Winter 2026 – Vol. 16

Elton, a yellow Labrador retriever wearing a yellow CNIB future guide dog vest, walks with his trainer beside a mural.

Read the latest on our pups’ journeys!

Friend,

As a monthly supporter of CNIB Guide Dogs, you’re receiving this inside look at the journeys of our prospective future guide dogs! Want to check out previous issues of Pupdates? Our Pupdates archive can be found at this link.

Did you know that demand for a CNIB guide dog has skyrocketed by 400 per cent since 2020? Thankfully, our program continues to grow as we bring in new puppies – with the support of incredible donors like you, Friend. That’s why we’re extremely excited to introduce a few new faces in this Pupdate, and to give you the latest scoop on some familiar pups!

Gloria's Journey

You may recall meeting Gloria in a previous Pupdate. While bright and enthusiastic, Gloria demonstrated a strong aversion to stairs and different surfaces, like metal grates.

Being comfortable with various under-footings and being able to safely guide a handler up and down stairs are crucial parts of guide work. The training team took the time to assess these behaviours and attempted to work through them in low pressure environments with the help of Gloria’s volunteer puppy raiser.

Gloria, a black Labrador retriever wearing a yellow vest, sits by her trainer at the bottom of some stairs.

Determining which pups are best suited for the role of a guide dog is a fundamental part of the training process. After all, successful guide dogs love nothing more than the responsibility of safely guiding their beloved handler!

At CNIB Guide Dogs, our goal is always to place a dog where they’re happiest. Gloria is an incredible pup, and she’s let us know that her dream job is one with less responsibility where she gets to be a cherished family pet.

Gloria, a black Labrador retriever wearing a yellow vest.

Did you know? Occasionally, a dog that isn’t suitable for one of our four career streams is offered to another service dog organization, or they become available for adoption as a pet dog. Curious to learn more, or to meet your future best friend?
Learn more about adopting a career change dog as a pet! 🐾

The reality is that not every dog who enters our program will become a guide dog. That’s why it’s so important that we have a steady stream of puppies entering the program, ensuring people waiting for a guide dog aren’t impacted. Your monthly gift helps makes that possible, Friend. Keep reading to meet some of these future partners in mobility!

Training Updates

Atlas, a black Labrador retriever wearing a yellow CNIB future guide dog vest sits on a patch of grass beside a sidewalk.

Atlas, a black Labrador retriever wearing a CNIB Guide Dogs harness.

Name: Atlas
Entered program: June 2024
Sex: Male
Breed: Labrador retriever

When he first joined our program, Atlas could get overstimulated in new environments and around other dogs, but he’s made so much incredible progress since then!

Fueled by your support, Atlas has progressed to working with a guide dog mobility instructor (GDMI). He is energetic, motivated, and responsive throughout his training sessions. His obedience is excellent – he performs cues like ‘sit,’ ‘down,’ and heel work with accuracy. He’s also working to consolidate skills like curb work, obstacle avoidance, and road crossings, all of which are crucial for safely guiding a handler. In his excitement, Atlas is keen to ascend and descend escalators. His trainer is having him slow down and mount the escalators without rushing. (Learn more about how we train our future guide dogs around escalators in this past Pupdate.)

Being such a friendly dog, he can also get distracted around other dogs and small animals like birds and squirrels. With Atlas’s determination and guidance from his GDMI, we’re excited to watch his progress – good boy, Atlas!

Elton, a yellow Labrador retriever as a puppy, sitting in a snowy backyard.

Elton, a yellow Labrador retriever wearing his yellow CNIB future guide dog vest, sits by a waterfront with a lighthouse in the distance.

Name: Elton
Entered program: January 2025
Sex: Male
Breed: Labrador retriever

Friend, meet Elton, who is being raised in Nova Scotia! This sweet pup just celebrated his first birthday and continues to progress well in his training.

