We are seeking people who would be able to look after a guide dog puppy full time (7 days per week) for a long term basis – each puppy is homed from 7 weeks until they are approximately 14 months of age.
What does the role involve?
- Feeding, training and generally caring for a puppy’s needs on a daily basis is time consuming and, particularly when very young, they cannot be left on their own for more than three hours
- You will develop and care for a puppy as directed by your supervisor and as described in Puppy Walking Policies and Procedures.
- You will familiarise the puppy with many different environments
- Teaching basic obedience commands.
Prospective Puppy Walkers are required to:
- Not leave the puppy alone for longer than 3 hours
- Have a house/ground floor flat with permission to have a dog
- Have a fully secure and private garden
- Have a patio/concrete/paved area for the dog to toilet on (ideally 6 foot by 9 foot)
- Have a car suitable for transporting a dog (or access to one for training purposes)
- Be willing to take the puppy out and about 3-4 times per week to expose them to different environmental conditions such as towns, traffic, buses travel, shops and crowds
- Be happy to act as part of a team with the instructors and ensure that you follow the guidelines the instructor gives you to ensure the dog progresses
This is a full time role for up to 14 months and you must meet the minimum criteria detailed above to apply.
Puppy Walking takes time, energy, patience and an awareness of the job that your puppy will be doing when they are mature. You have to be always aware that any bad habits allowed to develop may stop your puppy from qualifying as a guide dog, so extra time and effort has to be made in the training.
Apart from the obedience training the puppy has to be exposed to all the everyday things that he may encounter with his new owner, including going shopping, to the dentist, the doctor, travelling on buses and trains, traffic, joggers, cyclists, stairs, other dogs, cats, the list is extensive!