Volunteer Puppy Raiser
This grid shows when you can volunteer for this organisation. E.G Monday morning.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morning | |||||||
| Afternoon | |||||||
| Evening |
- 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.
Socialising 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.
Puppy training classes and regular support
As a volunteer you'll have access to our world-class training programme, Puppy Raising for Excellent Partnerships (PREP), to implement with your puppy in training, a great bonus for any dog owner! This is delivered in an interactive and engaging manner, using a mixture of different learning techniques virtually e.g., videos, documents and e-learning modules. Examples of the modules you'll have access to include:
Food manners
Greeting new visitors
Being home alone
Settling in new environments
You'll receive plenty of support from your volunteer manager who will help you work through these training modules with your puppy. We also offer puppy classes for puppy raisers in the local area to get together, share stories and provide refreshers on training techniques.
Volunteering for Guide Dogs should never leave you out of pocket. We’ll make sure we pay any expenses related to volunteering with us, including veterinary costs, food costs for the puppy and other materials needed for the puppy’s training.
If you have questions about the training requirements, we'll be very happy to answer these at your interview along with addressing any other support or accessibility needs you may have.
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.