I have been in my club's Guide Dog project for five years now, and my family and I are raising our fourth puppy, Prada. I have learned so much and had so many wonderful experiences raising these dogs, and I would like to encourage other 4-Hers to have these same experiences. Raising a Guide Dog puppy can make such a difference both in your life and in the life of the blind person who gains a companion and guide.
Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael, California, provides trained dogs free of charge to blind people. They breed the dogs (black labs, yellow labs, Golden Retrievers and Golden/Lab crosses) at the kennels there, and take them back at 14-18 months of age for formal training, but during the time in between they need raisers to care for, socialize, and train the dogs at their homes.
To become a Guide Dog raiser, you must be at least 9 years old. You must attend several local Guide Dog group meetings, and then have your house and yard checked by the Guide Dog local leader. You then must puppy-sit some other dogs in the group before driving down to get your own puppy from the kennel.
When you get your puppy, he or she will be about eight weeks old and need lots of care. It is your duty to buy food, toys, and a crate for the puppy, but the Guide Dogs organization pays for medical costs. You will need to start teaching the puppy basic commands such as ‘sit' and ‘come' right away, and work up to more advanced ones such as ‘go to bed' as they get older. You will also gradually start taking them on a few short outings, eventually working up to going almost anywhere. Attending the local Guide Dog group meetings 2-3 times a month is the last part of raising your dog.
After a year or a little more, Guide Dogs for the Blind will call back the dog for formal training, in which they will learn much more about leading a blind person. Some dogs may not make it all the way through, but instead may become a family pet, search and rescue dog, canine companion, or other another type of health-assist dog. If they are not career-changed, however, they will be matched up to one day graduate as a real Guide Dog for the Blind and help lead a blind person through life.
These sweet, smart, and well-behaved dogs change lives for the better, and you will not regret raising one. If you are interested in doing this, you can contact my mom, Doreen Wood at wood_doreen@yahoo.com or at 530-823-5066.