Douglas' puppy page

An update on Douglas

Head shot of yellow Labrador Douglas looking at camera.

Although we have a world-class breeding and training programme, not every pup is suited to becoming a guide dog or buddy dog. Occasionally, puppies need to be taken out of training for their best interests and those of a potential future owner.

We have shared in Douglas’ recent Pupdates that he’s been struggling with his walking and energy levels for some time. We also confirmed that he was on a pain medication trial to see if this would help with the discomfort he’s been experiencing in his recent Pupdate. Although Douglas seemed to feel better on this medication, his Puppy Raiser, Caroline, and Puppy Development Advisor, Lucy, could see that he was still struggling on walks, and that his gait did not seem normal. This was particularly clear when Douglas was walking on harder surfaces like tarmac or concrete.

Guide dogs spend a lot of time out and about, often in urbanised environments. This means they need to be comfortable walking for extended periods on all kinds of surfaces. As Douglas shows signs of soreness during long walks, we feel that life as a guide dog would not be right for him. Although he loves children, his health challenges could put additional pressure on a family already affected by sight loss, so a buddy dog career wouldn’t be suitable for him either. Douglas’ health and wellbeing are our top priorities, so with this in mind we have made the decision to take him out of the training programme. Because of this, we’ll be finishing Douglas’ sponsorship journey here, so that our full focus can be on his future wellbeing. We understand that this might be upsetting news, but we’d like to reassure you that Douglas is being well cared for while we monitor his condition.

We’d like to thank you for all your support of Douglas and Guide Dogs, your donations have still been put to valuable use. Thanks to our generous supporters, we’ve trained over 37,500 guide dogs. That’s more than one new guide dog every day since our first partnerships were created in 1931. This wouldn’t be possible without kind people like you.

Thank you again; we rely on donations to continue our life-changing work, which means without you, we couldn't be Guide Dogs!

Pupdate 4 - Taking time to rest

Hello, it’s Caroline here, Douglas’ Puppy Raiser.

As I mentioned in Douglas’ last Pupdate, he’s not been his usual self. Douglas has been less playful, and less motivated. He’s quite sleepy and some days can be a little irritable, which suggests that he’s not feeling well. We’ve paused Douglas’ training for now; instead, my focus is on helping him to feel as happy and relaxed as possible, and reporting any unusual patterns in his behaviour to his vets and the team at Guide Dogs.

Ongoing investigations

I’ve been given lots of support from Lucy, Douglas’ Puppy Development Advisor, as well as the medical team at Guide Dogs and my local vets. We’ve been to the vets quite a lot recently as Douglas has been having scans and tests so that we can try to work out what’s making him feel out of sorts. Unfortunately, it’s still a bit of a mystery so it’s an ongoing process to get to the bottom of it.

We’ve been trialling Douglas on some pain medication recently, and it’s been interesting to see the difference it’s made for him. He’d become quite subdued but since starting the medication, he’s started to perk up more. It was when he started pinching tea towels again that I knew he was feeling better!

While it’s lovely to see Douglas with a little more energy, it’s still important that we find out what’s causing him discomfort, so that will remain our focus. Until then, Douglas will stay on rest, taking a break from his training.

Challenges

One of the challenges I’m facing now is that Douglas is showing discomfort when he’s handled at the vets. Because of this, he’s starting to anticipate being touched by the vet and has developed some general body sensitivity. To ensure that this doesn’t escalate, I’m doing lots of work with Douglas around being handled by different people. At home, we’re going back to basics. For example, we’ve been using the bucket game during grooming as this gives Douglas the opportunity to indicate when he’s had enough; while he’s looking at the bucket of kibble, it’s a sign that he’s happy to keep going and I’ll keep grooming and feeding him. When he looks away, I’ll stop grooming him and he can have a break. He seems to trust me and Lucy as he’s known us a long time; it’s unfamiliar vets that he’s becoming a little wary of.

New places

While Douglas is on rest, I’ve been trying to find different places we can visit together to keep him stimulated and break up his usual routine. We’ve been on lots of days out together. One of his favourites are visits to a local horse rescue centre where he loves to watch the horses and they like watching him too! Douglas definitely has his favourites, and if they peer out of their stables at him then he’ll reach up to nuzzle them. He’s such a gentle boy!

Thank you

It’s an absolute pleasure raising Douglas, I’m so proud of him. As much as I’ve been worried about him recently, knowing that his sponsors are rooting for him has lifted us both up on the hard days. Thank you.

Keep an eye out for an update on Douglas in your next Pupdate in June.

A woman in the snow covered countryside wearing a sweatshirt with sponsored pup Douglas design.

Exclusive range!

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Please note, by requesting to join your puppy’s Facebook group you consent to Guide Dogs storing your Facebook ID on our database. This information will be used only for the purpose of administering your access to this group and, if you choose to sponsor another puppy in future, any similar groups. If you choose to cancel your sponsorship, or if your sponsorship comes to an end, we will remove your Facebook ID details from our records.