Our Dogs

Meet the Guide, Assistance and Facility Dogs we breed, raise and train, and the lives they change.

Different Dogs. Different Needs. More Lives Changed.

A close up portrait of a yellow guide dog wearing a red collar in a garden setting.

70 years of extraordinary expertise. Built to make a bigger difference.

For 70 years, Guide Dogs Victoria has bred, raised, trained and matched dogs that give people who are blind or have low vision the confidence and independence to move through the world on their own terms.

Along the way, we’ve learned something that reaches far beyond any one role. We know dogs. We know people. We know how to bring the right two together.

Today, we’re putting that expertise to work for more people. The same careful breeding, the same devoted puppy raisers, the same experienced trainers and the same lifelong support now prepare dogs for a wider range of roles. A veteran finding calm after trauma. A young witness finding the courage to speak in court. A student arriving at school ready to learn.

We haven’t changed who we are. Guide Dogs, and our services for people who are blind or have low vision, remain at the heart of everything we do.

We’re simply guiding more of what matters.

The dogs we breed, raise and train.

Every one of our dogs starts life the same way. Bred for health and temperament, raised by volunteer puppy raisers, and built on the foundations of Guide Dog training. As they grow, our trainers come to know each dog’s strengths: the steady, the gentle, the confident, the calm. Then we find the role, and the person, where those strengths will matter most.

Our dogs work in two main ways…

Assistance Dogs: one dog, one person.

An Assistance Dog is trained in specific skills and matched to one person to support their disability or condition. They live and work alongside that person every day and, as accredited Assistance Dogs, can accompany them in public places. Guide Dogs and PTSD Assistance Dogs are Assistance Dogs.

Facility Dogs: one dog, many people.

A Facility Dog works within an organisation, such as a court or a school, alongside a trained handler. Rather than supporting one person, they bring calm and comfort to many people in the moments that matter. Court Dogs and School Wellbeing Dogs are Facility Dogs, and our Ambassador Dogs bring the same warmth to the wider community.

Alongside these, our Personal Support Dogs are carefully matched to an individual or family, offering steady companionship and comfort at home.

Meet our dogs

Guide Dog

Confident navigation. Independent lives.

Independence in every step for people who are blind or have low vision.

A Guide Dog leads its partner safely through the world. It finds kerbs, steps, doors and crossings, steers around obstacles, and knows when to stop. The result is the freedom to catch a train, walk to work or explore somewhere new, with confidence.

Guide Dogs have been the heart of who we are for 70 years, trained to the standards of the International Guide Dog Federation. Every other dog we train builds on what we’ve learned here. Each partnership is carefully matched to a person’s pace, lifestyle and goals, and supported for the whole of the dog’s working life.

What they bring: Confidence. Independence.

How they work: Assistance Dog · one dog, one person

An older man wearing a khaki cap, beige shirt and blue jeans sits on a wooden park bench, embracing a large black Labrador wearing a turquoise vest labelled “Assistance Dog”. He rests his head affectionately against the dog while gently holding it around the shoulders. The dog lies across his lap, looking to the left. The background features green grass, trees and park seating in soft focus, creating a peaceful outdoor setting.

PTSD Assistance Dog

Real stability. Real connection. Life after trauma, restored.

Restoring confidence and connection after trauma.

For people living with post-traumatic stress, including veterans, everyday life can feel unpredictable. A PTSD Assistance Dog is trained to recognise the early signs of distress and respond: nudging or leaning in to ground their partner, interrupting rising anxiety, waking them from nightmares and creating space in a crowd. Day by day, that steady support helps people return to the routines, places and relationships that matter.

Each dog is bred, raised and trained by the same experts behind our Guide Dogs, then individually matched to one person. We stay alongside every partnership for life, because healing doesn’t follow a timetable.

What they bring: Stability. Connection. Peace.

How they work: Assistance Dog · one dog, one person

Court Dog

Calm in the courtroom. Courage to give evidence.

Calm and courage for people navigating the justice system.

Giving evidence can be one of the hardest things a person ever does, especially for children and vulnerable witnesses. A Court Dog sits quietly by their side in waiting rooms, interviews and the courtroom itself. Its calm presence can slow a racing heart, ease the silence and help someone find the courage to tell their story.

Court Dogs are Facility Dogs, placed with the court and working alongside a trained handler. They are selected for an unflappable temperament and trained to stay settled in a busy, formal environment.

What they bring: Calm. Courage.

How they work: Facility Dog · one dog, many people

A young girl cudding into a black Labrador puppy.

School Wellbeing Dog

Open to learning. Ready for the day. Brave enough to try.

Helping students meet every school day, open, ready and brave.

For some students, simply walking through the school gate takes courage. A School Wellbeing Dog helps make school a place they want to be. A gentle greeting in the morning, a calm presence in the classroom, a reason to try the thing that feels too hard. Small moments that add up to students who feel settled, connected and ready to learn.

School Wellbeing Dogs are Facility Dogs, placed with a school and cared for by a trained staff handler. Each dog is selected for its gentle, patient nature, and we support the school every step of the way.

What they bring: Open. Ready. Brave.

How they work: Facility Dog · one dog, many people

Personal Support Dog

A steady presence. A loving companion. For harder days.

A constant presence, that aids a steadier life for people managing what doesn’t always show.

Some challenges aren’t visible from the outside. A Personal Support Dog brings calm and consistency to everyday life at home: a reason to get up, a rhythm to the day, and a companion who is always there. For an individual or a family, that steady presence can make the hard days a little easier.

Every Personal Support Dog is professionally bred, raised and assessed for an exceptional temperament, then carefully matched to the person or family it will live with. They aren’t trained for disability-specific tasks and don’t have public access rights like an Assistance Dog. Their gift is simpler: a level of preparation, and a match, that goes well beyond a typical pet.

What they bring: Consistency. Support. Comfort.

How they work: Matched companion at home

Black Labrador Delphie licking the face of a Guide Dogs staff member.

Ambassador Dog

Awareness built one paw at a time.

The friendly face of Guide Dogs Victoria.

Our Ambassador Dogs are where many people first meet Guide Dogs Victoria. You’ll find them at community events, schools, workplaces and fundraising days, sharing the story of what our dogs make possible and helping people understand how to respect a working dog. They bring joy wherever they go, and they help build the community of supporters that every one of our dogs relies on.

What they bring: Joy.

How they work: Guide Dogs Victoria’s own dogs, out in the community

Every life-changing partnership begins with someone saying yes.

Behind every dog you’ve just met is a partnership, and every partnership starts with a first step. Perhaps you’re looking for the right dog to support you, someone you love or your organisation. Or perhaps you’re ready to welcome a puppy home and help it grow into the dog someone is waiting for.

Wherever you start, 70 years of expertise is with you every step of the way.

Could you raise a future life-changer?

Every one of our dogs begins life in the home of a volunteer puppy raiser. You’ll give a puppy love, routine and its first taste of the world, with our team supporting you along the way. One day, that puppy will guide someone through the world, or through a difficult time. And you’ll know you helped make it possible.

Become a Puppy Raiser

Could you help a dog change a life?

Every dog you’ve met here is the result of careful breeding, patient raising and expert training, long before it changes a single life. Your gift makes that journey possible, so another extraordinary dog can guide someone through the world, or through a difficult time.

Donate now