Daily Mail
Britain's guide dog shortage: How blind people are waiting for 'up to TWO YEARS' for a service dog due to soaring cost of training and impact of Covid on breeding
By LETTICE BROMOVSKY, NEWS REPORTER
Published: 05:27 EST, 27 December 2025 | Updated: 05:27 EST, 27 December 2025
Blind and partially sighted people across the UK are facing waits of up to two years for a guide dog, as the charity struggles with soaring training costs, volunteer shortages and a lingering shortfall in dogs since the Covid pandemic.
According to Guide Dogs the cost of breeding, training and supporting a guide dog from birth to retirement has climbed to as much as £102,000.
A massive £77,000 is needed before a dog is even partnered with a visually impaired owner, more than double the £35,000 figure recorded just five years ago.
Then a further £25,000 is required to support each dog throughout its working life, typically until retirement at around nine years old.
The charity breaks the cost down into key stages, including about £7,000 for breeding and early puppy care, £14,000 for a puppy's first year with a volunteer raiser, and £56,000 for advanced specialist training before qualification.
Pete Osborne, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Guide Dogs, said rising costs were being felt across every part of the organisation blaming inflation for the recent added financial pressure.
'This increase is symptomatic of the increase in cost of everything. If we compare the costs of dog food now with before the pandemic it is about 60 per cent higher.
'The price of dog health and veterinary care has also [sharply increased] and that's seriously affected us as well. And with a population of nearly 7,000 [guide] dogs, even small increases escalate quickly.
'It is coming [at us] from all sides the feeding, the veterinary care, the changing volunteering habits.'
Volunteering habits are another key area that is impacting the number of dogs that the charity can train.
'Volunteering has become much much harder and we are wholly dependent on volunteering for the service to work.
'Pre-pandemic, particularly for dogs in training, you would be relying on volunteers bringing the dogs to school before work but people aren't going to work on a five day a week basis now so they might not be in a position to volunteer.
'One of our hidden costs comes from having to invest more in media to tell people about what we do and get them to become volunteers.
'There are also a million more pets now post-pandemic so people have got their own pet so are less likely to be able to volunteer.'
Naturally the situation has been made worse by the pandemic, which Mr Osborne described as 'a living nightmare' for the charity.
'We had dogs that we couldn't socialise because people weren't getting out and about. And guide dogs rely on in lots of different environments. Well, a lot of those environments were closed, so our success rates took a nosedive.
'We even had to pause our breeding programme, which resulted in a shortfall of around 1,100 dogs - a huge impact [on the wait list],' he said.
At the same time, the number of people needing support continues to rise. Every day in the UK, around 250 people begin to lose their sight – roughly one person every six minutes – adding pressure to already-stretched services.
Mr Osborne concluded: 'We are hugely appreciative of the donation we get from the public. But the environment is changing. So right now, perhaps people do have money that they could give or resources they could leave us in a will.
'But I can't imagine that's going to be the case forever, because people are going to need it to fund themselves and their care and various other things. We live in challenging economic times.'
For guide dog owner Scott Bailey, the rising costs are deeply worrying, speaking to the Daily Mail he told of how he relies on his guide dog, Milo, not just for mobility, but for independence, work and family life.
'I rely on Milo for everything - not just getting around, but companionship when people are at work. And he helps me be a dad to my kids,' he said.
He fears the current economic climate could lead to falling donations and longer waiting times for people who need a guide dog.
'Especially after hearing the budget [I am very concerned]. Everything is going up in price. People won't be able to donate in the same way they used to.
'Cost of living has gone up, wages haven't, and donations will drop. That means Guide Dogs might have to cut the number of dogs they train. It's scary.'
Mr Bailey, who previously studied the guide dog waiting list as part of his master's research, said delays can be devastating.
'I found that people on the waiting list are extremely anxious and scared. The overall theme was fear - fear of waiting, fear of losing independence.'
He explained that waits of 'about two years, sometimes more' can force people back to using a white cane and relying heavily on others which can make them even more 'anxious'.
Mr Bailey credits Milo with transforming his life, allowing him to attend university and retrain as a psychotherapist. But with Milo approaching retirement, that independence could soon be at risk.
Guide Dogs receives no routine government funding, relying instead on public donations, gifts in wills and more than 400,000 puppy sponsors.
You can donate to Guide Dogs here.
