Volunteers needed in Cork to raise puppies as guide dogs

Carrigrohane-based national charity Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind (IGDB) is appealing for volunteer puppy raisers. The charity’s puppy programme manager, Shereen Pearson, told The Echo that puppy raising is the foundation for success as a guide or assistance dog.

“This is a full-time, volunteer role that involves a pup living in your home from nine weeks up to 14 months old, which is crucial to a puppy’s development, and your role will be to help them with their first steps of training, so they are well-mannered and socialised,” Ms Pearson said.

Experience with obedience training of dogs would be an advantage, but a supervisor will provide volunteers with the training to educate a puppy, with veterinary fees and food covered by IGDB.

“At approximately 14 months, the puppies move into our national training centre with our highly skilled trainers and the hard work towards graduating as a guide or assistance dog begins.”

Ms Pearson said that it is a reward to see a puppy develop in your own home. IGDB provides dog-handling training in public and online environments and when volunteers go on holidays IGDB will find a temporary boarder for their pup.

There should be no more than two dogs in the home, and all dogs should be over 12 months old, neutered/spayed, up to date on all vaccinations, and well-behaved around other dogs. The puppy must not be left alone for more than four hours, and volunteers must have a fully enclosed garden with walls or fences, minimum five foot high. The puppy will live inside, day and night. Volunteers must be 18 years or older, and children in the home must be over five years of age.

• For information, see www.guidedogs.ie