Guide Dogs charity seeks more puppy trainers across the North West

  • A video report by Granada Reports Correspondent Paul Crone

The Guide Dogs charity is looking for more puppy trainers across the North West.

Volunteers play a vital role in not just providing a loving home, but preparing puppies for their role as fully-fledged guide dogs.

There might be the odd chewed slipper along the way, but it is all part of raising a puppy who will go on to make an enormous difference to someone living with sight loss.

The Guide Dogs charity Northern HQ at Atherton near Leigh is looking for puppy raisers like Lisa Allison from Preston and her guide dog to be, Archie the Labrador.

Archie has been with Lisa since he was eight weeks old and she will hand him over after about 14 months where he will receive his final bout of training before he becomes a fully-fledged guide dog for someone who is visually impaired.

Lisa said: "He comes into hospital appointments with me, he'll go into dentists. We'll obviously go in shops, take him into the supermarket. That starts very basic with just going in and then it will progress to carrying a bag."

Puppy trainers will keep the canines for up to 16 months before they are handed over to someone in need of a guide dog.

Lisa said it can be "emotional" to hand the dogs over, but that the overwhelming feeling you will have is "pride because you would have made such a difference to someone's life in the end result".

"When you meet people who have go the disability of the sight loss and the visual impairment, and people who do have a dog, you see the difference that it makes to somebody's life," she continued.

"It gives them the independence and the confidence in themselves to actually go out into the world that we all just take for granted."

Archie the Guide Dog. Credit: ITV Granada Reports

Guide Dogs Charity started back in 1931 by two women out of a humble lock up garage in Wallasey on the Wirral.

Since then, the charity has transformed the lives of over 35,000 blind and partially sighted people.

Regional Police and Campaigns Manager at Guide Dogs, Adam Marsh, said:"Puppy raisers are a critical part of what we do here at Guide Dogs. Without them, we wouldn't have guide dogs to put it quite simply."

Guide Dogs charity are looking for fosterers in Liverpool, fundraisers in the Isle of Man and puppy raisers across Cumbria.

The trainers look after the dogs, like Archie the Labrador, up to 16 months. Credit: ITV Granada Reports

To be a puppy trainer, you will need to have plenty of time on your hands, as well as:

  • 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 this.

  • 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.

Anyone who is interested in becoming a puppy raiser should follow this link.