Volunteer Puppy Parent

About this role

Canine Partners is a registered charity that transforms the lives of people with physical disabilities by partnering them with assistance dogs. Our amazing dogs bring a greater independence and quality of life to their partners, offering support, security, companionship, and practical help with everyday household tasks.
By volunteering at Canine Partners you contribute to something very special – ‘transforming the lives of people with physical disabilities by partnering them with assistance dogs’

About the opportunity:

Canine Partners are looking for caring family homes to raise, socialise and train puppies and young dogs up to the age of 18 months old. Ideally with-in 45 minutes’ drive of LE4 post code area.
By volunteering you will:
Be a valued member of our Charity
Know that you are integrally involved in the care and training of a dog that will change the life of a person waiting for their Canine Partner
Benefit from the companionship and enjoyment of having a dog in your life without lifelong commitment or costs associated with dog ownership
Have the opportunity to meet like-minded people
‘Without the continued hard work and support from our puppy parents, we would not be able to provide our clients with our life changing dogs’.

What is involved
We consider this a full time volunteer role as the puppy / dog will live with you from 8 weeks old until it is ready to progress into advanced training. This is between 14 to 18 months old
Be available for and attend training session that will involve:
home visits
virtual online training
one-to-ones
regular group puppy training classes
Regular visits within your local community to various environments to expose the puppy to the following conditions in order to socialise them: busy town environments, car travel, public transport, children, cats, other dogs (different breeds), and other domestic animals.

With our guidance, support and advice from our expert trainers, they will teach you the fundamentals of puppy socialisation as well as simple commands and exercises. For example:
Home behaviour
Social behaviour
Walking on a lead

Off lead exercise
General obedience
Maintaining the dog’s health and welfare and, via support and training, to recognise behaviour/health concerns and report them immediately to your Canine Partners trainer.

What we require from you
The primary puppy parent must be 18 years or over
Have a dog friendly secure garden and a designated dog toileting area (this will be discussed during interview)
If you are a dog owner, you can have two pet dogs of suitable temperament. Your pet dogs will be assessed as part of the home assessment. They must be over 18 months of age
At home for most of the day and live within 45 minutes of the requested location
Time to provide the puppy with the socialisation and education it needs in order to prepare it for advanced training
Stamina to manage an young active puppy / dog
Access to own transport to travel to classes and training locations on a regular basis
Understand that the dog in your care remains under the ownership of Canine Partners
Support and Training
Induction process which includes submitting of information form, telephone interview, home visit, training and handling sessions

Each volunteer is allocated a Canine Partners trainer as their first point of contact
Receive regular training, resources and other important information via your trainer, this may be in the format of physical copies, digital or in person
No previous dog ownership experience is needed but you must meet the criteria listed above to be considered
Holiday cover arranged
Payment of expenditure such as mileage to and from a training session with a Canine Partner representative
Invitation to join our Official Canine Partners Community Facebook Group

When you can volunteer

Requirements

• Access to a vehicle
• Driving license
• References needed

Support and Training Induction process which includes submitting of application, telephone interview, home visit, training and handling sessions
Each volunteer is allocated a Canine Partners trainer as their first point of contact
regular training, resources and other important information via your trainer, this may be in the format of physical copies, digital or in person
No previous dog ownership experience is needed but you must meet the criteria listed above to be considered
Payment of expenditure such as mileage to and from a training session with a Canine Partner representative

Location

Location Canine Partners, Ashby Road, Osgathorpe, Loughborough, LE12 9SR