JaniceH  Offline
Owned by Maple
Joined: Aug 19, 2009
Age: -1971
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10296 LabPounds
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Lab Names: Maple 28/4/10 Alfie Cavvy 27/5/07
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 Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 6:34 pm Post subject: |
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Im afraid that as said already, any dogs/pups placed, either stud dogs, breeding girls, pups, pups that are older that have done time with another puppy walker, boarding dogs, you would not be accepted if the main carer is out of the house for more than three hours per day. They will not accept other people popping in, it has to be the main registered volunteer/carer as you have to give references and a vet reference if you have had pets already.
What worries me a little is that you say that you would love a lab, but you both work, so are looking at alternatives. Having a dog from Guide Dogs is probably harder work that having your own dog, they are never yours, you have a supervisor even if you have a stud dog, and there are many rules and regulations you HAVE to follow or your dog will be taken from you.
I think the only way you would be able to be involved is to board during holiday times and you dont have to commit to every single holiday if you dont want to.
A breeding girl (swear filter wont let me say female dog) as well as needing you around generally, would need you to be absolutely 100% with her from some time before birth to several weeks after birth, they wouldnt place a girl with you unless you could abide by the 3 hours a day rule AND that one either. You have to live within one hour of the CV33 9QJ postcode which is where the breeding centre is. You would also have to follow their rules for rearing, whelping and caring for the girly and pups. Even if she wasnt going to have a litter that season, she would still have to spend the three weeks of her season in kennels. She would also be expected to have five litters.
For a stud dog, they generally pick people that have had experience of owning entire dogs before and you do need to be available at the drop of a hat plus the 3 hour rule, you would still have lots of rules and regulations to follow as well.
Sorry to be quite negative, but if you havent got time for your own dog, one belonging to Guide Dogs isnt going to be any easier 
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easylife73  Offline
early riser
Joined: Jul 17, 2011
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139 LabPounds
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| Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 8:26 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks Janice, I guess that was the kind of information I was after. Their website is rather vague on the criteria for stud dogs, although there is slightly more on the girls and puppy walking. We live about 20 minutes from the breeding centre, so that would be fine, but would obviously only want to do it if it was in the dog's best interests. My other half is from a farming background, and really misses having a dog around, as do I, so I suppose the temptation is to clutch at straws a little bit...hence trying to find about a bit more before approaching GDB.
We weren't expecting that a dog from GDB would be easier - sorry if I gave that impression. We really would like to help the organisation, as well as wishing we could have a dog back in our lives. But we are realistic enough to realise that we would not be able to just go and buy a puppy of our own, as it would be very, very unfair if we were not around most of the time in the early days. Similarly, it wouldn't be fair to an older rescue dog either. Hence this seemed worth investigating as a possible alternative. I understand it would not be our dog, and that there would be a lot of rules etc, but would be very excited to be involved in helping GDB to produce lots of lovely dogs that would go on to help so many people.
I've only had a non-entire dog before, so would need to be educated as to the difference (barring the obvious, I get that  ) I guess we'll just have to resign ourselves to not having a dog until we both retire, which the way things are going will be a looooong time! Thanks again for your reply - not negative, but a more realistic view, which is what I wanted.
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Diana Offline
Dual Personality
Joined: May 30, 2006
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Posts: 19447
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128372 LabPounds
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No.of Labs: 5+
Lab Names: Mallie, Fish, Tom, Bondy, Mia, Ruby & Otter!
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| Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2011 7:43 am Post subject: |
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If you have a workable, sensible plan for dog walkers and so on, why not just get a puppy of your own? Many people do have a dog and work full time. Its not for me, but it is for many and they work it well enough. Starting a baby puppy from 8 weeks as you mean to go on into a routine of a walker at lunchtime etc works for many.
If you were going to take on an adult dog, for me, its better to take on a puppy and teach it no other way than having full time worker 'parents' from day one?
Di
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The boys!
Read: Wylanbriar Dog Blog on the website: Updated! 1st February 12´! |
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dotandmegan Offline
Lab Factotum
Joined: Sep 09, 2006
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23163 LabPounds
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No.of Labs: 2
Lab Names: Megan & Krissie Guide Dog pup
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Location: Ayrshire
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| Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2011 8:56 am Post subject: |
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| easylife73 wrote: | | I should just ring Guide Dogs and ask them, shouldn't I? |
Yup!
Let us know how you get on....
and btw your point about 'the more stud dog and brood bitch holders, the more people can be helped' is absolutely right, and Guide Dogs are trying very hard to do this - but please remember, Everyone Out There, that the biggest volunteer commitment is from the Puppy Walkers who have the pup from tiny to over a year old, so there's no point breeding lots of lovely puppies if there aren't enough PWs!
And also btw - we love doing it, OK a few broken nights and puddles to start with then it's great fun,  - and you never have to watch the dog grow old and fade.... 
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