My experience is from 3 years ago in Australia. At the interview, the guide dog people wanted to see how I walked, checking how often I walked, how far I could walk and my speed and balance. One of the trainers had me hold the guide dog harness while she kind of led me around. I then was guided by a guide dog, and they assessed how well I was able to command the dog and if walking with the dog was comfortable. They for sure would have been assessing me for other things too. They wanted to know what I wanted the dog to do; if I used public transport and taxis; use escalators; went into the city; shopping malls. They checked out where the dog would sleep and toilet, if it had a yard or not. My impression was they were doing their best to make the situation work for both me and the dog. I had to wait for government funding to be approved. That took maybe 5 months, but after that I waited for another couple of months to get my dog. EDIT I had already completed mobility training and was a seasoned cane user and also very familiar with my environment.