information on guide dog puppy raising?
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I am interested in raising a puppy for guide dogs for the blind. has anyone ever done this before? what was it like? did you have to attend meetings frequently? are the puppies allowed in places like grocery stores, movies, school, ect.? information on training and socializing the puppy, as well as tips, are welcome… thanks!
Our puppy raising club meets 3 times a month, where we learn how to properly handle and socialize the pups in preparation for their task training. After the pups are older than 6 months, have had all their vaccinations and are fully housetrained and know how to behave, they can be taken in the public venue in the States which permit doing so. Not all States allow access for dogs that are being trained, so one has to be sure that their State does before venturing into the public venue. If you live in a State which allows access, then you may take the pup to school (with permission from the school), movie theaters (this was one of the favorite places for both my wife’s working Guide as well as the pup we raised) and most all other places where pets are not allowed.
All the training and socialization tips and skills will be covered at the puppy club meetings.
Filed under: Raising Puppies
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Contact one of the places that provide guide dogs to people.
Training dogs for the blind
http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=training%20a%20dog%20for%20the%20blind
Find a contact # & call or an email address.
References :
Good for you! Raising a guide dog can be the most rewarding thing a person can do. Here’s the website for Guiding Eyes for the Blind’s puppy raising program:
https://www.guidingeyes.org/volunteer/puppy-raising/
To answer your specific questions, I have not done it, but now dozens who have. They attend puppy classes monthly. They pups go to places that are appropriate for their age and stage of training; near the end, they are welcome everywhere the public is. The program offers -everything- you need to know about raising puppies.
Guiding Eyes’ program extends from Maine to Ohio to North Carolina. If you live outside of this region, contact the closest guide dog school.
Here’s the directory: http://www.nagdu.org/schools.html
References :
I wanna raise a pup too. Who do I contact?
References :
Further info on links
When our pups are 8-9 weeks old, they’re ready for their first road trip. They say goodbye to their birthplace, our California campus, and embark on the first leg of their journey toward becoming Guide Dogs. They are loaded up in our "puppy truck" which is specially designed with their safety and comfort in mind. The truck makes dozens of trips throughout the year, and is driven by our own staff "puppy stork," who delivers the special cargo to the arms of eagerly waiting volunteer puppy raisers.
It’s an exciting day when our puppy truck comes to town and it visits a lot of towns! Our pups are raised in eight Western states:
Arizona
California
Colorado
Idaho
Nevada
Oregon
Utah
Washington
References :
http://www.guidedogs.com/site/PageServer?pagename=programs_dog_puppy
They’ll cover all you need to know in classes. Pups generally aren’t allowed in stores without their trainers (a puppy raiser is not the same as a guide dog trainer). So puppy raisers tend to have group outtings to facilities where dogs aren’t ordinarily permitted.
Mariahleadme has raised a pup for them that recently returned to the center for advanced training. His wife, who is blind, has had two guides from them, including her working guide. They were so successful in helping the pup to mimic the working guide’s behaviors that they’ve been asked to rotate through several other pups and take them for a couple of months at a time just to give them that extra exposure. I’ll mention this question to him and see if he responds about his personal experiences.
http://guidedogs.com
References :
I’m a service dog trainer with friends who use guide dogs.
Our puppy raising club meets 3 times a month, where we learn how to properly handle and socialize the pups in preparation for their task training. After the pups are older than 6 months, have had all their vaccinations and are fully housetrained and know how to behave, they can be taken in the public venue in the States which permit doing so. Not all States allow access for dogs that are being trained, so one has to be sure that their State does before venturing into the public venue. If you live in a State which allows access, then you may take the pup to school (with permission from the school), movie theaters (this was one of the favorite places for both my wife’s working Guide as well as the pup we raised) and most all other places where pets are not allowed.
All the training and socialization tips and skills will be covered at the puppy club meetings.
References :
Husband of Guide dog user and Guide dog puppy raiser.