Volunteer

Get Involved!

Want to help a puppy become a Guide Dog, Autism Service Dog, or OSI-PTSD Service Dog?

Now is your time to shine!

BC & Alberta Guide Dogs is looking for volunteers to help with Puppy Training, Dog Boarding and Breeding & Whelping.

BC & Alberta Guide Dog Puppy Training

Puppy Raising

Puppy Raising is the cornerstone to the success of BC & Alberta Guide Dogs. We need volunteers to raise puppies training to be Guide Dogs for the blind or visually-impaired, Autism Service Dogs for children with autism, and OSI-PTSD Service Dogs for Veterans and First Responders.

Puppy Training
BC & Alberta Guide Dog Boarding

Dog Boarding

We need boarding homes for dogs that are in advanced training and need to live closer to our offices in Delta, Qualicum Beach and Edmonton. Volunteers board an adult dog (already house-trained) for around a 5-month period, providing a loving home for the dog on evenings and weekends.

Dog Boarding
BC & Alberta Guide Dog Breeding and Whelping

Breeding & Whelping

BC Guide & Alberta Guide Dogs maintains an in-house breeding program. The role of the breeding program is to provide a regular supply of suitable adult dogs for our training programs. We are periodically looking for individuals to breed or whelp our litters.

Breeding & Whelping

Puppy Training

We need volunteers to raise puppies training to be Guide Dogs for the blind or visually-impaired, Autism Service Dogs for children with autism, and OSI-PTSD Service Dogs for Veterans and First Responders.

The Cornerstone of Success

Puppy Raising is the cornerstone to the success of BC & Alberta Guide Dogs. Raising a pup is a volunteer job like no other. It requires dedication and commitment from the Puppy Raiser and an entire team of individuals to have the pup grow and mature into a working dog. The end result gives you a feeling of accomplishment and pride that no other job would.

Puppy Raisers can be individuals, couples or families with school-age children. Some Puppy Raisers live in apartments, town-homes and single-family homes. Our programs are offered in Greater Vancouver, Victoria, and Calgary. Our requirement is that the primary Puppy Raiser is available during the day for meetings and obedience classes.

Teaching the puppy house manners is as important as all other aspects of our program. The Puppy Raiser will provide the foundation necessary to raise a dog that will change someone’s life. This journey will last until the dog is approximately two years old and will then be handed over to our professional Instructors for their advanced training.

The end result of knowing that your pup will change the life of a client who has low vision, a child with autism, or a veteran or a First Responder living with OSI–PTSD.

Things to Consider
  • Do you have the time to provide adequate exercise & the commitment to teaching & praising appropriate behaviours daily, every day?
  • Are you able to clear your schedule for the first one to two weeks to establish bonding & house training?
  • Are you able to commit to the program for the 1.5 -2 year time frame?
  • Do you have experience interacting with & handling dogs?
  • Will you take the pup out for socialization exposure 4-5 times a week? This requires special effort at the beginning when they are not fully vaccinated and cannot go where other dogs go. You can take them to local coffee shops, restaurants, grocery stores, etc.
  • Are you willing to go through a heat cycle if you have a female dog to raise?
  • Can you physically handle a large dog? Our dogs will reach a weight of 60-75 pounds.
  • Do you have a schedule that allows the puppy never to be left alone for more than a couple of hours on occasion?
  • Are all family members willing to follow the guidelines of BC & Alberta Guide Dogs training protocols?
  • Are you willing to undergo a Vulnerable Sector’s Check?
  • Does your schedule allow for all meetings to occur during the day at scheduled times Mon-Fri?
  • Do you have access to email and are committed to checking it regularly? This is how we communicate with our puppy trainers.
  • Do you have a vehicle?
  • Are you prepared for dog hair, cleaning up after the pup, wet noses, puppy kisses, and all that goes with a puppy?

Volunteers receive ongoing training and support from the Puppy Raising Supervisor and our established network of existing volunteer Puppy Raisers.

There are weekly obedience classes held until the pup is 4-5 months, and then obedience will be bi-weekly. The Puppy Supervisor will arrange monthly meetings in different areas throughout the city to see how your dog responds to various stimuli and situations.

The Puppy Supervisor is there to help you with any problems you may be having. Both obedience and individual meetings are mandatory, and failure to attend regularly may result in rehoming of the pup.

