Frequently Asked Questions Page

• Is giving up the dog you trained a difficult experience?


• Does a person need special qualifications to be a pup raiser?
  
• Are raisers responsible for veterinary expenses?


• What does a puppy raiser do?
  
• Do puppy raisers train the puppies to be guide dogs?


• What breeds make the best guide dogs?


• What is the source of the dogs for the GEB program?


• Why do some dogs not make it as guide dogs?


• What happens to puppies that don't become guide dogs?


• Do blind people pay for the dogs?


• How long do guide dogs work?


• What happens to guide dogs that are too old to work?
  
  
  
  
  

Puppy raisers become very attached to the dogs and miss them when the dogs return to the Guiding Eyes for the Blind (GEB) Training Center. However, raisers are proud to have helped the dog embark on a career as a guide dog. The joy and pride of knowing the dog you trained is teamed with someone who needs a guide dog helps compensate for the sorrow of giving up the dog. Providing a home and training to a GEB pup or dog gives the puppy raiser the satisfaction of helping another person find new independence.

Anyone, whether an individual or a family, who is willing to commit their time and effort to training and working with the pup/dog for the 16 to 22 months can be a puppy raiser. Puppy raisers need not be experienced dog trainers. The Shenandoah Region staff and fellow puppy raisers provide training, mentor support, and guidance. In addition, classes, evaluation meetings, and resource materials (the puppy manual and training videos) help develop a raiser's skill and confidence.

Guiding Eyes for the Blind (GEB) is responsible for veterinary expenses associated with health care of a GEB pup/dog. GEB has its own veterinary hospital. In addition, GEB receives professional support from many local veterinarians who donate their services or provide a reduced fee schedule for veterinary care. The puppy raiser is responsible for travel to the local veterinarian and to the local GEB vaccination provider. If the pup/dog requires care or evaluation at the GEB veterinary hospital, GEB will provide for the travel of the pup/dog to the GEB facility.

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What does a puppy raiser do?

A puppy raiser lays the foundation for formal guide dog training at the Guiding Eyes for the Blind Training Center. The puppy raiser provides training in obedience, house manners, and social skills. The puppy raiser provides exposure to life experiences such as travel, interactions with people and animals, shopping, attendance meetings, dining at restaurants, etc. The puppy raiser provides the opportunity for the pup/dog to experience the multiple facets of life so that the dog develops greater confidence and adaptability.

By providing obedience, social, and life experience training, puppy raisers lay the foundation for formal guide dog training. When the dog is about 20 months old, the dog travels to the Guiding Eyes for the Blind (GEB) Training Center in Yorktown Heights, NY. If the dog passes skill, confidence, and medical evaluations, the dog begins a 6-month training program with a GEB professional guide dog trainer. If the dog masters the skills required of a guide dog, the dog is matched with a blind person and the team trains together for about a month at the GEB Training Center.

Guiding Eyes for the Blind (GEB) primarily uses the Labrador retriever as the breed of choice for guide dogs because of the Labrador's intelligence and adaptability. GEB also has a limited program for training German Shepherds and Golden Retrievers as guide dogs. Having the three breeds enables GEB to provide the best possible match for each client. GEB guide dogs are highly respected for their skill and adaptability and are working in urban and rural settings throughout the United States and many other countries.

Guiding Eyes for the Blind (GEB) has a Canine Development Center in Patterson, NY. The GEB breeding colony has been carefully developed over many years. GEB dogs are selectively bred to promote the confidence, temperament, and adaptability required of a guide dog and to minimize genetic-based health problems. Each puppy is tested at 7 to 9 weeks of age to provide the Canine Development Center staff with an initial indication of the puppy's personality and confidence. Those puppies that show potential of having the traits necessary to become a guide dog are matched with puppy raisers.

Guide dogs must demonstrate the ability to recognize and assess situations and then act decisively as they take responsibility for a blind person's safety.  Not all dogs have this degree of character. However, those dogs that are not accepted into or fail to complete the guide dog program perform admirably as personal companions and in public service careers.

Dogs that are not accepted into or fail to complete the guide dog program move to other career paths varying from personal companions and family pets to public service careers such as drug, arson, and explosive detection, patient therapy, and hospital and home visitation. Regardless of the alternative career, Guiding Eyes for the Blind requires that the dogs be maintained in a safe and healthy environment.

Guiding Eyes charges no fees for the training of the guide dog or the guide dog team. Anyone age 16 and over who is legally blind is eligible to apply for a GEB guide dog. GEB estimates that the total cost to graduate a guide dog team is about $30,000.

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The average guide dog retires at about 10 years of age.

Many Guiding Eyes for the Blind (GEB) clients keep their retired guide dogs as a member of the family or place them with relatives or close friends. In some situations a retired guide is available for placement and can return to the puppy raiser or be adopted. GEB has a waiting list of people who have applied to adopt a retired guide dog.

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