Puppy Raiser Responsibilities

Your Guide Dog Puppy will need lots of Love and Socialization.  You are expected to housebreak your puppy, and familiarize it with people, animals, traffic, noises, and strange surroundings.  You will need to do basic obedience training and ensure that your puppy can ride comfortably in a car.

Puppy Living Arrangements

Your puppy must be raised as an inside dog, spending time with family members & guests.  Puppies must sleep beside the bed of the primary puppy raiser in a crate or on tie-down.  Sleeping in the garage, kitchen, or on the patio is not acceptable.  Your new puppy will need a fenced yard to allow him/her a safe environment for exploration, play, and relieving.

Crating Your Puppy

A crate or kennel can be used to housebreak your puppy, as animals rarely relieve where they sleep.  The best way to teach a puppy to relieve outside is to put him/her on a schedule.  Take your puppy outside--on leash--often, throughout the day.  (Every couple of hours is best)  By using the same place, each time you relieve your puppy, and giving the command "Get Busy" you will quickly housebreak your puppy.  Eventually, as your dog matures and as you condition him/her through reinforcement you will be able to increase the amount of time between relieving periods.

The crate can, also, be useful when you need to leave your puppy at home for a short time.  During the day, your puppy should not be left in a crate for more than a couple of hours.  The crate should never be used as punishment!  Guide Dogs of the Desert can provide its puppy raisers with various sizes as needed.

Puppy Raiser's Costs

The cost of all veterinary care, food, toys, damages, and travel expenses are the puppy raiser's responsibility.  As Guide Dogs of the Desert is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, all expenses incurred in raising a Guide Dog Puppy may be tax deductible.  Check with your personal tax advisor.

What is Puppy Socialization?

This is the best part of raising a Guide Dog Puppy!  Your puppy will need to have received all of its booster shots and its first rabies shot before you can take him/her out in public.  After that, take your new Guide Dog apprentice everywhere you can!

Puppy Exposure

Exposing your new young friend to every situation possible is essential.  A puppy that accompanies his/her raiser to many and varied environments is receiving the best training possible to fully prepare for their future roles as working guides.  A dog that is at ease in all places at all times is better able to assist their  visually impaired partner.

Puppy Relieving

Guide Dogs need to be able to relieve themselves on command, so get the puppy accustomed to doing this.  If you are going to be indoors for an extended period of time, allow your puppy to relieve before entering the building.  (Never relieve a puppy with his/her jacket on)  The puppy jacket is like a guide dog harness and guides are not allowed to relieve while in harness.  Also, make sure to relieve your puppy on various surfaces,  such as grass, concrete, gravel, and dirt.  A working guide never knows where his/her duties will have taken them when nature calls.

Equipment & Public Access

Guide Dogs of the Desert will issue you a collar, puppy jacket, lead, and an ID tag for your puppy.  In addition, GDD. will, also, provide you with a Puppy Raiser ID card.  When accompanied by your puppy in public, always ensure that he/she is wearing their jacket, is on lead, and that you have your ID card with you.  This should help lessen any public access problems that you might encounter.

Puppy Transportation

You can teach your puppy to ride on the passenger-side floorboard of your car, unless this side is equipped with an airbag.  If your vehicle does have a passenger-side airbag, put your puppy in the backseat.  Never put your puppy in the open back of a truck or allow it to ride with its head out of the window.  Following these simple guidelines will help you prepare your puppy for his/her working life.

Puppy Treatment

Never slap or hit your puppy!  It will become "hand shy," and all of a Guide Dog's working life is spent with a visually impaired person who will interact with them largely through a sense of touch.  Just as importantly, many of the formal commands that your dog will learn later in life are accompanied by hand gestures.  Always use praise as a positive reward to encourage good behavior.  If you catch your puppy in a truly negative act, such as chewing a shoe, give a very firm NO!  Guide Dogs of tomorrow should never be allowed to jump on people or climb on furniture.  A puppy raiser's motto, in regards to their puppy, should be "Keep four on the floor."  Your puppy should never run loose, off lead, without being in a fenced and secured area. Working Guides are only allowed this, off leash, freedom in areas where they can be supervised safely.

What is puppy obedience training?

Obedience training generally consists of a series of exercises that, when combined with repetition & verbal praise, can instill socially acceptable canine  behavior.  These exercises, also, promote the bond between handler and dog.  When working with your puppy, always end your training sessions on a positive note.  This will insure that your puppy wants to do his/her obedience exercises again and again.  A well behaved dog or pup makes for a happy canine companion and human partner.

CLICK HERE To Read "Before I was a Dog Parent" (Poem)