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Puppy raiser for guide dogs. Anyone do this?
in Pets
I'd love to hear some first hand experience with a program like this. I am VERY interested, but am concerned that returning the puppy at the end (after over a year of raising and training it) would be too difficult. Or is it ok b/c you know the whole time that the dog is not yours and will be providing such a huge benefit to someone who needs it?
Thanks for any feedback!
Re: Puppy raiser for guide dogs. Anyone do this?
There are many many organizations that provide service dogs -- The Seeing Eye in Morristown NJ is one of them -- I think the best place to start is to google; also, ask your vet. He should be very knowledgeable about what groups there are; he should be able to procure a list of a great many of them.
5 cats. 1 baby.
My sister has raised for The Seeing Eye and did her first when she was still in high school. They really do encourage the whole family to help out as much as they can, and so we were all involved to some level.
I'm not sure how it works with other groups, but she took them to monthly meetings, which were over an hour away for the closest group. There was constant training every day, and the puppies were supposed to go as many places as possible with you. She took the first one to school two days a week, and other three school/work days he went to work with my mom. Her others have gone with her to work every day since she is a vet tech, and they have no problem letting her bring them.
The group also arranged outings to places (restaurants, the airport including having them board a plane, a city bus ride, etc.) to help expose the dogs to different surroundings. The dogs are matched with people from all walks of life, so it helps to expose them to as much as possible. We had the group come to our farm several times to meet cows, pigs and chickens.
She says that is always hard to let them go, but her first was the hardest. However, once he went back to the Seeing Eye and did more training, she was invited to go observe him work from a distance with a handler before he was matched up. Seeing him actually doing the guide dog work made it click for her that he wasn't her pet, he was someone's eyes. She knows where each of her dogs have been placed (Two in NYC and one somewhere else in NY state) and once they retire, if the person is unable to have them as a pet, she gets first option to take them back. She plans to accept any of them that are offered.
So yes, it is hard. There are still days when the whole family misses them. But it is amazing and heartwarming to think that the little puppies we played with and trained are out there doing something so great.
If you are up for it, I'd say it is a wonderful experience!
I only have second hand experience to share, but here it is.
My uncle did this and his lab just went back last month after around 14 months or so with him. He has a dog already so at least the house wasn't empty when the lab went back. He really enjoyed it overall and wants to do it again, but not just yet. For now he's covering vacations for other puppy raisers.
One great perk was that he learned a LOT at the frequent meetings the group has to work on training techniques. He was a Cesar Milan kind of guy before and now he's learned about positive reinforcement.
He found a local supply company to donate the food for free which is nice, and I think the group covers vet visits.
He's a stoic guy, but I know he had a hard time letting go. The dog passed the tests though and is going to be a seeing eye guide dog, and he was a proud papa for sure.