

She was looking after their newest recruit, 15-month-old Che the German Shepherd, who came from experienced puppy raisers in Sevenoaks.

Puppy raisers are volunteers for the charity who look after the dogs for the first year or so of their lives before they begin their training teach them basic tricks and commands and introduce them to a variety of worldly experiences early on.

There are a select few breeds that are used as guide dogs: German Shepherds, Labradors, Golden Retrievers or Labrador mixes.

Throughout the day the crew at the Maidstone centre were going to introduce me to several of their dogs at various stages of their education.

For Che, it was his first day.

Stacey said: “The first two or three weeks he’ll just be settling in.

“What we’d be looking for him to do is learn the early guiding behaviours on site before we take him into the big wide world.

“We’ll be looking at platform work, harness works up and down kerb work.

“It’s nice to see how engaged he is in the sessions; and how quick he is to pick up on new tasks.

“We are looking at if he would offer behaviours or if I’ll have to show him so it’s nice to know he’ll go off and explore but he’ll engage with me if asked, and you also get to see if they like toys or prefer food as their reward.

“A lot of it is just bonding. I get to know him, and he gets to know me and hopefully he gets excited when he sees me so when we start going out and start working together, he is excited to go out and do that.”

Che seemed to respond well to most tasks but was distracted by a model cat on the windowsill.

The pair worked on platform work, simple commands, and food manners for about 15 minutes before Che was given a break.

During Stacey’s tenure she has seen more than 80 dogs through their training.

She added: “I absolutely love it. I love being outside I love the dogs and they are all different and make the days different as a result.

“I always wanted to work with dogs but was never sure what way then the job came up in Redbridge and I was in Medway, so I applied for it straight out of college.

“My dad also has partial blindness so it is always interesting to learn more about what he’s going through and that side of the charity.

“The best bit is always the end result seeing the dog come in full of life and beans and then when they have finished their training, they’re more refined, they’ve matured and they’re guiding someone.

“To know you’ve been a part of that it’s so nice to see people go this my guide dog and we go here now and do this now where before that wasn’t an option.”

Che was given a break after his morning session and Stacey invited me along with her and colleague James Booker out on the streets for the next part of our drills.

With us were two dogs further along in their training: Lexie, a golden retriever who had been in training for nine weeks, and Brandi, a black labrador who had been in training for 11 weeks.

They were put on their bridge handle harnesses and went on a walk up and down the street.

While doing this the trainers are looking to see how the dogs react to external stimuli like cars, smells, and other dogs while also teaching them to manoeuver around obstacles and stop near kerbs when asked.

Lexie was said to be slightly behind where they were hoping for her to be and was a more sensitive soul than Brandi, but both showed elements of being a good guide dog.

Unfortunately, despite the efforts of the trainers some of the dogs do not make it through training.

Their withdrawal from the programme could be for a variety of reasons, be it medical or just not capable of doing the job to a set standard.

Latest numbers suggest around 65% of dogs in training make it through to become Guide Dogs.

Stacey explained: “Puppies can be withdrawn at any moment for several reasons from body sensitivity to equipment to high distractions or awareness.

“Anything that for them wouldn’t mean they’d be able to do the job safely, some can’t cope with the workload, so some don’t make it.

“It’s sad when the dog you’ve put a lot of work in doesn’t make it or you hear one is coming up for retirement or their health goes down for whatever reason, so you do get those.

“It’s not the end of the world for them. We do have our buddy system for young people and children who aren’t yet at the stage of needing a guide dog but old enough for a pet, but it can be a gutting when they don’t make it all the way.”

After another 20-minute training session, Stacey dropped me off in the town centre to meet up with fellow trainer Hettie Hollister who was out working with 18-month-old Prince.

The labrador golden retriever cross has already been matched with a client and has just weeks left of his training.

Hetty was working Prince through his obstacle training making sure he avoided street furniture and other people using the street.

Starting at the Sainbsury’s car park we circled around the back roads toward the Duke of Marlborough in Union Street before heading back via Week Street – we even went through the Mall in King Street to take Prince through elevator training.

During our route, Hettie decided to let me have a go of using Prince as a guide dog and seeing how it worked.

Standing by his rear right leg you keep tension in the handle lead so he doesn't pull you but you do not hold him back.

He was quite a fast walker so it took a bit of time to understand each other's pace but it wasn't too long until we were working in tandem.

“It’s a partnership,“ adds Hettie. “Part of the criteria for a guide dog owner is they can use their long chain and navigate their routes themselves because they need to know where they are and how to get around.

“The dog relies entirely on which direction to go and it is the dog’s responsibility to guide you around the obstacles.

“We can teach them to find locations and doors like at the supermarket but it is the owner's job to give them that instruction.”

Walking with Prince you could see all the hard work the trainers had put in with him, walking around bins and other obstacles only getting distracted by a dog's biggest temptation - days old stale chips on the floor.

Watching the dogs all day was a real eye-opener.

Seeing how the entire process from an excited an inquisitive puppy like Che to the finished product in Prince.

The end product is testament to the skills and patience of those who train them.

But as Hettie explains, it’s also a very rewarding experience for those involved.

She said: "It's a tough job and they have to put a lot of work in but my favourite part of the job is when we find a match for them and we call them and let them know after waiting for however long.

"These people have been waiting a long time in their lives and it makes such a difference to them.”

Stacey adds: "We've had clients who before the dogs were on medication but when being paired we hear that have since come off it, they've lost weight, they're getting out and joining clubs.

“To hear you have made a massive contribution to someone's health, their mental health, helping them grow a social life. It's a big win.”

It takes £56,000 to take a puppy from birth to retirement as a Guide Dogs.

The charity holds several events a year to fundraise and has teams of volunteers organising these events up and down the country. Click here for further information.

They also allow people to sponsor a dog for £2,500 and those who do will be given regular updates about the dog.

KentOnline sponsored a dog called Ruby through her training and after 20 weeks she was matched with a client. We have asked for an update on Ruby.