VOLUNTEER

Puppy-sitters support the Puppy-Raising Program by providing continuity of training, socialization and care for puppies when their primary Puppy-Raiser is unavailable. They are supported in this endeavour by the Puppy-Raising Program through weekly puppy classes. We recognize that the backbone of our program are our volunteers, and strive to serve them with compassion, knowledge, and a solution-seeking mindset.

Puppy-SItters are the volunteers who provide continuity of care for PADS puppies when they are not with their Raiser. Puppy-Raisers may use a sitter because of travel plans which don’t include the puppy, when they need a break, to provide their puppy with a different experience, or for a variety of other reasons. Puppy-Raisers focus on three areas of training: Skills (such as walking on a loose leash, sitting), Manners (settling well, appropriate household behaviour) and Socialization (having confidence in the world around them) using scientific evidence-based training that takes the dog’s well-being into consideration.

Though Puppy-Sitting has a lesser time commitment than Puppy-Raising in terms of number of days with a puppy, Sitters are required to commit to the same amount of training (weekly puppy classes) to ensure continuity of care.

Requirements & Time Commitment

– Must be located in the Vancouver, Calgary, or Okanagan region (Okanagan classes are held in Lake Country)

– Must be able to have a PADS Puppy or Dog in their own home. “No pet rules” do apply to PADS puppies in training, unless your landlord/strata will make an exception.

– Puppy-Sitters are required to be able to puppy-sit at least 8 days per month, in blocks of at least 3 days at a time. Puppy-Sitters will retain their puppy-sitting qualification if they have recorded an availability to sit but are not asked to sit during that period.

– Puppy-Sitters must attend puppy classes weekly in order to be able to provide the same standard of care as a Puppy-Raiser.

– Puppy-Sitters must be able to take the puppy to work or school (if applicable), and must be permitted a dog in their home.

– Puppy-Sitters must adhere to the directions of each puppy’s cohort Trainer and Puppy-Raiser when it comes to limits on training, socialization or exercise. It is common for puppies to have limits placed on their activities based on their age, medical status or behaviour struggles.

Community and Continuity

Puppy-Sitters are assigned to a cohort led by a Trainer. In most cases, they will stay in this cohort. This allows Puppy-Sitters to develop a community, be supported by the same Coaches, and have continuity of care, with Trainers developing a good understanding of a sitter’s skillset to help in determining sitting matches.

Why become a Puppy-Sitter instead of a Puppy-Raiser or Advanced Sitter?

Puppy-Sitting has less of a time commitment than Puppy-Raising, while still working on skills acquisition, household manners and socialization. Sitters are exposed to a greater variety of puppies, and have a hand in the success of multiple graduate dogs.

Burnaby: Applications Open – Learn More
Calgary: Applications Temporarily Paused – Register Here
Okanagan: Applications Open – Learn More

Our Advanced Dog Sitters do the important work of caring for the dogs in advanced training when they are not working with their trainer or instructor. Depending the trainer, and how many other dogs are in training with them at the moment, this may either mean just sitting the dog for weekends, sitting the dog both evenings and weekends (i.e. the dog is dropped off and picked up from their training location daily — volunteers can coordinator with one another to arrange this), or sitting the dog long-term (i.e. 3-6 weeks) while they take a break or are waiting to be matched with a trainer or with a client.

Advanced Training Sitters build on the foundations laid in puppy-raising while also ensuring that the work and training being done by PADS training staff is further strengthened, reinforced, and maintained. The daily responsibility of an Advanced Training Sitter includes obedience, body handling/grooming as well as behaviour modification activities as needed and directed by staff.

As with all PADS roles, being an Advanced Training Sitter requires commitment and dedication and is incredibly rewarding. This role differs from others in the organization in that your commitment is made to the program requirements rather than an individual dog – meaning you are part of a dynamic team that all work together to help every dog in advanced training succeed.  This means the dog you are assigned may change from time to time (sometimes even week to week) to best support the success of dogs in advanced training.

