Meet Pirate for this year's International Assistance Dog Week!

To celebrate this year, we spoke to our very own assistance puppy raiser, Ivan! Ivan and his family have been volunteers for Vision Australia's Seeing Eye Dog program for many years, helping with the first steps of a puppy's journey and providing relief care to dogs when needed. Volunteers at the early stages of a puppy's journey are critical in raising dogs that can safely support people with vision impairments.

Read on to learn about Ivan's ever-rewarding experience being involved as a volunteer.

As a family, we wanted to do something for others, and we didn't have much spare time to volunteer, so we found that working with Seeing-Eye Dogs Australia gave us the best of both worlds. Eye Dogs in training have the same permission to access most places as people do, so you can take them to work, shopping, etc. It has also been great for our kids to learn about the importance of doing something for someone else without expecting to get something back. You do good things because that's what the world needs.

It's always a challenge taking on a fresh 8-week-old puppy in training. Even at this age, they have a personality that can be anything from relaxed and motivated to follow training to a full-on rocketing ball of fluff that ignores you half the time. Pirate was a beautiful puppy and a pleasure to train. He was calm and very food-driven, so training was relatively easy. Like all puppies, he also had his silly times and quickly learned that he could be a full puppy when his training jacket was off.

As a puppy trainer, you socialise puppies in new environments like supermarkets and shopping centres, teach them basic obedience skills, keep them in ideal physical condition, and ensure they are up to date with their vaccination and worming treatments, which are all covered by Seeing Eye Dogs. We also meet with Puppy Development training staff for regular one-hour visits and any planned training events.

Pirate had a test at 12 weeks to determine his progress following relatively basic directions (sit, stay, etc.), his ability to avoid distractions, and his ability to complete simple things like going for a walk and going up and down solid stairs.

He blitzed it, and although he was only a young puppy still, his personality and nature of wanting to make you happy shone through.

The world today can often be scary and overwhelming. These challenges can be even more daunting for those with low or no vision. That's why the opportunity to help train a seeing-eye dog is so meaningful. These dogs provide their owners with greater independence, a more fulfilling life, and a loving companion. Every moment spent training these dogs is worth it for their incredible impact on people's lives.

And for those wondering!

Yes, it can be hard to say goodbye to them. We have always discussed why we do it and the vital job the dogs have to do when they leave. Yes, it can be difficult sometimes, but the training and support you get from the Vision Australia Seeing Eye Dog team is brilliant! Finally, yes, we have adopted one of the released dogs we trained. We will continue to train seeing-eye dogs when we are given the opportunity. I can think of plenty of the dogs we have trained that I would take on as part of our family if they were released or retired (we may need a bigger yard, though!).

To become involved in the volunteer program or donate in other ways head to the Vision Australia website.