Guide Dogs That Don’t Make It

Guide Dogs Queensland prides itself on producing Guide Dogs of an exceptional standard. GDQ employs a Breeding and Dog Supply Manager to oversee our colony of breeding stock and to produce puppies that have what it takes to become the eyes of a blind or vision impaired Queenslander.

GDQ’s success rate of producing qualified Guide Dogs is consistently improving and currently rivals the internationally accepted standard of around 65 per cent.

Naturally, not every puppy fulfils its destiny of becoming a Guide Dog due to unavoidable factors including health and temperament. Dogs that don’t progress or graduate through the Puppy Development Program or Guide Dog Training Program are considered for alternative careers which, depending on suitability and strength of the individual dog, include becoming:

  • A Guide Dogs Queensland Ambassador Dog;
  • A Drug Detection Dog for the Queensland Police Service or Queensland Department of Corrective Services; or
  • A Companion Dog for a family with a vision impaired or disabled member.

Our dogs make wonderful pets and sometimes just need a loving home. It is for this reason we accept applications from community members interested in purchasing our rehomed dogs.

Even though the dogs are offered for sale, we allocate them based on assessment of applicants as there are certain criteria that need to be fulfilled including having a fenced yard and being able to accommodate the dog indoors.

Applicants should understand that our dogs are accustomed to a certain level of human contact.  We expect our dogs to remain inside the home with regular human contact and stimulation such as exercise and the ability of the owner to meet feeding and veterinary costs.

Unfortunately applications for re-homed Guide Dogs are currently closed, due to an extended waiting list. For more information you can contact:

Administration Support Officer: Kylie Newton

Phone:  (07) 3500 9079

Fax: (07) 3500 7500

Phone Numbers - Freecall 1800 810 122 - Guide Dog Shop 1800 007 460

Guide Dogs Queensland is a proud member of the International Guide Dog Federation. In addition, our organisation is a Quality Endorsed Company.

All Client Services provided through Guide Dogs Queensland comply with the '9' Queensland Standards for Disability Services (1997).