Guide dog mother Puds gives birth to nine puppies in time for Christmas

Puds the Guide Dogs mother has given birth to a litter of nine puppies, which will be trained to become guide dogs themselves

A Guide Dogs mother has given birth to a litter of nine puppies just in time for Christmas.

Puds, a four-year-old golden retriever, delivered five girls and four boys at home in Northamptonshire on 7 December.

When the puppies reach 14 months old, they will train to become qualified guide dogs in 2025 to help visually-impaired people.

Janine Dixon, head of breeding operations at Guide Dogs, said the pups had been named "the puddings" for now.

She added: "It's fitting that Puds has had her babies in time for Christmas.

"There are now nine more future guide dogs in the world, which is a lovely thing to celebrate at this time of year."

The new puppies inherited their colouring from their father, German shepherd Shadow

Thanks to their father, a German shepherd named Shadow, the puppies have distinctive black fur in contrast to their mother's sandy brown coat, with one young puppy sporting a white tail tip.

The litter will stay with their mother at home and be cared for by a Guide Dogs volunteer for eight weeks, before they travel to individual puppy raisers all over the UK in February.

They will stay with raisers for a further 12 months before they undertake training on what it takes to become a guide dog.

The process to fully train the puppies as guide dogs will begin when they are 14 months' old

The puppy raisers will take the dogs on trains and buses and in restaurants and shops so they become accustomed to remaining calm and confident in a variety of situations.

Ms Dixon said: "At Guide Dogs, we wouldn't be able to do our work without help from volunteer Breeding Dog Holders, who look after fantastic mums like Puds and help give these very important puppies the very best start in life."

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