Bill Shorten will be hoping his campaign hasn't entered its dog days as he sought out some puppy love on Saturday.
The Labor leader snuggled trainee guide dogs in Melbourne - including a five-week-old labrador puppy named after him - and shook paws.
"This is as nice as it looks," he told the waiting media as he received puppy kisses, before joking the pointy teeth gnawing on his thumb were "not as sharp as your clever questions".
Mr Shorten has promised Guide Dogs Victoria $2 million to help it finish an upgrade of its ageing campus in Kew - in the safe Liberal seat of Kooyong held by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg - if Labor wins the May 18 election.
"Every day that one of your animals works with a person ... what you are doing is you are removing the barriers so that people with disability can have an equal go," he told some of the volunteer puppy raisers.
"If not every Australian starts with a fair go, it's our job to help bring them up to that standard."
The new training facility and accommodation for blind people learning to work with their new guide dogs will be the world's first fully accessible sensory campus.
It will use lighting, scent, technology, Braille and other tactile features to aid learning for people with low vision or blindness.
Later in Melbourne, Mr Shorten will attend a rally for supporters of the ABC.
Australian kids would get to see more television shows like runaway success Bluey under a Labor plan to boost funding to the ABC and SBS for local content.
The cartoon blue heeler family has captured hearts across Australia and is set to go global.
Labor has promised to give $40 million to the ABC and $20 million to SBS to boost the amount of Australian content and stories the public broadcasters screen.
The money would be used to buy extra drama, comedy, children's documentary and music programs.
"The ABC and SBS are at the heart of Australian culture - generations have grown up watching home-grown stories, and communities across the country rely on our trusted public broadcasters for information, education and entertainment," Mr Shorten said in a statement.
