Donating a Puppy to The Seeing Dogs Alliance

The Seeing Dogs Alliance trains Seeing Dogs to guide blind people, helping them to achieve greater personal mobility and independence. The dogs are trained by qualified Guide Dog Mobility Instructors, who also train and support their blind owners. Before this training, the puppies live with volunteer puppy rearers, who fully socialise them and teach basic obedience, appropriate for Seeing Dogs.

Throughout their lives, all puppies and dogs live in home environments, cared for and loved as part of their families.

The Seeing Dogs Alliance is totally reliant on public gifts and donations, and does not receive any government funding. If you are interested in helping us by donating a puppy, please read on...

Donating a Puppy

The Labrador is the preferred breed of dog, as its temperament is well suited to the work of guiding blind people. Other breeds include the Golden Retriever and German Shepherd, and some cross breeds are also suitable. The two most important factors when selecting a puppy are health and temperament.

Puppies from Litters

The Seeing Dogs Alliance would like to hear from you if you have a litter of puppies and would like to consider donating one or more of them to be reared as a seeing dog.

The preferred age to start socialisation and rearing with puppy rearers is seven to eight weeks. Prior to that, the puppies need to be living in a home, learning from their mother and members of the household. They should be handled gently every day, and their mother should be happy for people to come into the house and play with her puppies.

Health is vitally important at this early stage, and both the bitch and sire must be in good health. The mother should be fully wormed, following veterinary advice, and the puppies should also be wormed at the appropriate ages, again, following veterinary advice.

Is my older puppy suitable?

Are you thinking about finding a new home for your puppy? If your puppy is healthy and under the age of six months, then please consider The Seeing Dogs Alliance. Ideally, we shall need to see both the parents of the puppy, who should have been hip scored. These hip scores should be available for us to examine.

Potential seeing dog puppies must be friendly and responsive, curiously interested and willing to participate. They must be house trained, happy to be left for short periods and used to being walked on a lead. They must not show any signs of aggression.

The Rewards

The Seeing Dogs Alliance is very grateful to all who donate a puppy. In return for your gift, you will be kept updated with the progress of your puppy. Imagine the sense of pride when your puppy achieves "working dog status" and goes on to help a blind person achieve greater mobility.

If you have a puppy you would kindly like to donate, please either: email us [info@seeingdogs.org.uk] , telephone 01483 765556 or complete our [online form]

Please contact [The_Webmaster_@seeingdogs.org.uk] if you have any comments or problems accessing our web site.