Puppy Raiser

As a Puppy Raiser, you\'ll provide a puppy with the vital foundation for its future role as a guide dog. You\'ll be looking after a puppy for 12-16 months and will guide him or her through training, socialization, the introduction of new environments and experiences whilst providing a loving home.

There might be the odd chewed slipper along the way, but nothing beats the rewarding feeling of loving and raising a puppy who will go on to make an enormous difference to someone living with sight loss.

What you\'ll be doing

Engaging with our world-class Puppy Raising for Excellent Partnerships (PREP) training programme to prepare your puppy for the next stages of becoming a guide dog.

Providing care and support for your puppy at home e.g., loving, grooming and feeding him or her.

Socializing your puppy and introducing him or her to a variety of environments to increase confidence – this can be as simple as taking your puppy with you to the shops, office or park as you go about your everyday life.

Teaching your puppy to be comfortable alone - gradually building up from a few minutes to a maximum of four hours.

Taking your puppy to monthly puppy classes, and interacting with other puppy raisers in your community whilst refreshing your training and sharing tips.

Meeting with your volunteer manager as frequently as needed to discuss any changes or issues with your puppy.

Completing short questionnaires about your puppy’s development.

What skills do I need?

You\'ll ideally have

A loving home with enough time to invest in raising a puppy and attending to their needs (e.g. toilet training). If you work from home or have hobbies, you\\\\\\\'ll need to be available to give the puppy regular attention alongside these.

Someone at home who is physically able to handle large breed dogs (around 25-40kg).

Access to a car, so that you can get your puppy used to travelling.

The agreement of your landlord to have a dog in the property if you rent your home.

A safe secure area outside for your puppy to go to the toilet.

Location

This opportunity is available Countywide.