Dear Puppy Walker,

I must start this edition of Spotlight by         commenting on what a busy year it has been so far, with the highlight being 'The Guide Dog Experience' at Stoneleigh.  I know many of you travelled long distances to attend and you       certainly brought the weather with you.  Some 12,000 visitors passed through the turnstiles and I hope you will agree with me it was a great day for all.  The Puppy Walking exhibition which was staffed by our own area, looked fantastic and was very busy most of the day, and my thanks go to all who popped in to say hello and take advantage of the puppy crèche.

As for the busy year - well the following        statistics say it all.  These stats are from 1^stJan. 2009 up to and including 10^th September 2009 and were presented to the PWCG.

Pups placed in area - 212
Current Number of Pups at Walk - 297
Pups supplied to Dog Training Schools from      scheme - 182
Number of pups withdrawn - 13
Accepted into Breeding Programme - 17
New Puppy Walkers recruited - 48
Total Number of Puppy Walkers - 448
Total Number of Puppy Boarders -183

These statistics have not been easy to come across this year as Guide Dogs launched its new Dog and Client Management system known as Guide Dogs Interactive (GDI).  This new system will in time be of great benefit to the                 organisation and enable us to manage the       recording of data and progress of all guide dogs in the UK.  The early teething problems which were expected are now being ironed out and the team are getting to grips with the new wireless EPC's which will enable them to input data

more quickly and avoid having to travel back to office's to sit at computers.

I know a few of you have questioned why there has been a restriction placed on the number of guide dog puppies being allowed to free run  together at any one time, I hope this will explain the rationale behind this temporary decision.
Firstly I wish to clarify that this restriction is a holding measure until a more definite decision can be agreed and implemented nationally,     discussions are ongoing by the Puppy Walking Managers and I hope to have more information shortly.  However, the temporary decision was made following a review of Health & Safety and the high increase in the number of incidents in the first half of this year compared to 2008.
During the period Jan - Jul 2008 there were 2 reported incidents where dogs had caused      injuries by running into people.  In the same  period in 2009, this figure rose to 7 reported  incidents!  There has also been an increase in the number of dog injuries all of which raise       concerns about our best practice when free    running puppies.  We have a duty of care to not only you, but also any members of the public, staff and dogs at all times and when there is such an increase it could leave guide dogs     vulnerable.  I am sure you will all agree these figures are quite alarming however; we need to focus on doing what is right and make the right decisions for all concerned hence the need for further discussions.
This requires careful thought and consideration to ensure the number of incidents do not                increase and we have the best working practice when you are out free running guide dog       puppies.  The temporary decision is in line with our own professional Guide Dog Trainers who only free run one dog per handler with no more than 2 handlers in the same location.  Therefore, can you please ensure when out free running