Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Pets

Join our community on the Pet forum to discuss anything related to pets.

Original poster

Has anyone been a "PUPPY WALKER" for GUIDE DOG PUPPIES?

79 replies

RTKangaMummy · 07/09/2009 12:21

Hello everyone

We are thinking of becoming "puppy walkers" for Guide dog puppies

They come to live with us from a tiny puppy about 6 weeks old and we then teach it and socialize it until it leaves us at 12 to 14 months old to go to the next stage of its training

Has anyone done it?

DH has had labradors all his life and I used to have a Perinean Mountain dog as a child. So we are both used to dogs etc.

OP posts:
Original poster
RTKangaMummy · 20/11/2009 14:02

yes deffo

OP posts:
WynkenBlynkenandNod · 20/11/2009 14:54

Congratulations Kanga, what a lovely thing to do and how exciting!

Original poster
RTKangaMummy · 20/11/2009 16:06

Thanks

OP posts:
gagamama · 20/11/2009 16:53

Congratulations! That's really great news!

Have you been told you are definitely receiving a lab? Because I know they also use retreivers, german shepherds, and even poodles! I guess your puppy will probably going to be born within the next couple of weeks, maybe they have a potential litter earmarked. Exciting!

Original poster
RTKangaMummy · 20/11/2009 17:36

Well I am just going on what the supervisor asked me and then wrote down

The choice for 1st timers is a pure LAB or a 1st cross LAB & Retriver

So I chose a LAB

Then was asked BOY or GIRL and I chose a little girl ~ as DH has always had LAB girls

Then asked if I wanted Black or Yellow And I said I didn't mind

So in Jan we will either have a little black or yellow LAB baby girl

DH prefers yellow {he has always had yellow} but I don't mind ~ I think the black or yellow both look really cute

OP posts:
Original poster
RTKangaMummy · 20/11/2009 17:36

Thanks to everyone for their good wishes

OP posts:
wannaBe · 23/11/2009 11:58

oh excellent!

When I trained with my first guide dog I had to go to leamington which is not far from tolgate where the breeding centre is. We went there one saturday just... because really, and they had something like eight litters of puppies waiting to go to their puppywalkers the next day. they were soooo cuuuuuute.

Original poster
RTKangaMummy · 23/11/2009 12:20

Thanks wannabe

Perhaps you can answer a question for me

I was going to ask my supervisor but I'll ask you as someone who is experienced

I am a bit puzzled cos the puppy has to be socialized but then as a working dog has to ignore people

So does it then learn to be friends and then ignore or just to ignore from puppy sized

Like with a ball ~ puppy is NOT allowed to now that a ball is fun or a toy so that it doesn't try to run after one as a working dog IYSWIM

OP posts:
mrsmharket · 23/11/2009 12:30

yaaaaaaaayy!!

i was thinking of being puppy walker but wasn't sure how dd would cope with it. plus i am no unemployed so maybe it's not the right time for me. congratulations tho kangaxx

RTKangaSANTAMummy · 08/12/2009 17:12

We are getting a little girl black LAB/RETRIVER cross in January

My supervisor asked if we minded if she was a 1st cross as that was the puppy that was available for us IYSWIM

So her dad is a black labrador and mum is a retriver

I am soooooooooooo excited I said yes that was fine with us as I didn't want to wait any longer

DH came home when I was talking to the supervisor and he could tell who it was cos of my excited voice

She will come when she is just over 6 weeks old after her assessment and health checks and microchipped and vaccines

This will be at the beginning of January {she is only 2 weeks old now}

BellasSparklyBaubles · 08/12/2009 18:42

What a lovely thing to look forward to

BellasSparklyBaubles · 08/12/2009 18:45

Oh - and Wannabe is free to kick my butt if it has a different meaning for guide dogs , but for 'civilian' puppies socialisation means getting them used to lots of different sights/sounds/people/animals while they are very young. A very young pup's curiosity is greater than its fear of new things - if a pup doesn't meet all these things while very young, it can grow into a fearful dog.

HTH

wannaBe · 08/12/2009 18:54

ooooh yay.

In answer to your question, guide dogs need to be socialized with people in so much as that they need to be happy to be petted/fussed etc by them but during the training they will learn to concentrate on their work rather than the people iyswim.

They will be taught to ignore people during the course of their training ie to walk past them without attention seeking, but to still be open to attention if that is given and the owner does not object.

e.g. My dog goes into school with me on a regular basis. He lies down underneath a table while I listen to children read. He does not approach the children in any way shape or form, however there are some children who like to stroke him and say hello, and he is happy to lie there and be stroked without jumping up and making a fuss iyswim.