If you are interested in applying to become a Puppy Raiser, you should contact the Director, Puppy Raising. They will answer any questions that you may have and send you an online application for you to complete.

It is generally suggested that you attend at least one obedience class and have a chance to talk with other Puppy Raisers about the time commitment and ups and downs of raising a pup.

The Puppy Training Supervisor will go through the program with you in more detail and conduct a home interview.

If you are accepted, you will be put on our waiting list, and your Supervisor will inform you when a pup is available.

Contact Us

Matthias Lenz
Director, Puppy Raising
puppyraising@bcandalbertaguidedogs.com
Office: 604-940-4504
Toll-free (Canada): 1-877-940-4504

Adult Dog Boarding

BC & Alberta Guide Dogs needs boarding homes for dogs that are in advanced training and need to live closer to our offices. Volunteers board an adult dog (already house-trained) for around a four to six-month period, providing a loving home for the dog on evenings and weekends.

Ladner or Tsawwassen:

  1. Our staff will pick up the dog for training around 9 a.m. and drop the dog off around 4 p.m. (Monday to Friday only)
  2. We provide food, vet care and other basic necessities for the dog.
  3. Be at home during the day or able to take the dog with you. Ideal candidates are retirees or at-home workers.  (Dogs shouldn’t be left alone for more than FOUR hours at a time).
  4. Provide a dog-friendly home with a secure outdoor space (e.g. fenced yard)
  5. Follow our guidelines for training and caring for the dog.

If you are interested in boarding a dog – or know someone who might be – please

Contact Us 

BC office at 604-940-4504 and info@bcandalbertaguidedogs.com

Qualicum:

  • Dog boarders will drop off the dog for training and pick it up at the end of the work day at our Qualicum training facility (Monday to Friday only). Our staff is flexible in making pick-up and drop-off arrangements!
  • Be at home during the day or be able to take the dog with you. Ideal candidates are retirees or at-home workers.  (Dogs shouldn’t be left alone for more than FOUR hours at a time).
  • Able to attend a weekly one-hour training class.
  • Provide a dog-friendly home with a secure outdoor space (e.g. fenced yard)
  • Follow our guidelines for training and caring for the dog.
  • BC & Alberta Guide Dogs provides food, vet care and other basic necessities for the dog.

If you are interested in boarding a dog – or know someone who might be

Contact Us 

BC Office at 604-940-4504 or info@bcandalbertaguidedogs.com

Edmonton:

  • Dog boarders will drop off the dog for training and pick it up at the end of the work day at our Edmonton Training facility (Monday to Friday only). Our staff is flexible in making pick-up and drop-off arrangements!
  • Be at home during the day or able to take the dog with you (best suited to retirees or at-home workers.)
  • Able to attend a weekly one-hour training class.
  • Provide a dog-friendly home with a secure outdoor space (e.g. fenced yard)
  • Follow our guidelines for training and caring for the dog.
  • BC & Alberta Guide Dogs provides food, vet care and other basic necessities for the dog.

If you are interested in boarding a dog – or know someone who might be

Contact Us 

Alberta office at 877-258-0819 and info@bcandalbertaguidedogs.com

For Boarding Home FAQs, click here.

Breeding & Whelping

BC & Alberta Guide Dogs maintains an in-house breeding program. The role of the breeding program is to provide a regular supply of suitable adult dogs for our training programs. We breed Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers and a first cross of the Labrador & Golden Retriever. These dogs are exceptionally affable, gentle, intelligent, energetic and good-natured – making them excellent companions and working dogs.

We participate at an international level with many other Guide and Service Dog organizations in the sharing of puppies and breeding materials in order to produce puppies bred specifically for traits required in our working dogs.

On occasion we are looking for families to become breeder-caretakers for both male and females that have been chosen for our breeding program. In this volunteer situation, the primary caregiver must be at home to care for the dog. All expenses are covered by BC & Alberta Guide Dogs, but you must be available to transport the dog where needed if a breeding is required.

As well as families to care for the females between litters, we look for families to have a female join their family and then to birth and raise the pups to the age of 7-8 weeks. This is supervised and supported but is a 24/7 project. The joy of raising pups from birth can only be felt by experiencing the entire process.

For more information contact:
Linda Thornton
Director of Breeding & Canine Health Care
E: linda.thornton@bcandalbertaguidedogs.com 
P: 604-940-4504