Puppy raiser

[Guest Anonymous]

What does it take to become a puppy raiser for service dogs?

I live in ohio and I am interested in doing something like this. Does anyone have any good sites to visit?

Thanks

[Guest Anonymous]

I am not sure of the exact "things" but there is a site...

http://www.pawswithacause.org/

I do know that with many you cover all vet bills(if you can have them taken off of your taxes you can do that), you have to attend training with the pup, take it places(store, park, resturants, and etc..), they ask about other animals, parvo in yard, and stuff like that.. :wink:

[Guest Anonymous]

Thanks these will be a lot of help. I really appreciate it.

[Guest Anonymous]

I raise guide dogs for The Seeing Eye. I have just received my 4th puppy. I think the thing people should really know is that it is a family project. Not just one persons.
With The Seeing Eye (TSE) you must attend 4H meetings with the club in your area that is working on the puppy project. This helps because you get training tips and can learn from others experience, your dog gets exposer to other dogs and learns how to act in that type of an environment. Our club also plans different trips that are arranged for our dogs to be allowed in. We have gone to baseball games, walked around on busy street in our town, visited the post office, rode on a carousal, and many others. Because they are not fully trained guide dogs they aren't allowed full access to pubic places. Before we take our dogs anywhere we must ask the owner of the establishment. We explain that it is a seeing eye dog and that coming in would help in its training. Some people let us in, others don't.
We are given a food stipend and pay all vet bills. You have to obey there rules like our puppies are not allowed on the couch and can also only have a certain type of dog food.
Every one usually says "I could never give them up." My family and I recently gave back our golden retriever. It was hard. I cried. I was sad for about 3 hours. but I remembered that I was doing a good thing. I knew at a certain time she would get put in the play yard and could run around with the other dogs and that made me happy. I remembered all the times that a blind person with a guide dog had told us that they wouldn't be able to do all the stuff they do if it hadn't been for us raising them. That also is a reason why it is good to go to the 4H meetings. Sometimes blind people will visit your club with there dog and it reminds you why you are doing it.
The other thing people should be prepared for is that it is a lot of work. Especially when you first get them. They are REALLY smart. They are trained to be smart. The Second dog we raised was a German shepherd. she was so smart she figured out how to open the back door to our house. They learn really quickly and want to please you.
TSE lets you have other pets and actually likes it when you do. This get the puppy even more used to animals.
I'm not sure what guide dog schools they have for Ohio. I think TSE only has puppy raising families in NJ, PA, NY, Delaware.
This is what TSE requires. That is really all I know about because that is what I raise. Most only vary slightly though. So much of what I said should still be the same. Hope this helps you.

[JackieMaya]

I really have to give the guide dog puppy raisers a lot of credit. I know that I would have a REAL hard time giving up a puppy after raising it. I don't think I could do fostering either. I would probably end up with a houseful of dogs because I couldn't give up any! Hats off to you!