The puppies, aged between 6 and 14 months old, spent a morning at South West Railway (SWR) getting “fur-miliar” with railways for the first time, gaining valuable exposure to the many sights and sounds of trains and stations, and learning how to behave when using the network.
As future guide dogs, the puppies have to get used to different experiences and environments, helping their owners to travel with confidence.
Working with Network Rail, the rail line is also installing tactile edge paving on all its platforms – a pattern of raised surfaces to help customers more easily identify the platform edge and move around platforms safely.
Over 200 pups are being trained by volunteers across the South West and Wales, while across the UK, there are almost 1,200 pups in training.
