Puppy Raiser

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Puppy Raiser Are you a dog lover? Do you have some spare time? Would you like to make a difference to someone's life? If you've answered yes to these questions, then this role could be perfect for you! What is a 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, socialisation, 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. 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.

Role

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.

When:

Where:

Work from home

Other:

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. 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. 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.

Closing date for applications:

20 August 2025

Who to contact:

Rachel Patrick