Prior to filling out the application below please review the following to see if this is the right volunteer role for you at PADS.

The Ideal Advanced Sitter

You:

• enjoy working on structured training daily
• appreciate direct (and sometimes on the fly) feedback and the opportunity to grow in your skills
• are able to follow specialized instructions and willing to adapt on the fly to meet the needs of the dog
• enjoy working with a variety of dogs and would welcome a change of dog even if the change was on the day of pickup (note: it is the norm for advanced dogs to move regularly to different sitters, trainers or even regions during their time in advanced training)
• are detail oriented and enjoy providing documentation/written feedback

Requirements & Time Commitment

Required:

• Minimum 6-month commitment
• Consistency and commitment are key: 60 minutes daily of training (usually in several shorter sessions) and dedicated care which includes:
  • duration cues (obedience, etc)
  • daily grooming and body handling exercise
• Dogs in your care must be regularly socialized in a variety of environments (stores, restaurants, etc) and this may include requests to go on or avoid specific outings depending on the training challenges of the dog or matched client needs.
• Ability to follow video or written instructions and provide written feedback
• Transportation: willing & able to do pickups and dropoffs as scheduled (either just Mondays and Fridays if the dog is a weekend sit, or daily if the dog is a ‘day student’) — this can be coordinated with other volunteers in your area as needed.
• Physically able to handle a wide variety of dogs – including those that may pull on leash (management tools may be used and will be provided to minimize risk of injury to the volunteer)
• Participation for training may be in-person on occasion (monthly or bi-monthly) and via online learning classes (weekly or bi-weekly)

Preference given to:

• We’re actively seeking volunteers that are also available midweek as needed
• We’re actively seeking volunteers that are available for longer term care and off-site training of advanced dogs (for a few weeks or months)
• Volunteers that are able to perform all grooming tasks with instruction from PADS staff
• Volunteers that are willing to make a 12 month+ commitment to the advanced training program

Burnaby: Applications Temporarily Paused – Register Here
Chilliwack: Applications Open – Learn More and Apply!
Calgary: Applications Open – Learn More and Apply!

Volunteering for this job means providing a home for one of the dogs in our breeding colony in the lower mainland of British Columbia.  Either a female and her puppies (for the first 8 weeks of their lives) or a male that is used as a stud dog. When a litter is “on the ground” someone must be home during the day or be willing to allow other PADS volunteers to stay with the puppies.  These stable, loving homes are essential to the health and well being of our amazing breeding dogs.

Burnaby: Applications Open – Learn More

Not all PADS volunteers hold a leash in their hand! From events and outreach to maintenance and communications, our Events & Campus volunteer teams help out in a multitude of ways.  Are you a photographer, plumber, landscaper or administrator? PADS can use your passion and talents to further our mission.

We are currently giving preference to volunteers who are willing to make a 12+ month commitment to PADS and are also available midweek as needed.

Burnaby: Applications Open – Learn More

This volunteer role requires committed, reliable, independently motivated individuals who are willing to come to the PADS Burnaby Campus (9048 Stormont Ave) on a weekly basis to keep our Advanced Dog Kennel running smoothly.  Your duties will include cleaning and maintenance tasks (i.e. laundry, washing dog dishes, power washing and leaf blowing outside areas, etc.) as well as interacting with our advanced dogs directly (i.e. grooming them, bathing them, letting them out into our yard for toileting and playtime, etc.). Shifts in this role can be daytime or evenings, Monday to Friday, and most of this work will be done on your own or with just one other volunteer, since our trainers will be mostly focussed on working with the dogs either on or off-site. We ask that you be a minimum of 19 years to apply to be an Advanced Kennel volunteer. This is a fantastic opportunity to contribute to PADS if you want to volunteer, but are unable to have a dog with you in your home and/or at work!

Burnaby: Applications Open – M-F Daytime Shifts ONLY