Puppy cuteness to make your day: New puppy litter at the South African Guide-Dogs Association.
Cross-bred golden retriever and Labrador puppies now make up the M litter of future service and assistance dogs.
The South African Guide-Dogs Association for the Blind has welcomed 10 new golden retriever and Labrador-cross puppies who will become the eyes of the visually impaired.
Now five weeks old, the puppies’ training will focus on socialising, feeding, sleeping and playing through different activities.
Melanie Nel of the association said the M litter has quite a bit of work ahead. “Our qualified staff and exceptional Puppy Block volunteers are making sure the puppies are well looked after. Each puppy has a schedule with activities and exercises that they need to do. These include putting on a collar, placing pups in a crate, and checking their ears, paws, tail and teeth.
“We also expose the puppies to different surfaces and noises such as a cell phone ringing, the banging of cups and robotic toys – such activities build self-confidence and produce a well-rounded assistance dog.”
The association’s L litter recently went to the homes of their new puppy raisers and 10 puppies continued their assistance dog journey. Typically, the association breeds 80 to 100 puppies each year. “This process involves careful planning considering the puppy block’s capacity for the moms and puppies.
On average, between five to seven puppies in a litter, but this number varies. We’ve had litters with four or five puppies, and even litters with 10 or more siblings.”
The M litter puppies are still at the association’s puppy block, and will soon need to find their home with puppy raisers. Nel has called any and all who may be interested in becoming a puppy raiser to reach out.
Nel shared some of the basic requirements for becoming a puppy raiser:
- Be 18 years and older
- Love dogs and have a calm, patient temperament
- Own transport and driver’s licence
- Be able to commit for up to 18 months
- Be available to attend weekly training sessions on weekdays for a 21-week period during office hours
- Attend monthly to bi-monthly outings with pup and group of puppy raisers.
Nel concluded that funding is welcome to help pay for the puppies’ school fees as they continue their journey to become assistance dogs.
Details: MelanieN@guidedog.org.za or AlidaP@guidedog.org.za
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