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

[RTKangaMummy]

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.

aw. I put a call out for you just earlier to see if you'd got your puppy yet.

Dare I ask what her name is? (guide dog puppies are named acording to the alphabet ie each litter has a letter so some of the names can be .. erm... interesting).

Oh Kanga she is absolutely gorgeous and sounds like she's doing very well - and all of you too !

How's it going, Kanga?

Hello everyone

Thanks for your kind comments ~ I would rather not put her name on here cos it can identify me but yes it is unusual ~ but we are used to it

She has deffo found her voice now and we are trying to ignore it but we are feeling sorry for our neighbours ~ so DH is taking her and a bottle of wine round to them tomorrow to say sorry

wees and poos are happening nearly ALL outside now ~ we are taking her out loads and loads of times

Well done, Kanga

It is very tiring at this stage, isn't it? She sounds very bright though, and I'm sure you'll soon see progress

Thanks

She had her 1st trip out in the car today to collect DS and then DH & DS took her to the bank with DH carrying her

She was a huge hit in the queue which was about 30 mins long {cos of one cashier and lots of people} she made loads of friends with the other customers

I think we will have growth spurt soon cos she keeps stretching and arching her back

She also likes chasing her tail and rolling around on the floor to try to catch it

Our Guide Dog puppy is 10 weeks old today!

She has been here 2½ weeks but it seems like she has been here forever

She wasn't very well on Thursday night and Friday with an ear infection and some vomiting which was followed by some dehydration.

We went to the vets on Friday and she had some ear drops + hydration fluid + an injection.

She is fully recovered now

She is great fun and a very happy puppy ~ although a warning to anyone wanting a puppy they do take a huge amount of time ~ mainly on wees/poos which now happen outside.

As she is a guide dog puppy she has to go to toilet before leavng home and if needed only do it outside in public if we give her the command.

We went to visit my best friend and her golden retriever and they had a wonderful time together ~ under our full control at all times of course

Everything has to be done with our PWS {puppy walking supervisor} permission and so we have to check everything with her first.

She came to visit last week and was very pleased with our progress

We have got our first Guide Dog Puppy Class on Thursday to meet other guide dog puppies

There is a new photo of her that I took today in the garden on my profile page

oh kanga, she is gorgeous!

Aw - she is beautiful, Kanga. Glad to hear it's all going so well - sounds like you are a natural

Thanks

It was very hard to take the photos ~ when I bent down to take the photo she kept coming up to the camera to see what I was doing ~ hence why it is a strange angle

We feel differently about her already like when she was ill last week we felt so responsible cos she wasn't ours.

We had to check with PWS first

She is great fun and so happy

I am sure we will all miss her when she leaves us ~ but as we know it will happen it won't be a shock ~ also if we do a good job training her she will pass the tests and be able to help someone who is blind or partially sighted ~ and in return we will know we have done our best for them both

aw glad to hear it's going well, have been wondering how you were getting on.

I have had my new guide dog staying with me for just over a week now (although our official training doesnt start until Monday, and I've been lucky to have him a bit longer than is the norm to get to know him before training starts), and the way he behaves in the house etc is a good indication already that his puppywalker has done a good job.

My current dog is being retired du to a behavior that I am 99% certain originated while he was being puppy-walked and which the puppywalkers never informed the association about.

Blimey!

Do you have any tips how I can stop whatever has happened to your dog that the PW didn't do IYSWIM

Sounds that your new one hopefully will be a success.

We had our first Guide Dog puppy class today

She was the youngest GDP there ~ there were 3 others there

She was very good one by one they were let off the lead to investigate each other or around the room ~ she kept coming back to my chair ~ one of the others was very dominant ~ but the PWS was pleased with her

She was sometimes shy and sometimes confident ~ but it certainly tired her out ~ and me

wannabe are you on the EXTRANET for GD?

no not on there, but feel free to email me [email protected].

His issue relates to his reactions to other dogs. We are fairly certain that he has had a bad experience with another dog, probably while still a puppy, as he reacts very strongly (ie barks, growls etc) at other dogs, but only when he is restrained ie on lead or in harness. In fact we took both the new dog and him free running today and the instructor (who had witnessed the behavior that has cost him his career as a guide dog) said you'd never believe he was like that unless you'd actually seen it iyswim, as he ran happily up to other dogs in the fields and played with them/ignored them etc.

have sent email

That is awful about your older puppy ~ wonder why they never said anything ~ maybe something could have been done to help him while he was still a puppy

Well here is a little update ~ she is now 14½ weeks old.

She has had her 2nd jabs and so we can go everywhere.

so she has been to the park and seen swans, canadian geese, ducks, other dogs and lots of children.

Next Tuesday ~ with her Supervisor ~ we are going to the local woods and she will be let off the lead and be able to run free. We have been recall training with the whistle in the garden

She has grown so much as you can see from the updated photo on my profile.

how's it going rtk?

bump

Hello everyone

She is now nearly a year old and still beautiful

She goes to initial training in January 2011 and we will miss her sooooooo much

We have been all over the place with her she has been camping in a tent, on tube train, bus her favourite place to go is TESCO cos if DH says he is going there he can't say the word cos she knows where he is going and gets excited.

Our supervisor is very impressed with her so hopefully everything will go well with her training.

She also loves going to the park or woods for Freerunning {off the lead}

When she is wearing her blue training jacket that says "GUIDE DOG PUPPY IN TRAINING" she really seems to know she has to concentrate and behave like on/in buses/trains/shops/restaurants etc.

We went to the training centre today and were shown around the kennels and chatted to the staff so we know what will happen to her in January

So I would deffo encourage anyone to do Puppywalking it is soooooooo rewarding and we have met several blind people with their dogs and the difference the dogs make to them is enormous

Lovely to read this thread, my grandma was a PW for thirty years and it was a big part of my life growing up. You've done such a great job for a wonderful cause.

Thank you

We are really enjoying puppywalking

I get upset each time I think about her leaving us {like today on the M25 driving home with tears streaming down my face} but I know that is what she was bred for and she really seems to enjoy learning + going to new places and meeting new people so we are sure that she will enjoy working

We are going to say on the form that if when she retires that the owner can't keep her that we will have her here again.

BTW the cats have been fine with her ~ one of them sleeps in the sitting room when she is in here and the other watches from beyond the stairgate or through the bannisters

Do you think you'll do it again?