Seeing Eye Dogs Archives

Do you have a place in your heart and home to take care of a little puppy that will one day become a Seeing Eye dog? If you are from Kedron or another northern suburb, find out how to volunteer to become a puppy-carer.

Vision Australia Seeing Eye Dogs is seeking carers for eight-week-old puppies who are willing to have a puppy inside their home, have a secured yard, are willing to provide the puppy with regular socialising, can conduct basic training and can make themselves available for group training as needed.

Vision Australia Seeing Eye Dogs established its first training school for dog guides in Victoria in 1960 and has since been a national provider of world-class bred and trained dogs. There are currently 200 pups in the Puppy carer program that could one day become dog guides providing independence and improved quality of life for people who are blind or have a low vision.

Applications are open for carers from Northern Brisbane and select Sunshine Coast and Victoria areas. Volunteers may apply for a full 12-month program or a shorter six-month program. Seeing Eye Dogs covers the cost of the program including the cost of all equipment, food, dog health care, vet costs, and training.

You may be qualified to join the program if you have the following skills:

Able to drive, own a car and have immediate car access to transport the pup/dog to Kensington or any other location as required
Patient, dedicated and flexible
Willing and able to follow instructions
Dog handling skills (enjoys working with dogs)
Interpersonal and communication skills
Fluent English speaking

No prior dog training experience is needed to be a foster puppy parent. However, a volunteer should be comfortable being around dogs and is willing to care for an eight-week-old puppy until it is approximately 12 to 15 months old.

Puppy carers are also expected to provide the puppy with a loving home, help them learn to socialise, and teach them basic skills including toilet training, sitting, and walking on a lead in a relaxed manner.

For more information about the program, click here.

Would you like to volunteer to take care of a puppy and raise it to become a well-adjusted, future seeing-eye dog? Vision Australia has a program for Kedron families and other North Brisbane residents to become full-time foster carers.

The puppy carers for Vision Australia’s Seeing Eye Dog program will be expected to take care of an eight-week-old pup for the duration of 12 to 15 months or for as short as six months. The carer’s main roles are to interact with the animal, provide them with regular exercises, and facilitate socialisation with other dogs or humans.

The foster dog parents should also spend some time toilet training pup, as well as teaching basic commands like sit or stay and help them learn to walk on the lead. However, the puppy carers will not be expected to train the animals for their future jobs as there are actually development trainers tasked to work with the young dogs.

What’s vital at this stage is for a North Brisbane family to monitor the pup since these animals should not be left alone for more than three hours. Humans have to be committed to the animal because consistency is an important factor in their development as future service dogs.

Aside from the time, puppy carers need to have a secure yard where they can interact and play with the dog. If they are renting the house, they will also need to secure approval from their landlord to have a new animal living with them, albeit temporarily.

According to Vision Australia: “Your puppy can ‘free run’ with your supervision if your property/backyard is safe and secure. The pup should not be left unsupervised as they may learn undesired behaviours such as digging. Letting pups have a ‘free run’ is a fantastic way to burn off some energy and teach them to respond when called.”

To learn more about this program, you can download the FAQs outlining the duties and requirements of a puppy carer. However, do note that your application might take some time to be assessed, depending on the new litters that will need placement in a new home.

Vision Australia’s Seeing Eye Dog has over 200 pups living with carers at a given time. The costs involved to become part of this program will be shouldered by the company, including the crate for the puppy to sleep, retreat or settle in after a long day of training and play.

Tag: Seeing Eye Dogs

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