Are you a dog lover with room in your home to look after a dog during evenings and weekends? This could be the perfect role for you!
As a Training Dog Fosterer, you’ll provide a loving temporary home to a dog in training for a period of 3 to 6 months, as they begin their journey to become a guide dog. You’ll get to see the progress your furry companion is making in their training and be a vital part of their journey, without the commitment of looking after a dog full time.
Volunteering for Guide Dogs should never leave you out of pocket. We’ll make sure we pay any expenses related to volunteering with us, including veterinary costs, dog food costs and other materials needed for your dog’s training.
What you'll be doing
- Doing the school run for your dog in training! This will typically involve dropping them off between 8am and 9.30am and picking them up between 4pm and 6pm, Monday to Friday at the Exeter Guide Dogs Training Centre at Malvern House, Yeoford Way, Exeter, EX2 8LB
- Caring for your dog in your home such as feeding, grooming, free running and playing, following the advice of our expert staff.
- Helping your dog keep up with their training by reinforcing the techniques at home from our first-class training programme.
- Making sure your dog is not left alone for more than four hours in a 24-hour period. If you’re planning on going on holiday, let us know at your initial phone call so we can plan alternative cover for your future life changer.
What you’ll get
- The opportunity to have a lovable canine companion!
- The satisfaction in knowing you’re supporting people with sight loss to live actively, independently, and well.
- The rewarding feeling of seeing your dog learn new training techniques to help them develop into a guide dog.
- An insight into our bespoke world-class training programme so that your dog’s training stays consistent at home, which can also help you train your own dogs or advance in a future career in dog handling.
- The opportunity to be part of the Guide Dogs community, meeting like-minded people in your area.
- A dedicated volunteer manager and fellow peers who will help support you throughout your role.
Training and support
You’ll attend a training workshop to understand the basics of our bespoke training techniques so you can confidently support your dog’s training at home. You’ll also receive ongoing guidance from your volunteer manager. If you have questions about the training requirements, we can answer these at your initial phone call along with any other support or accessibility needs you may have.
What we need from you
- Permission from your landlord to have a dog in your home if you rent your home.
- Live within a 5 mile range of the training centre.
- A safe and secure area outside for the dog to go to the toilet.
- We ask that volunteers for this role are aged 18 or over and follow our bespoke training and advice from expert staff relevant to their canine companion.
Please do have a look at our website Foster One of Our Dogs | Volunteer | Guide Dogs UK for more information or contact Claire or Elena via [email protected] if you have any questions.