Although Elton is doing great in home environments, he’s still working on his focus in exciting environments. He can sometimes get a little overstimulated, making it hard to concentrate, but with time to absorb his surroundings and have a sniff around, he falls into a good rhythm.

Elton isn’t a big fan of having his (rather adorable) ears cleaned, so his trainer is patiently working with him through this. To his credit, Elton is great with nail trims, which can be a challenge for many pups!

Overall, Elton is a bright, happy pup who is progressing well for his age. If he keeps this up, he’ll be headed to the CNIB Canine Campus in no time for the next step in his training!

Duckie, a black Labrador retriever wearing a yellow CNIB future guide dog vest, sits on a snowy sidewalk with some snow on her nose.

Name: Duckie
Entered program: January 2025
Sex: Female
Breed: Labrador retriever

Although Duckie is now entering her adult phase of life, she is still very excitable, especially when greeting people. She’s very good at keeping herself calm and relaxed when her yellow vest is on, but when it’s off, Duckie says, “it’s party time!” Her trainers are working to help her learn that she can still get excited when she greets people – as long as she’s not jumping up and down.

Duckie is also thrilled whenever it’s time for her grooming exercises – especially with her paws. Her volunteer puppy raiser has been working hard on this, and Duckie can now hold herself still while getting her eyes, ears, and teeth checked. She’s made some improvements with having her paws handled…but it's a work in progress!

Otherwise, Duckie continues to show great behaviour at home. She shows great focus, is very responsive, and settles well in a variety of environments. While her youthful enthusiasm is still present, she is showing steady development in key areas.

Dolly, a black Labrador golden retriever cross, rests in her volunteer puppy raiser’s home on a pile of red ribbons.

Name: Dolly
Entered program: November 2024
Sex: Female
Breed: Labrador golden retriever cross

According to her trainers, Dolly shows great focus and responsiveness to cues when she recognizes her environment and sticks to familiar routines. When she’s in unfamiliar environments, though, she can sometimes express sensitivity by standing at alert, trying to take in all her surroundings. Dolly is continuing to work on her socialization skills and confidence with the help of her training team.

Dolly has improved significantly with having her paws handled! After lots of work with her volunteer puppy raiser, she can now hold still to get her nails trimmed. This is a big win and shows just how willing she is to learn!

At 15 months old, Dolly is now settling into adulthood and is almost ready to begin formal training. Her overall progress is steady, and we look forward to seeing how she continues to mature over the coming months!

Valerie, a black Labrador retriever wearing a yellow CNIB future guide dog vest, stands on snowy ground beside her trainer.

Name: Valerie
Entered program: April 2025
Sex: Female
Breed: Labrador retriever

Valerie joined us last spring and has since settled very well into her home environment. She’s smart and eager to learn new skills – she’s demonstrated a successful relief routine, is happily crate trained, has good house manners, and walks well on a loose leash in low distraction areas. Way to go, Valerie!

She’s also been introduced to a variety of different environments like coffee shops, patios, shopping malls, and sporting events. She can be quite distracted and vocal around other dogs, so she and her trainer are working on being neutral around other dogs.

A person with reddish hair and light skin tone, wearing a winter jacket, walks with a black Labrador retriever on a snowy path. The dog is wearing a yellow CNIB future guide dog vest.

What’s loose leash walking? Like the name implies, loose leash walking happens when a dog does not pull on the leash. We focus on this in the early stages of training because a guide dog must be able to walk slightly ahead of their handler, without tugging or creating tension on their harness and handle. The guide dog-handler partnership is 50/50, with the handler providing cues and the guide dog keeping their team safe!

Thanks to your support, our dogs are steadfast on their journeys. They wouldn’t be able to learn these new skills, tackle different environments, and overcome challenges without their puppy raisers, trainers, or you! Thank you for helping CNIB Guide Dogs raise, train, and match these partners in mobility with Canadians who are blind.

Warmly,

Andrea Critch
Manager, Early Canine Development

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