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Guide Dogs Scotland (SA)
- VO102586
Are you a dog lover? Do you have the time to help raise a life-changing puppy? Would you like to make a difference to someone's life? If you've answered yes, then this role could be perfect for you!
As a Puppy Raiser, you'll provide a 6-8 week-old 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 while providing a loving home.
Main duties:
• 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.
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.
•
Puppies can happily live with other dogs or children. To determine whether you can provide a suitable environment for a puppy in the company of other dogs or children, we will conduct a home visit as part of the application process.
What you'll get:
• The satisfaction of knowing you're supporting people with sight loss to live actively, independently, and well.
• The rewarding feeling of watching a mischievous puppy learn new training techniques to help them develop into a guide dog.
• The opportunity to participate in our bespoke world-class training programme – this can help you train your own dogs or advance a future career in dog handling.
• The opportunity to have a loveable, canine companion, proven to reduce feelings of stress and improve fitness – you’ll be out walking rain or shine!
• The chance to be part of the inspirational Guide Dogs community, meeting like-minded people and interacting with a community of puppy raisers in your area.
• A dedicated volunteer manager and fellow peers who will help support you throughout your role.
We ask that volunteers for this role are aged 18 or over. Children under the age of 16 are not allowed to walk the puppy but we encourage the whole family to be involved in some of the puppy’s development.
For more information visit: www.guidedogs.org.uk/puppyraising or email Emma at VolAttractNorth@guidedogs.org.uk
Travel expenses
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.
Support
Training details
Details about training and support
As a volunteer you'll have access to our world-class training programme, 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
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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.
Restrictions
Minimum age: 18
Availability
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
Morning
Afternoon
Evening
Volunteers (aged 18-25) taking part in this opportunity are eligible to claim Saltire Awards hours for their activity.
Find out more
Please fill out this form to register your interest in the opportunity Puppy Raiser with Guide Dogs Scotland (SA)
Your email address and phone number will only be used by the organisation/TSI you are contacting to discuss in more detail the opportunity you are enquiring about.
Your details and message will be sent to:
Emma Brown, Guide Dogs Scotland (SA)
Emma Brown, Guide Dogs Scotland (SA)
Email address: volattractnorth@guidedogs.org.uk
Phone number: 03451430191
A copy will be sent to the organisation that supports volunteering in South Ayrshire:
Contact name: VASA Volunteering
Email address: volunteer@vasa.scot
Thank you for registering your interest in Puppy Raiser with Guide Dogs Scotland (SA).
Guide Dogs Scotland (SA) and Guide Dogs Scotland (SA)have both been sent your details and message, they will respond to you at the email address you provided.
Something has gone wrong, please let us know about this issue at milosupport@scvo.scot quoting reference #VO102586.