Monday 23 March is National Puppy Day and to celebrate our life-changing puppies we caught up with one of our Puppy Development Advisors, Terri. She tells us more about her role, how she supports volunteer puppy raisers, and where to find more information about volunteering with our dogs.
A bit about the role
I’m Terri and I’m a Puppy Development Advisor for South Derbyshire and the Black Country, and I support our volunteer puppy raisers and fosterers.
There is no such thing as a typical day in my role! It varies from training new applicants to visiting puppies. Sometimes I’ll go out and about with our puppy raisers and do things like shop visits, train stations, town walks and free runs. Then other days I spend doing admin and planning my schedule!
How we support you as a volunteer puppy raiser
We offer a wide range of support to our volunteer puppy raisers, from phone calls and emails to in-person home visits and group training sessions. From a home visit, puppy raisers can expect a nice calm visit where I get the chance to see the puppy in their home environment, check their health card, and answer any questions they might have. When I go out and about with puppy raisers and their puppy, I will support them in introducing new things to the puppy, such as public transport or cars.
As Puppy Development Advisors, we are here to support you. But there are also other ways you can access support, including e-learning and Guide Line. Whether you’re a first-time puppy raiser or are more experienced, making sure you’ve completed your e-learning is important. The online learning runs through the fundamental training behaviours and explains how raising a guide dog puppy is different to a family pet. Preparation is key when puppy raising, and the e-learning helps you in that journey.
As well as e-learning, we also run puppy classes. These sessions are a good opportunity to get together with other puppy raisers, and I invite my fosterers to come along so they can meet the puppies and other volunteers. Puppy classes are valuable for our fosterers and give them a chance to see what we're doing and see if there’s any new skills they can learn. The classes are good practice for the puppies to be in a similar space to one another and are a safe space for the volunteers to chat to each other about their experience and share any stories with each other.
What to expect in the first few weeks as a volunteer puppy raiser
When your Puppy Development Advisor gets in touch with you to share the good news that you will be expecting a puppy, the excitement and preparation begins! In the time leading up to your puppy arriving it’s important to get up to date with your e-learning and prepare your home with the essentials.
The day your puppy arrives is a big day for the puppy as well as the puppy raisers. Some puppies may have travelled quite a distance, so it’s important to give them somewhere comfortable to settle in.
In those first couple of weeks you’ll be finding your feet, and the main things we focus on are building a routine and relationship. Little things like working on the puppy's sleep routine and toilet training. Every puppy is different and some may pick it up quicker than others, but we’re here to support you.
Over time we start to introduce things like the fundamental behaviours. For example, food manners, being comfortable in the crate, and getting them used to the equipment and collar. Adapting to support each puppy raiser individually is key, some households may have children living there or lots of regular visitors. So we work with the puppy raisers to best support their household.
There are no silly questions, and if you need some advice then you can reach out to your Puppy Development Advisor or Guide Line.
My advice to someone thinking of volunteering
From our current volunteer puppy raisers and fosterers, the main piece of feedback I get is how rewarding they find the role. Looking after a puppy is time consuming and requires a commitment, it can sometimes be hard work but you’ll be helping a puppy to start its journey in becoming a life-changer.
We do follow a process when placing a puppy and onboarding a new volunteer, so I advise people to stay patient. It’s important that we do the correct checks and make sure everything is in order, this ensures a smooth start to your journey as a volunteer and for the puppy. You can hear from our expert staff who will be sharing more information about puppy raising during an online event on Thursday 30 April. We’re always looking for volunteers to help look after our puppies and dogs: breeding dog holders to look after guide dog mums and their newborn pups, puppy raisers to take care of a puppy for the first year of their life, and training fosterers to provide a loving home. More information about the roles including how to apply online is available via our volunteer with our dogs webpage.
