A puppy from Guide Dogs’ first Japanese canine mum has arrived in Lanarkshire to begin a year of home training.
Eight-week-old George is now “settling in nicely” with his volunteer puppy raiser in East Kilbride after being born to mum Yuko – who made a 5000-mile journey to become part of the charity’s international collaboration programme.
He is one of three puppies from the litter of nine Labrador cross Golden Retrievers to have moved to Scotland; and now the charity, which has a base in Hamilton, is looking for more volunteers to help with early raising before young dogs begin their training to help people with visual impairments.
George’s mum, two-year-old black Labrador Yuko, is the first female dog from Japan to be selected for Guide Dogs UK’s world-class breeding programme.
She travelled from Japan to England following health and temperament assessments, as part of the programme in collaboration with Japan’s Guide Dog Association.
Now her nine puppies are old enough to leave their mum and start their Guide Dogs journey with puppy raisers across the UK who will give them a loving home for the next year, teach basic commands and help them get used to different environments, sights, sounds and smells.
George and siblings Indie and Peaches all travelled together to Scotland, and Guide Dogs puppy development supervisor Fiona Fraser says charity representatives are “so excited and looking forward to seeing how they progress through their training to become life-changing guide dogs”.
She said: “With Yuko coming from a collaboration with the Japanese Guide Dogs programme, this helps us to improve genetic diversity, while also retaining the temperament and health needed to produce successful working guide dogs of the future.
“Our puppy raisers provide vital foundations for their future role as life-changing guide dogs – we’re so grateful to all our volunteers and we wouldn’t be able to do what we do without their support and time.”
There are around 3500 guide dogs in the UK, all of whom were prepared for their working roles by puppy raisers, and the charity is currently seeking more volunteers in Lanarkshire to consider taking on the role.
Fiona added: “We’re always looking for more puppy raisers to take care of our dogs from when they’re around eight weeks old until they start their guide dog training at around 12 to 14 months.
“There’s training and support throughout so you don’t need experience with dogs, and Guide Dogs covers costs including dog food, so you’re never out of pocket.” See www.guidedogs.org.uk/puppyraiser for more details
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