Re: starting out with a guidedog.
A few differences in the UK to other places.
Guide dogs pay for food and vet care, they have an account with the manufacturers and you just call up and order the food using your dog's serial number. That said as well as the six monthly checkn up it's a good idea to take your dog to weigh them at the vets once a month, they should assist you if you ask nicely and they're not too busy. Regarding toys just buy good brands and avoid toys with squeakers in case the squeaker comes loose, Kong is a very safe bet and produce not only the well known Kongs for throwing but frisbys and a stick shaped toy. I also find Buster a good brand, they produce cubes you can put treats in which the dog rolls around the floor to get the food out, they're actually styled as a six sided die. Pressed rawhide chews work very well, Kirk loves them and as a bonus they work to keep his teeth clean and you can even play fetch and tug with the rawhide rings, though it is probably worth keeping a treat or a smaller rawhide chew in your pocket to give the dog in exchange for getting the ring back so you can use it multiple times. When I play tug with Kirk he lost interest in his rubber rings so I play with his rawhide rings then offer him a rawhide cigar after the session, I do let him have the rawhide ring to eat eventually but this just stretches out the amount of time you get out of the ring.
UK guide dogs are not trained to help you tell when it's safe to cross the road unlike US guide dogs, so it's still down to us to tell when to cross.
Booties aren't really necessary, however I would strongly suggest using a wet cloth to wipe your dog's feet if you suspect rock salt has been spread on the pavement or if it's snowy so cold snow doesn't stay in the crevaces of their feet. If you're planning on being out a long time then you may need to find an option to do this while you're out but if you're only going to the shops then you can do it when you get home.
When I first got Kirk I found it all very stressful, including the guilt that I wasn't falling in love with him in spite of everyone I meet out and about saying " I bet you love him already". Ignore them, they're idiots. If you're at all capable of loving any kind of animal then the bonding and playing will come naturally, it may take weeks or months but it will happen. Fortunately Kirk is quite cheeky and very people oriented so it meant he fell in love with me right away and was persistent enough that he wasn't upset at how long it was taking me to bond with him. Let the people from guide dogs know about your feelings towards dogs since it'll help them match you.
Oh and yes yes yes, guide dogs UK do allow you to take a test walk with a dog though be aware it may not be representative of the final outcome. The dog I had a walk with was due to be withdrawn for both lack of confidence when the trainers weren't about and inconsistent tension on the harness, I just couldn't feel what was going on through the handle and it was very stressful. The time I went for a matching walk with Kirk the difference was instantly obvious, the tension was far better so obviously the first dog Carlton just wasn't a good choice for a test walk.
I can also recommend getting a food bin to keep your dog's food in, and if possible an additional set of talking kitchen scales to weigh their food. I have two sets of kitchen scales, one for me and one I keep in Kirk's cupboard for his food so the dog food doesn't contaminate my food and vice versa.
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