Puppies' first eight weeks

Players' support helped to fund the very beginning of our guide dog puppies’ journey for a period of 12 months. This support included caring for our incredible guide dog mums and their puppies during birth and for the first eight weeks of the puppies' lives.


Video shows Guide Dogs Head of Breed Operations Janine explaining how players of People's Postcode Lottery have supported the first stage of our puppies' lives.
Watch the accessible version at: https://youtu.be/WE9gOQaCSuM

Player funding helped towards all the equipment and staffing needed to care for our guide dog mums as they brought their puppies into the world.

The puppies are looked after with their mum at the home of our volunteers where they live until the puppies are ready to leave the litter at around seven weeks old. The puppies are taken to the Guide Dogs National Centre for their health checks, assessments, microchips, vaccinations and worming treatments.

They then venture off to their new puppy raiser families to begin their journey towards becoming life-changing guides!

The journey of a guide dog: from birth to eight weeks

The following videos show in greater detail the stages in the lives of our guide dog puppies that players of People's Postcode Lottery helped to support - from birth through to 8 weeks old.

Journey of a guide dog - pregnancy and birth.
Journey of a guide dog 0-8 weeks.