What to expect after the arrival of your new guide dog

Welcoming a guide dog into your home is an exciting time, and we’re here to help you understand what to expect when they first arrive. Understanding what to expect during the first few days can help set you both up for success and get your partnership off to a great start.

The first few days and nights

Managing your guide dog’s emotional and physical needs is important, as starting life in a new home can be overwhelming for them. Monitoring your guide dog’s body language once they’ve arrived will help you to understand how they’re feeling, and this is at the heart of the Guide Dogs principle of getting to know your dog. It's best to allow your guide dog the time and space to settle into your home.

We recommend slowly introducing your guide dog to your home and closely supervising them for at least the first few days. While your guide dog will have experienced lots of different environments during training, your home and lifestyle will still be new and different. You should limit visitors for the first few days and use this time to build your bond together. Dogs, like people, may take some time to adapt to new situations.

Once your dog is settled, you should carefully think through introducing new experiences, such as visiting a friend’s house, travelling in the car, and visiting the vet. Your Guide Dog Mobility Specialist (GDMS), and Dog Welfare Specialist (DWS) can help make this transition smooth for both of you.

In terms of physical needs, you’ll need to show your guide dog where they can toilet where their food and water are and will need to introduce a sleep routine.

Toilet training

It’s important to show your guide dog where you’d like them to go to the toilet. During the first few days, it’s also key to monitor for signs your dog needs to go, such as sitting by a door, and respond quickly to avoid any accidents.

If you have a toilet area, or ‘spending area’, for your dog, you'll need to take extra care to teach your dog that this is their area for toileting. If this is within a larger garden space, you may need to limit your dog's access to the garden until they have learnt to reliably and confidently use their toilet area. It’s important to be patient as this may take several days or even weeks.

Sleep routines

Understandably, your new guide dog might feel unsettled during the first few nights. To help them settle, avoid active games or exercise close to bedtime, and introduce calming activities, such as chew toys, and give them the opportunity to toilet. To help them to understand when it’s their bedtime, you should create a routine and stick to it, so they know what to expect. For example, you could say a particular word to indicate that it’s time for their last toilet opportunity of the day, like “bedtime”, and then turn the lights off.

Training your dog

Although your guide dog will have finished their formal training, you’ll continue to reinforce their training through working together. When your guide dog first arrives in your home, it’s important to teach them what behaviours are required in your home. For example, you may not want your guide dog to be in the kitchen when you prepare food.

Throughout your partnership, maintaining your guide dog’s training can be an effective and fun way to bond with them. Additionally, training will help to keep them safe, and good socialisation is important for their emotional wellbeing.

During the first few days, try to avoid giving your guide dog lots of verbal cues and instructions, to avoid overwhelming them.

Partnering with your new guide dog

A new guide dog is part of your family, and you should enjoy a partnership that’s rooted in love and respect for one another.

Partnering with your guide dog is about advocating for your dog, understanding their behaviour, and learning that human needs and dog needs differ. We need to gently teach our dogs to fit in with our lifestyle; other times, we need to adapt to meet theirs. We can think about our relationship with them as a ‘trust account’ - building up trust like a bank account by adding a little each day, via positive experiences, which strengthens your overall relationship with your guide dog.

Veterinary care

Before your guide dog’s arrival, you'll have registered them with a local vet. Your guide dog will need regular check-ups, flea and worming treatment, and booster vaccinations on an annual basis.  

Taking your guide dog for their first walk with you

We recommend that you don’t walk your guide dog during your first few days together, to allow you both time to settle into your home routines together and continue building a bond. If you think it may be necessary to go out with your dog in the first few days, you'll need to discuss this with your GDMS.

Who to contact if you have questions

If you have questions or concerns about what to expect when your guide dog arrives, you can reach out to us through Guide Line.