I'm going to be a Puppy Raiser!!

[Ritz459]

I got a letter in the mail yesterday saying I was qualified to be a puppy raiser for Leader Dogs for the Blind!!! (I sent in an application a couple weeks ago.) I'm so happy!! I won't get the puppy till spring of 2006 though....oh well!! The puppy will either be a GSD, Labrador, or a Golden Retreiver!!
The only thing that has me a little bit leary is you can't spay or neuter the dog while it is with you. I don't think I will mind having a female going through heat and a male trying to find a female in heat, but I'm concerned about how our male dog Blackie will get along with the dog. We didn't neuter Blackie till he was around three, so he doesn't like other male dogs a whole bunch and he might still retian some 'instincts' around a female who is in heat. At least he is an outside dog and the puppy will be inside, so they won't be mingeling with each other a whole whole bunch....
IMO, wouldn't a service dog work better if it was altered at an early age and not till later? Then it wouldn't have the, "Oh, my gosh! It is another male dog!! I have to defend my territory!" kind of attitude. Just wondering...

[Rip's Girl]

Hard to say about the neutering/spaying. A lot of unaltered male dogs who have undergone extensive training can work right past a female in heat. They might also want to evaluate the dog and see if it is of exceptional quality, and might add it to their breeding program (Does LDB have its own breeding program?)

Congratulations on being approved!

[gaddylovesdogs]

Awesome! I'm hoping to do that some day .

Hmm...that's kind of weird. You'd think they'd spay and neuter the pups before sending them off to their raisers.....

Congratulations!!!!!

[doberkim]

the dogs are never spayed/neutered early, in my experiences.
the BEST of the best are kept as breeding stock - they wont know that until the dogs are older.

if you are concerned, i would let them know that you need a female dog.

[flyndog]

Congratz, Ritz!! I'm sure you'll be a great "mom"!
Kit

[LabLuver22]

Finally, another puppy raiser!

Guiding Eyes didn't let us spay Trish either. That's because they have their own breeding center, and when Trish goes up for her training 12 months from now (waaahhhh!!! she's growing up so fast! ) they might decide that she's such a good working dog that they want to use her for breeding. Check with your organization. It might be the same thing.

It's a lot of fun. You get to take your puppy to a lot of places, especially when they're old enough to be considered a service dog by law. Then you get to take them to any public place (only five more months for Trish!). You also suddenly become very popular when you have a puppy with you! LOL

So far, every single person I have told about this project to has said, "Oh, I could never give her up," or, "Giving her up is going to be so hard." Which is 100% true! (Trish is my first puppy, so I don't know what it feels like yet)

[Crossfire Bulldogs]

How awesome! One of the very first GSDs I can remember while growing up that we had was one that my parents were raising just for that very reason.

Tock was a wonderful boy and although I remember it being very tough to let him go it was the best feeling in the world to see how happy the little girl was that got him! Her parents sent us pictures and letters through out Tock's lifetime and we were even blessed enough to get a visit from that once little girl when she grew up, she brought her husband and two wonderful daughters with her just to thank us.

If I had the room I'd volunteer to do it in less than a heartbeat! Those of you that do deserve TONS of credit for being so kind and unselfish and let me be the first to thank you!

[FurryAngel33]

Awsome congrats

[Carrie]

Congrats! That is awesome and brave of you. It will be hard to give it up later. It's really an admirable thing to do.

[PitBullie09]

Congrats! Hope you have fun with it! It is very brave too!

[Ritz459]

Sorry I haven't replyed to this in a while.....our computer was doint funky things.....
Yes, they do have their own breeding program. I think it will be allright to have a dog that isn't altered.

LOL. about the 'I can't give up the dog' thing, I was telling mom the other day that I would be able to give it up, knowing that it was for a good cause and it wasn't like I was going dump it off at the pound or anything not knowing if it would be PTS or not.
But I did tell her that if we got a GSD that didn't make the program because of weak hips or something like that and it was put up for adoption, if would be MINE! lol (I would NOT give my parents a rest if that happens untill we've adopted the dog. lol)

[Rip's Girl]

I hear ya. If I start puppy raising, if for any reason the dog can't be placed as a service dog and has to be a pet, I would definitely want first option to keep it.
I wouldn't have a hard time giving a dog up, now that I think about it. It would make a world of difference to someone, it would be their constant companion and partner and would even help them be a bit more independent. I think it would be selfish of me to not want to give it up. Of course I would be sad that I wouldn't have the dog there with me anymore, but I guess it wouldn't be as hard, knowing that the dog would help someone so much.. it's kind of hard to explain.

[Ritz459]

Yep....know how you feel.....it will also help that I have to wonderful dogs here to go to if I'm missing the puppy.