Puppy Rearing Best Practice

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Puppy Rearing Best Practice

• The Puppy Walking Development Project
• David Grice
• Operations Project Manager

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Introduction

• Overview of Guide Dogs Puppy walking structure
• The aims of the Puppy walking development
  project
• The Project approach
• Achievements to date
• Work ongoing
• Benefits to Guide dogs
• My hopes for participation by International
  Federation Members

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Guide dogs puppy walking department history

• Effective socialisation and education remains the
  
• cornerstone of our approach to raising and
  training
• quality Guide dogs
• Basic strategies for puppy rearing were
  established in the 1950s
• By 1958 an experimental puppy rearing scheme was
  established supported by 60 voluntary puppy
  walkers

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The Puppy walking department today

• Puppy walking schemes developed nationally
• Rearing over 1100 pups per year
• 1300 Puppy walking volunteers and boarders
• Supported by 50 technical and administration
  staff

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The Puppy walking department today

• Puppy development still utilizing the same basic
  principles established in the 1950s
• There is a greater expectation by the
  organization for the Puppy walking department to
  raise better quality training dogs
• By correctly shaping the behaviour of puppies
  and adolescent dogs the department can
• Reduce rejection rates
• Reduce formal training times
• Reduce costs
• Improve the quality of the finished product

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The current educational situation

• Staff and volunteers currently receive formal
  education and training regarding puppy
  socialising and development
• However the isolated working practices of
  Supervisors and Walkers can result in
  inconsistent use of
• Development and educational advice
• Problem solving and handling techniques
• Specific training methods e.g. clicker training,
  training disks etc.

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The puppy walking development project

• Initiated in August 2005 with 2 main aims
• To agree, develop and implement improved training
  for puppy walkers and puppy walking supervisors
• To reduce the amount of dogs rejected as a result
  of learned, inappropriate behaviours
• Poor social behaviours
• Inappropriate relief routines

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Project intends to achieve aims by

• Developing user friendly educational training
  packs for puppy walkers and supervisors
• Agreeing best practice for development and
  problem solving in line with business need
• These education packs are focused on
  specific and separate tasks or behaviours and
  include
• Best practice development advice
• Topic operational instructions
• Trouble shooting guide book for staff to use

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The project approach

• Located and evaluated current information and
  documentation
• Understood the departments puppy rearing process
• Updated the puppy walking completion standard
  (define customer need)
• Reviewed rejection data from a cohort of dogs to
  identify key training areas

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Temperamental rejection representation


Aggression 23
Distraction 39
Attentiveness 19
Body sensitivity 2
Confidence 18
Stress resilience 24
Suspicion 54
Willingness 16
Social behaviour 19
Rejection via groups Rejection via groups
Socialising 56
Basic handling 116
Training 42
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The project approach

• Developed a department operational guideline list
• Compiled a working group of subject matter
  experts to develop best practice (160 years of PW
  experience)
• Developed a documentation assurance process.
  (Without Quality Assurance documentation
  can become outdated and irrelevant)
• Defined final dog behaviour and task standards
  required prior to qualification (business need)

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Achievements to date

• Working group has developed best practice advice,
  instructions and trouble-shooting manuals for
• 1. Recall development
• 2. Obedience responses
• 3. Development of relief routines
• 4. Developing social behaviours
• 5. Identifying and dealing with aggressive
  behaviours
• User friendly and readable format with a
  strong department identity

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Recall Education
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Documentation Control

• Documentation is only useful to the business if
  it is quality assured
• Essential to ensure that information remains
• Current and up to date
• Correct content
• User friendly
• Effective
• Able to evolve with changing business need
• Owned by the staff and departments which use it

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Documentation Control

• In order to achieve this
• Process for document creation established via
  subject expert working group with peer
  representation
• A change process is in place which transparently
  communicates amendments
• All documentation is evaluated

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Documentation contains

• Individual identity mark
• A creation date
• Author and contact details

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Evaluation of Documentation

• Documentation evaluation remains the key to its
  success
• Ensures documents are achieving the project aims
• Ensures education is effective and relevant
• Documentation used by puppy walkers and puppy
  walking supervisors
• Sample group of each was asked to feedback in 5
  critical areas

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Puppy walking supervisors

• Puppy walkers

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Work Ongoing

• The working group is scheduled to meet 8 times
  during 2006 to produce similar documentation for
  key topics
• A department Intranet site is being designed
  to store the information and processes produced
  by the project
• This will provide access to documents for all
  staff in all departments
• Ensure all staff have access to updated
  information
• Improve the profile of the puppy walking
  department

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DVD and video production

• Separate project is also underway to devise a
  series of short programmes of selected topics
  illustrating best practice
• Internal working group has been established
  involving representatives from all technical
  departments
• The aims being to
• Improve volunteer education during or prior to
  rearing a pup
• Provide best practice information in an
  alternative format (cheap and user friendly)

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Project Benefits

• Department processes and practices become in line
  with customer and business need
• All documents produced in line with Quality
  Assurance process. As a result they are of more
  value.
• Improved accessibility to information via single
  storage point
• Improved profile of the department. Professional
  and transparent

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Project Benefits

• Improved education and training for volunteers
  and staff
• Improved consistency throughout the department
• Staff presented with professional development and
  up-skilling opportunities
• Better prepared and cost effective puppies !