Also the dogs behave differently according to whether they're working or not. So in harnass a guide dog is expected to work without distraction, to lie quietly when told ie if I go into school/meetings/for people who work (my first dog had a basket under my desk which she slept in all day in the office), but when they're not in harnass they're essentially like fairly obedient pets, but also behave like pets i.e. my dog will bark if someone rings the doorbell, will run to the door with tail wagging, will chase a kong in the garden etc and will go to people for attention just like any other pet.

Unfortunately my current dog has some issues with other dogs and as a result is being withdrawn as a guide dog in January.

BellasSparklyBaubles · 08/12/2009 19:00

Have you decided what to do when that happens yet, Wannabe?

wannaBe · 08/12/2009 19:02

yes bella that's about right.

Basically it's about the puppy going into places that it will potentially need to go into as a working dog, and the younger this happens the more likely it is to cope well in these situations.

when a guide dog is working it needs to concentrate on the area it is in rather than on its fear of the area, so that it can work effectively.

wannaBe · 08/12/2009 19:07

my current plan is to keep him (kept previous dog too in fact she's still with us although on borrowed time now ), although this does present some practical issues as he's a much younger dog and requires lots of exercise which he currently gets through his work, so I need to see how easy it will be for me to walk him etc when he's no longer a guide dog as will have to use a cane to walk him up to the local fields etc..

But I have to try. I believe that animals are for life be they working or otherwise, and I don't want my ds to grow up with the message that you take on a dog till it's no longer useful and then get rid of it and get a new one.

If keeping him doesn't work out practically then he will hopefully go to a lovely friend of mine who lives in Plymouth. But for now keeping him is at the top of my agenda - he's still my dog, he's still ds' dog...

BellasSparklyBaubles · 08/12/2009 19:15

Aw - good for you, Wannabe.

Hope it works out for you

RTKangaSANTAMummy · 08/12/2009 20:18

wannabe

Thanks for all your help and advice

We are very excited

Original poster
RTKangaMummy · 13/01/2010 21:47

Our little puppy has landed and she is sooooooooooo deffo brill and georgeous

She is black labrador/retriver cross ~ she looks more like a black lab

She is soooooooooo cute

She is 7 weeks old

She is fast asleep in her cardboard box with the fleece in her crate.

When she wakes up I will take some photos to show you ~ so look on my profile later today

As it has snowed here DH & DS aren't at school so they have both been here to welcome her

When the supervisor brought her in she went straight outside for a wee

Then she came into the kitchen and played with her toys and us and then the supervisor put her in the crate and she tore up the newspaper for a while and squeaked but our supervisor said they were happy squeaks

Oke doke it is now later ~ I will post the photos on my profile in a moment

We have had lots of wees and 2 poos {inside and outside ~ she had a drink like diorilite to make sure she was properly hydrated but it makes loads of wees LOL before she had her 2 meals} ~ she has eaten her food and played loads and slept loads

She is sooooooooooo cute

OP posts:
Bella32 · 13/01/2010 22:25

OMG - she is gorgeous.

She looks so like my lab boy did when I first got him, and before he turned into a 35 kg lump

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.

Sleep well, all of you

minimu · 14/01/2010 08:09

She is so lovely I was hoping you would let us know when you got her.

Do enjoy her she is great hope you had a quiet night!

Ladygooga · 14/01/2010 08:22

oh so so cute.

I'm really pleased for you and of course very jealous!

Can't wait til my kids are older and I can be a puppy walker!

fanjolina · 14/01/2010 11:12

gorgeous!!

Original poster
RTKangaMummy · 14/01/2010 16:18

Thanks for your lovely comments

She is lovely with a very waggy tail

Last night was quite good ~ She barked and cried at about 4am we listened and then she went quiet.

At 6am when my DH got up he went into the kitchen and she was clean and dry but then did a wee, on the newspaper, as he went up to the crate.

She has done quite well with house training today with only 2 wees in the house

I know we will have days with completely the opposite ~ but it is really time consuming going out all the time and I am knackered

She has sort of met the cats one of them met her outside and the other looked at her in her crate and then ran upstairs ~ we are making a huge fuss of them

We have the feliaway atomizer and the spray squirted aroung downstairs on doorposts so hopefully that will help

OP posts:
Bella32 · 14/01/2010 16:24

Sounds like she's doing brilliantly

Swipe left for the next trending thread