It’s a Dog’s Life at Drayton Manor

Puppy power will head to Drayton Manor Theme Park, Staffordshire, this Saturday 23^rd March to mark National Puppy Day.

Puppy walkers from Guide Dogs, along with man’s best friend, will visit the popular day out attraction as part of the puppies’ training, to get them used to different types of sights, sounds and smells.

Puppy walking is a crucial stage in the development of guide dogs. Volunteers dedicate their time, patience and love to develop the dog, getting them used to everyday life, such as cars, buses, trains and crowds during their first 12 months.

Howard Jones, Puppy Training Supervisor and Guide Dog Mobility Instructor for Guide Dogs, said: “Being able to take the puppies to Drayton Manor for a day out is fantastic because they need to experience as many different scenarios as possible.”

Helen Pawley, Drayton Manor Theme Park’s General Manager, said: “It is great we can commemorate National Puppy Day by welcoming Guide Dogs to the park.

 “The park is fully open for the main season now, with a theme park, 15-acre zoo and plenty of on-site restaurants, there’s lots of hustle and bustle, as well as new and exciting sounds and smells for the puppies to experience.”

It takes around 20 months of specialised training to transform a new-born puppy into a confident guide dog and Guide Dogs is the largest breeder of working dogs in the world, breeding more than 1,300 puppies each year.

In addition to time, it costs around £50,000 to support a guide dog from birth to retirement, which will give a blind or partially sighted person freedom, mobility and independence.