At the gdb puppy kennel, prior to placement in a raiser home, puppies are fed pro plan focus puppy large breed formula. Puppy adoption guiding eyes for the blind puppy in. Those under the age of 18 must have a parent or legal guardian as a coapplicant on the puppy raiser application. Puppy raisers attend monthly club meetings, which are critical for practicing their basic skills and socializing the puppies with both dogs and people. Each puppy raiser may enter only one seeing eye class, except those people who are raising more than one puppy. All documents are available as pdf files, unless otherwise noted. And together, youll help someone who is blind or visually impaired live a life of freedom, safety and happiness. We will teach you these training methods through 1 mandatory participation at puppy kindergarten about once a week for about six weeks, depending on your group, then afterwards, attendance at two puppy raiser meetings a month. The puppy raising program provides a unique opportunity for volunteers to assist with our very important mission. Apr 07, 2011 raising a seeing eye puppy documenting the experience of raising a puppy for the seeing eye, inc. Puppy raisers are the backbone of our guide dog program. Raisers will feed a puppy formula from the list below until the puppy reaches 12 months of age.
Puppy pals puppies aiding the less sighted seeing eye. Your efforts directly affect our ability to provide high quality, welltrained dogs to approximately 200 clients who attend our guide dog training program annually. The classes allow the puppy to interact with other dogs and gives the puppy raiser the opportunity to talk to other puppy raisers. Puppy raisers are foster families, from all walks of life, who nurture and care for their charges until they are about to 16monthsold. The seeing eye covers all veterinary expenses for its puppies and provides a stipend towards the cost of the puppys food. They give 12 to 15 months of their time, energy and love to raise a puppy for leader dog. Whats the difference between guide dogs and seeing eye dogs. If it persists for a week or more or becomes worse during this time, the raiser should consult their leader.
Puppy raiser information and checklist southeastern guide dogs. For an outline of the contents of this page, please refer to the puppy raising road map. Amasa makes me so proud and i know that he will change somebody elses life. Our raisers are responsible for nurturing a puppy to prepare it for guide dog training.
All documents are available as pdf files, unless otherwise. The seeing eye 4h puppy raising program, started in 1942, is a joint effort of the seeing eye, inc. Also, every member of the household must agree to adhere to our clear puppy raising guidelines and training techniques. Guide dogs for the blind puppy raising manual version. The primary puppy raiser must be physically capable of handling a largebreed dog.
Guiding eyes for the blind guide dogs for people with. The other raiser will be asked to give a report on your pups house manners, obedience, and social behaviors. For seeing eye dog trainers volunteerings a labor of puppy. The key to a successful guide dog starts in the beginning. Puppy raising nutritional policy guide dogs for the blind. However, guiding eyes for the blind starts evaluating and career changing puppies when they are 79 weeks old. Some clubs are affiliated with 4h and some are not. In pursuit of this mission, the seeing eye breeds and raises puppies to become seeing eye dogs, trains seeing eye dogs to guide blind people, instructs blind people in the proper use, handling, and care of the dogs and conducts and supports. Mar 24, 2015 ultimately, you sign a contract with the seeing eye that you will raise the puppy according to their guidelines in the training manual and return the puppy when he or she is called back. Participants are children from 9 years of age and adults. As the oldest guide dog school in the world, the seeing eye has been a pioneer in the guide dog movement. Raising a guide dog service dog puppy is a significant commitment, but can also be a rewarding experience. Can being a puppy raiser qualify as a service project.
Through daily care and training, puppy raisers build the foundation our puppies need to become a trusted guide dog for someone who is blind. For the first month of training, the pup should be attached to you by the leash at all. Its tough work and it simply wouldnt be possible without the support of red puppy sponsors. They provide hours of patient teaching and numerous socialization journeys over a 12 to 16 month period, before they return a wellsocialized young adult dog to guiding eyes training staff. Puppy sitter form each time raisers send the puppy to a sitter, or puppy sit for another guiding eyes dog, they fill out the puppy sitter form. Veterinary care guidelines guide dogs for the blind. Gdbs puppy raising program complements many ffa, 4h, homeschooling, high school, and college programs. Simply put, raisers look after, care for, and lay the foundation for training a puppy.
Feb 15, 2019 plus, i really wanted a puppy and by working with the seeing eye through my 4h club, i would learn the correct way to raise a dog. Puppy adoption guiding eyes for the blind puppy in training. The seeing eye s mission is to enhance the independence, dignity and selfconfidence of people who are blind, through the use of specially trained seeing eye dogs. It is our raisers who give puppies their basic obedience training and introduce the puppy to a variety of social situations that they will later encounter as seeing eye dogs. Puppy raisers are foster families, from all walks of life, who nurture and care for their charges until they are about. California 4h offers guide dog puppy 4h projects through the guide dogs for the blind, inc. Puppy raiser manual is dedicated to the hundreds of. Seeing eye club is a group of volunteers located throughout the county who raise puppies golden retrievers, labrador retrievers and german shepherds for the seeing eye, inc.
Seeing eye pups must be the current project of a 4h member or adult puppy raiser. The seeing eye puppy raising program started in 1942 as a joint effort of the seeing eye, inc. It is a rewarding and emotional commitment, and those who receive a guide dog are extremely grateful. Guide dogs university of california 4h youth development. In fact, it wasnt until i was puppy raising for about a year that i first heard why a seeing eye dog was a guide dog, but a guide dog was not necessarily a seeing eye. Welcome to the leader dogs for the blind puppy raising program.
