So it was particularly frightening for the visually impaired Newstead woman when another dog latched onto Eddie while the pair were walking around the block last Friday.

‘‘When we brought him in and took his collar off he was wet around the neck,’’ Mrs Turner said.

‘‘It gave him a nasty fright and gave me a terrible fright because I couldn’t see what was going on.

‘‘If something comes out of the blue like that you can’t see what’s happening and you don’t know where to put your hand or how to help.’’

Eddie struggled to leave the house on Saturday, but was coaxed out of the house to walk through the neighbourhood yesterday.

The incident preceded a similar event in Hobart on Tuesday when a working guide dog was attacked by an off-lead dog and left with a graze and broken harness.

Both attacks serve as an unfortunate reminder to dog owners to ensure their dogs are on leads when being walked.

Mrs Turner said it was equally important that dogs kept outdoors were unable to escape their yards.

One in three guide dogs across Tasmania has been physically attacked by another dog while guiding its handler who is blind or vision impaired, and seven out of 10 Tasmanian guide dog handlers say their dogs are distracted by other dogs that are not being controlled by their owners.

‘‘Guide dogs give you your independence back,’’ Mrs Turner said.

‘‘The biggest help in a situation like this is for people to be aware if you’re handling a guide dog and they’ve got a dog they have it under control.’’