Looking to rehome one of our dogs?
How can I rehome a dog from Guide Dogs?
Rehoming success stories
Read some of our inspiring rehoming stories.
Read some of our inspiring rehoming stories.
Could you give an incredible dog a forever home? By adopting a dog from Guide Dogs you’ll get a loving pet and you’ll also be supporting an important cause.
Most of our dogs that are in training go on to qualify as life-changing guide dogs for people with sight loss, however, some dogs have health conditions or behaviour needs that mean they couldn’t complete all the stages of their training. They’re still incredible dogs, but they’re much better suited to life as a family pet with people who can provide the time, patience, care and commitment they need.
We’re also looking for forever homes for our guide dogs who have reached retirement age. Many guide dogs remain with their partnership family as a pet dog after retirement, but this isn’t always possible. Find out more about rehoming an older dog from Guide Dogs.
Freddie is such a character, I can see why he couldn't be a guide dog but to us, he is a cheeky boy who is now a big part of our family.
The welfare and wellbeing of our dogs is always our top priority and our experienced Rehoming Officers are passionate about finding the right homes for our withdrawn and retired guide dogs.
We often receive applications from people looking for a ‘perfect pet’. But the reality is that our dogs available for rehoming often will have health conditions or behavioural needs that need to be monitored or managed.
Our team will help you consider everything involved in adopting a dog, so we can be sure to get it right for both you and our dogs. We know the full history for each of our dogs, including their health, temperament, likes and dislikes, which means we can make the best rehoming match for each dog and family.
If you’re able to provide the time, patience, care and commitment required to look after a dog with an existing condition or an older dog and be flexible about the breed, this will increase the chance that we can find the dog for you.
All dogs have their own unique quirks and personalities, and so do ours. They’re very special and provide lots of love. Often our dogs may not have qualified as guide dogs as they have health conditions or behavioural needs. This may mean you need to make some lifestyle adjustments, cover the cost of ongoing treatment or provide your dog with more training.
These health and behaviour needs can range from mild to severe. Health conditions can include skin issues, joint problems, eye conditions or epilepsy. Behaviour needs can include poor recall, being easily distracted, being reactive to other dogs, separation anxiety, issues with travelling or being too strong on the lead.
The cost of rehoming one of our dogs is up to £500. We can sometimes reduce this cost to take into account health or behaviour factors. This fee covers our rehoming costs and goes towards our vital services to help people with sight loss.
All of our dogs have:
We will also offer insurance for the first four weeks after rehoming. We would then ask that you take on any ongoing costs.
We’re best known for our Labradors, however, our most common guide dog is in fact a crossbreed, the Labrador x golden retriever. We can also have golden retrievers, curly coat retrievers and German shepherd dogs available to rehome. Sometimes, we also have crosses, including with poodles.
A dog must not be left alone for more than four hours in any 24-hour period. You must be able to meet the mental and physical needs of one of our dogs.
No – we do not home very young puppies. A dog has to be a certain age before a decision is made about its potential to be a working guide dog, the typical age for withdrawn dogs is usually between 6-18 months old. If you are still considering a puppy then you may wish to read about becoming a puppy raiser.
Our Puppy Raisers and Fosterers who are known to the puppy are offered the opportunity to express an interest in rehoming them, before we progress to our applications from members of the public. Our rehoming process is designed to help each dog find the perfect home that suits their needs and personality.
Vargo is a 10-year-old retired Guide Dog with a big heart and youthful spirit. He’s affectionate, cuddly, and forms strong bonds with his handlers. Vargo needs a home where someone is around most of the day, as he struggles with separation anxiety, and he must be the only pet. He’s still active despite elbow dysplasia, which is managed with daily pain relief. Vargo travels well in the car and is a lovely companion, although he’ll need a patient handler to help with humping and reactivity around other dogs.
If you’re interested in becoming a forever home for one of our dogs, please complete our rehoming registration form. We’ll ask a few questions to find out if you’re eligible. If you’re not eligible, you can also support us and our dogs by fundraising or volunteering.
To help us understand a bit more about you, your lifestyle and the type of dog you’re looking for, we’ll email you a link to our application form within a few days. Please complete the application form as soon as possible. Please note, our dogs will have health conditions or behavioural needs that meant they couldn't continue in the training programme or it was time for them to retire as a guide dog. If you’re able to accept a dog with additional needs this may increase the chance we have a match for you.
Your application will be reviewed by our Rehoming Officers who are passionate about finding the right home for our dogs. If your requirements match the needs of our dogs, or we need any further information, we’ll contact you. If we don’t think we’ll be able to match your requirements with one of our dogs, we’ll let you know. We’ll continue to check your application against the dogs we have available for rehoming for six months. Due to the large number of applications we receive we’re unfortunately unable to provide regular updates about your application.
Once a potential match has been found, our Rehoming Officers will contact you. We’ll provide a full background history about the dog, including full transparency about any existing health conditions or behaviour needs. We’ll then arrange a virtual or in-person visit to assess your home environment. This is to check the suitability, such as to check your garden is secure or to understand more about any other pets in your home.
Congratulations, you’ve been matched to rehome a dog from Guide Dogs. We’ll arrange for you to meet the dog at one of our Regional Centres and in most cases you’ll have the opportunity to take your dog home on that same day. On some occasions, depending on health or behavioural needs, the handover may be delayed until after a specialist visit, such as a pre-booked vet appointment. Our Rehoming Officers will usually check the partnership is going well within two weeks and can provide further advice or support, or help recommend an external training or behaviour expert.
Dusty, a black German Shepherd, was unable to continue her guide dog training due to a health condition. Find out about her rehoming story.
Read about how we found Pudley, an excitable German Shepherd and former guide dog in training, his special home.
Monty retired as a guide dog due to a health condition. Read how he enjoyed the rest of his retirement in a special home.
We’re not a rehoming or rescue charity, so we don’t have any specific rehoming centres or images of all the dogs available to be rehomed. Our dogs for rehoming are usually looked after by our amazing volunteer community until we can find their forever home.
When we find a potential match for you, we’ll arrange an appointment at one of our Guide Dogs Regional Centres, which is usually the centre closest to you. Occasionally we may match you with a dog who is currently living outside of your area, and you may be asked if you can travel to a centre that is further away.
No – we don’t rehome very young puppies. Our puppies are raised by our volunteer puppy raisers, and it’s often when our dogs start formal training, around 12-18 months old, that we discover whether they are likely to qualify as a guide dog.
If you’d like to find out more about looking after a guide dog puppy as a volunteer please read about our puppy raiser role.
If our rehoming service doesn’t sound quite right for you or you want to try out looking after a dog, you may be interested in one of our dog-focused volunteer roles. Volunteering as a puppy raiser or fosterer is a great way to support our work. If you become a foster home, you’ll receive guidance on your dog’s health and behaviour from our experts, and you won’t have to worry about the financial costs of being a pet owner. If you’d like to find out more.
Read more about rehoming an older dog from Guide Dogs. These are dogs that have retired from their service as a guide dog.
Provide a temporary loving home for a dog in training, whilst also doing the 'school run' for your dog throughout the week.
Sponsor a puppy for less than £2 per week, and watch them grow from an eight-week-old puppy to a fully-qualified guide dog.
There are many ways you can get together to raise money for Guide Dogs. From hosting your own tea party to pushing yourself in a challenge event. Find out more.