Our membership includes both adults and children, many who have raised multiple dogs just ask us to talk about our pups we remember each and every one. Interviews with blind people and the problems they encounter. You must be at least 18 years old to be a volunteer puppy raiser. Eukanuba adult large breed chicken 1 st ingredient is fed to dogs in training on campus. This is where you also can fill out puppy reports and surveys or update your contact information. Guide dogs for the blind helps raisers through every step of the process. Raisers care for our young dogs and equip them with the skills they need to. Guide dog puppies go through two years of rigorous training before they become guide dogs. Puppy raisers provide food, toys, and sometimes crates for the puppy. No prior experience is necessary to become a puppy raiser. Puppy pals puppies aiding the less sighted seeing eye puppy. In these pages you will find all the information needed to become a 4her seeing eye puppy raiser a foster parent.
Weve matched more than 3,200 guide and service dog teams since our 1982 inception, and currently have over 1,200 dogs under our auspices. Whether you are raising your first seeing eye puppy or your 40th, its good to have the support of people who share similar experiences. Ask questions or refresh your memory about solving a specific problem by searching the online manual. Jun 05, 2012 ive been a guide dog puppy raiser for almost 6 years now and before i started raising guide dog pups i didnt know the difference between a guide dog and a seeing eye dog. Raise a puppy when seeing eye puppies reach the age of seven or eight weeks, they are delivered to the homes of volunteer puppy raisers who live within driving distance of the seeing eye.
The seeing eye campus in morristown includes administrative offices, dormitory residence for students, a veterinary care center, and kennels. The three sharp blows of the whistle, followed by the dog s name and the come verbal cue, allows those puppy raisers with poor and ineffective voices to be more effective in gaining the dog s attention and instructing it to return immediately to the handler. Guide and service dogs from southeastern guide dogs. A nonprofit with a national reach, we train dogs of the highest pedigree for people who are blind, veterans, and children, providing our premier dogs and lifetime services at no cost. But as a seeing eye puppy raiser named shevi told me. Southeastern guide dogs puppy raisers, area coordinators and group leaders who have given their. Seeing eye puppy raisers are individuals and families who raise puppies. The seeing eye has created more than 15,500 partnerships between individuals and dogs, and jim kutsch is one of about 1,700 current seeing eye dog users in the united states and canada. As a puppy raiser, you are providing an invaluable service to leader dog. If your local club is affiliated with 4h you will be asked to join 4h as well.
However, it is the most rewarding thing ive ever done in my life. Apr 07, 2019 to help cover the cost of raising a puppy, each seeing eye volunteer receives a quarterly stipend that offsets the cost of food and covers all veterinary bills. As a volunteer puppy raiser, youll be the foundation a puppy needs to become a leader dog. Relieving house behavior socialization puppy development and learning success as a puppy raiser care and health of guide dog.
In pursuit of this mission, the seeing eye breeds and raises puppies to become seeing eye dogs, trains seeing eye dogs to guide blind people, instructs blind people in the proper use, handling, and care of the dogs and conducts and supports research on canine health and development. Puppy raisers receive a manual from the seeing eye containing puppy raising rules and advice, but thats only the beginning. Raisers open their homes to an eight week old puppy and keep it until fifteen to eighteen months of age. Guide dog and service dog puppies are placed with carefully screened foster families and individuals, known as puppy raisers.
It tells the story of how the seeing eye was started and where it is today. The fee charged to students which includes transportation from anywhere in the u. Raiser final evaluation when the pup comes to guiding eyes for its infortraining ift test, raisers fill out a final report. Apr 17 puppy raiser information session orientation. Puppies may be shown in one class by a member and in the.
Founded in 1929, the seeing eye is the oldest, and one of the largest, of guide dog schools in the u. Puppy raiser information and checklist southeastern. Guide dogs for the blind puppy raising guide dogs for. Raising a puppy demands a huge commitment of time, effort and love on your part. This page contains links to all of the documents in guide dogs for the blinds puppy raising manual. Toward the end of the training period, if the dog passes all his tests, you will receive a letter from the seeing eye, inviting you to morristown to watch the dog and his instructor in action called the. The dog is more willing to return to the handler due to the expectation of food reward. For seeing eye dog trainers volunteerings a labor of. At 12 months of age, or when the cfr recommends, raisers will transition to an approved adult formula. One requirement of puppy raising is that your pup completes a 2 to 3week session living with another puppy raiser after they have reached 9 months of age. Participants are children from 9 to 19 years of age and adults. When we talked to the 4h seeing eye puppy raising clubs, i was so excited and knew i had to raise a puppy, too. Seeing eye dogs that are retired will be kept as pets or returned to the seeing eye. When the dog is between 14 and 18 months of age, it returns to the foundation to move ahead with its formal training and lifechanging career as a guide or service dog.
Coordinate all health care with our veterinary staff. Not all dogs ultimately have what it takes to join the ranks of seeing eye dogs, and in those cases they are offered for adoption to the foster families. May 8 puppy raiser information session orientation. The reward of knowing you changed someones life is wellworth the sacrifice when it comes time to return your puppy to the seeing eye. Puppy raisers receive a manual from the seeing eye containing puppy raising rules. Successful firsttime applicants enroll in a 25day course at the morristown facility where they are first matched with a guide dog. And while sending the grown puppy off to college for their formal training can be difficult, many of our puppy raisers choose to take on the challenge again and again. When the puppy leaves your home, he will come to the seeing eye to pass some physical exams and then enter a four month training program. Its a good idea to involve the whole family or household before deciding that everyone is on board and everyone agrees to share the. A key component of the seeing eye is our puppy raising program.
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