Raising a guide dog puppy
Have you ever seen a puppy dressed in a green coat walking around with an obviously sighted person in a grocery store? Those pups are in training. After a few years of puppy hood, socialization, love, and training, these dogs just might be paired up with a partner and have grocery store privileges for a long time.
What’s involved in making a guide dog?
- Breeding
- Raising/Socialization/Basic Commands
- Formal Training
- Training with a Partner
- Work
- Retirement
There are several companies (non-profit of course) that make guide dogs. These companies have veterinarians on staff who analyze lineage, health, diseases, and temperament and decide which dogs breed with each other. Sometimes they trade or buy dogs from other companies. I don’t know a whole lot about this, but I do know that they are responsible breeders.
When a litter is born, the person who raised the mother, gets to name the pups. That person is given a letter, like “V.” That person then submits a list of a bunch of names that start with the letter V, in order of preference. If the name has been used previously by any dog that was a breeder, it cannot be used. If the name is the name of an active guide dog, it cannot be used. Otherwise, as long as the name is not offensive or embarrassing, it’s fair game.
The people who are going to raise the puppy are told their puppy’s letter and the number of letters in the name after the puppy is born. Then they get to guess for a couple of months as to what “their” pup’s name is.The pups are the legal property of the company, even though they tend to feel like the raiser’s baby.
Have you ever wondered what it was like to raise a Guide Dog puppy? I’ve done it a few times..
My second pup was born February 2, 1997 in San Rafael, California to proud mother Hazy and proud father Signal. I was told “V” and “5 letters.” The first thing that came to my mind was “Valor,” but I thought surely that name had already been taken. However, when my pup came, his name was Valor. He was a black Labrador with a short tail and curly hair, and he was just about the cutest little fellow I had ever seen.
Valor was eight weeks old when he came to live with me in Colorado. Pups come to live with their raisers between eight and twelve weeks old. The companies experiment with what’s the best age to leave their litter mates and go to the raisers. It’s been ten years since I’ve raised a guide dog, but I think they lean toward the older ages now.
I fell in love with Valor immediately, which was different for me. It normally takes me a long while to cotton to a particular dog. In fact, it took me three months to learn to love my first guide dog pup. He was a fellow named Martin who was a little temperamental. Valor, however, was cute, playful, licky, and wanted to please.
Since my job was to socialize him, so Valor went with me everywhere.
Valor went to work with me. He sat under my desk while I worked. I attached his lead to my cube wall when he was a young pup. Guide Dog puppies aren’t supposed to play fetch, but I think there is something ingrained in a Labrador about fetching. There was quite a bit of laughter the day some guys played fetch around me and my cube wall came down.
What happens when you’re in a store and you have to use the facilities? If you’re lucky, you have a friend with you and you hand her/him the leash. If you’re not so fortunate, well, the pup comes with you. It’s pretty similar to having a 9-month-old kid. Would you leave the child outside the facilities to wait for you? What if there are strangers in the vicinity?
Raisers quickly learn to have the pup use the facilities before entering a store. It’s unpleasant, to say the least, to have your pupster urinate or defecate in a store. Fortunately, raisers tend to be so “in tune” with their pups, that they can sense when this is about to happen, pick the pup up, go outside, take off the pup’s coat, and issue the command, “Do your business.” If, however, the raiser is not perfect, like me, there are occasional accidents. The green puppy coats actually have a spot in them to put plastic bags and paper towels. Someone was thinking.
Besides going to work with me and to stores, my pups travelled with me.
Valor was afraid of San Francisco’s pigeons as a young pup, but as an older pup, he decided they might be good for chasing. Well, Valor was actually fond of pigeon scat as a young pup, and I had quite a project of keeping his head and tongue off the ground in San Francisco.
Valor seemed to think Kansas was okay, but not as cool as the other places. There’s hardly any pigeons at all in Kansas, though he really liked my Grandpa. I suspect Grandpa might have slipped him some cheese or meat when I wasn’t looking. Guide dog pups aren’t supposed to take food from other people. You wouldn’t want a sight challenged person walking with their dog and tripping because their dog decided to stop for a bite of hamburger.
