Puppy Raising
Know, manage, teach, partner - our four principles for training dogs, from puppy to partnership.
Know, manage, teach, partner - our four principles for training dogs, from puppy to partnership.
Learn about our puppy raising training programme on Kallidus
We received a lot of feedback on the difficulties of logging into our e-learning platform, Kallidus. We’ve worked with our supplier to improve the login experience. From April 2024, a new login homepage will go live, replacing the old login homepage and URL.
The new login homepage and set-up will:
Details of the new Kallidus homepage and how to log in will be sent to you closer to the launch day.
The updated training materials have been condensed, and grouped into behaviour-specific themes, for example:
We’ve also added more videos to explain the importance of what you’re teaching your puppies and how this benefits future guide dog owners, for example:
And we’ve included lots of real-life videos on how to troubleshoot unwanted behaviours when a guide dog puppy is in “puppy mode”, for example:
Tip: we’ve created a new puppy progression chart to make it easier to keep track of your learning and to access it too (details below).
The puppy progression chart is an at-a-glance tracker for you and your puppy’s learning journey and a quick and easy route into Kallidus. To help you track your puppy’s progress and learn more about their training, we’ve created a puppy progression chart. Each link on the chart will take you through to the corresponding e-learning module and PDF guidance on Kallidus. With the improved login experience, it will be a breeze to find what you need quickly.
If you need assistance with logging into Kallidus, please email LMSVolunteerAdministrators@guidedogs.org.uk.
Our puppy raising principles remain the same and underpin all content within the learning materials. Following our review of the common issues experienced by our training teams, we’ve amended a few areas of learning and adapted some training techniques to best support our developing puppies in these areas.
The main updates you need to know:
We’re committed to continuous improvement and to ensuring our puppy raisers have the best possible experience while volunteering with us and raising future life-changers. We know there were some issues with our e-learning platform and with the volume of our training materials, content being overly technical and lengthy and with a lot of repetition, which works for some people but not everyone. This is some of the feedback given by puppy raisers. It has taken us longer than originally planned to redesign the learning materials, how they’re structured within Kallidus, better search functionality and to make the platform more user-friendly and intuitive.
Your completed PREP learning is still valid as a lot of it has been streamlined into the updated materials so most things will be very similar. For those of you currently accessing the existing PREP courses, you will continue to have access to these materials for six months once the updated materials are released in early April 2024. Before then, we’ll highlight the key updates for you so you can refresh your knowledge, but the majority of your prior learning will remain relevant.
Our new puppy raising materials will be available from April 2024. We will provide further updates over the coming months about these exciting developments.
Based on Positive Reinforcement Training, PREP uses a puppy-centred approach to raise our puppies to prepare them for their adult training, Standardised Training for Excellent Partnerships (STEP). Head of Puppy Raising at Guide Dogs, Haley Andrews says, “The behaviours taught when raising puppies complement and are strong foundations for the training of our guide dog behaviours.”
Within the first year of PREP being introduced, we saw 1,461 puppy raisers started their PREP learning journey on Kallidus with an impressive 12,525 hours of learning - a mix of eLearning and classes. This is in addition to the PREP advice and support taking place via our Puppy Development Advisors and during puppy classes.
PREP by numbers:
Our PREP virtual learning is delivered through an interactive and multimedia-based eLearning platform called Kallidus. The platform makes it easier for learners to dip in and out of materials - divided into four essential learning courses and a series of PREP behaviour chapters – supported by ‘how-to’ videos with the ability to track their learning progress whether at home using a desktop or via a smartphone when out and about with their puppy.