raising a puppy

Your first answer may be "Because puppies are so fun and cute!" Puppies are cute and raising a Guide Dog puppy is a lot of fun. But raising a future Guide also takes a lot of time, responsibility and often hard work.

A Guide Dog puppy requires from 12 to 18 months of development in a Raiser's home before it is ready to return to Guide Dogs for formal training. Puppies require much attention during this period as they discover the world.

You will be the one who teaches the puppy how to behave in the house, how to behave in public, what to expect and to accept in this busy world. You will also be teaching him how to be a person's close companion - to trust and be trusted.

WHY RAISE A GUIDE DOG PUPPY ?

Guidework instruction will be completed by professional instructors at either the Oregon or California Guide Dog campus. However, what you will be doing is no less important. You will be teaching the puppy how to behave and interact
with its future blind partner.

There is a lot of work involved in training a Guide Dog puppy, but the rewards are very great. By raising a Guide Dog puppy, you have the ability to change someone's life. You make a gift to the world of a dog that can help a person travel independently. You give a gift to yourself by becoming a person who helps others.

To find out more about raising a Guide Dog puppy, visit the Guide Dogs for the Blind, Inc . website or call the Puppy Raising Department at 1-800-295-4050.

Text from GDB literature

Your goal is to develop your Guide Dog puppy into a mature, dependable dog who is:

- Well-behaved in the house, will not relieve in the house, is quiet and calm, eats only his own food   and is not destructive.
- Socialized to the world and accepts new situations in a calm and thoughtful manner.
- Relaxed when traveling in all types of transportation - car, bus, van, ferry, train, airplane.
- Well-bonded with people, enjoys praise calmly, and is eager to please.
- Socialized and calm with other animals - dogs, cats, birds, livestock.
- Responsive to basic commands and exercises.

SILLY EARS
The ears on German Shepherd Dog
puppies are wonderfully entertaining.
'Tamara' demonstrates all sorts of
ear shapes in this series of pictures.

POOL PUPS
Pups learn to exercise,
train, and play in the
pool with Raisers.

OUR STORIES
Read some Raisers' stories
in their Adventures in
Puppy Raising!