Valor panted a lot in Utah, but had fun playing with his “cousin” Sydney.
Valor went shopping with me. I learned to give shopping trips about twice as much time as I needed before. People kept stopping and trying to pet him. He needed to work in the store. Sometimes I think half the job of socializing a pup is socializing strangers. If a sight challenged person is shopping in a store, do you really think they want to stop and talk to everyone else just because they have a fine looking pooch with them?
Other than the meat aisles, Valor was an angel in the grocery stores. He was pretty sniffy in the meat aisles though.
Valor got socialized everywhere, not just in public. He went for walks with me and took me hiking. We came home from a walk one day and Valor saw a snake on the stairs to the house. I’m reasonably terrified of non-caged, legless reptiles; however, Valor charged, giving my arm a good yank in the process, and went to inspect the snake. I didn’t realize it at the time, but the snake bit him. Later in the evening Valor’s jaw seemed to triple in size, I panicked, and off to the vet we went. In as nice a way as possible, the doctor explained to me that if the snake had been poisonous, my pooch would be dead. He said Valor probably had an allergic reaction. I remember thinking, “It costs $75.00 to kiss a snake,” as I left the vet’s office.
We had a good time during Valor’s puppy-hood, but all good things come to an end, and Valor had to go back to San Rafael. It was very hard to send Valor off to college, but I thought he would make a fine Guide Dog for someone.
Did I want Valor to pass? If he passed, then all that work was worth it, and someone would have a canine partner for a good many years. Valor would be working, and since he was motivated by pleasing others, he’d be happy. If he didn’t pass, he could come home to me and I’d have my baby back. Well, let’s say I was ambivalent, but I did want him to pass.
Fortunately, the decision on whether or not the dog will be a guide is not the decision of puppy raisers. I don’t think many would go on to college if that was the case. The decision lies with the company, and with the dogs themselves. My first pup was booted from the program, or “career changed” because he growled at the vet when his temperature was taken. When they asked me if I wanted Martin back, I asked them if they could find a good home for him. “Yes,” they said. They do after all have a waiting list of people wanting to adopt career change dogs. Why? A guide dog is not allowed to growl when someone takes his temperature; a pet can do that and it is acceptable. A guide dog can not bark excessively, but excessive for a guide dog is pretty normal for a pet.
My third guide dog, Dilbert, failed school too. He didn’t fail for growling. He failed because he simply did not want to be a guide dog.
I read reports of how Valor was doing in college. He did “satisfactory” for the first seven weeks or so, and then I got a call from Guide Dogs. Valor was diagnosed with a problem in his right, front elbow. It could have been genetic, or it could have been trauma. The Guide Dog vet’s did a surgery on his elbow and he was pulled from the program. Did I want to adopt him? This required no thought on my part since I was in love with Valor from the moment I saw him. Valor was put on the next Guide Dog truck to Colorado.
I picked Valor up at the designated meeting spot. He remembered me, and that felt good. How I forgot about his short tail in a mere eight weeks is beyond me, but it didn’t matter. Valor was back.
The rules went out the window. If I offered him a cheeseburger, he was free to eat it. Until I got married, he slept at the foot of my bed instead of on the floor beside it.
Valor is almost ten years old now. Val’s getting lumpy now. He can’t have cheeseburgers anymore and is on a strict diet of some dog food, carrots, and green beans. Well, I occasionally give him an apple or pear. Next to my husband, I think he’s my best friend. I say Valor’s perfect. My daughter tells me “Valor’s perfect to you, mom, but to me, he’s just a good dog.” What does she know? She’s only 5.
Will I raise another guide dog some day? You bet. As soon as my youngest is old enough to have a “presence” with the pup and actually help, maybe when he’s 6 or 7 or 8, we’ll raise another pup.
Only, the next pup will be raised by the whole family.
Do you want to raise a pup? Think about it long and hard first, but it’s definitely worth it.Labels: blind, children, dog, guide dog, love, puppy, raise, raising, valor