Went to the GEB whelping kennels.....

LabLuver22 · 01-17-2005, 06:36 PM

And I have a new favorite place to go! (Who cares if it's 6 hours from my house!) I had to try a couple of times, but a GEB employee was nice enough to show me around the whelping kennels. I got to see Trish's mom, Quarry, who was such a sweet dog. She looked so much like Trish. Normally, the brood dogs live in foster homes, but Quarry had just had a litter of puppies. They were only seven days old!! They were so tiny, and it was really amazing to watch them crawling around. Guiding Eyes posts pictures of their litters on their website, so I might be able to get you all a picture soon.

I also got to see the whelping room and several litters of 5-week-old puppies, who we were allowed to pick up and hold (but we had to wash our hands in between litters).

If you're ever in Patterson, NY, make sure that you stop by the breeding center!

***Carrie*** · 01-17-2005, 07:40 PM

That sounds so fun and interesting. What is GEB? I'm glad you got to do this.

Alexis · 01-18-2005, 09:05 AM

How fun!
Carrie- I believe it is Guiding Eyes for the Blind. From what I understand, the puppies are kept at the kennel until they are about 10-12 weeks. They then go to training foster homes until they are two. If the are successful in the training, they go to their permenant home as a seeing eye dog!

metalmorphosis · 01-18-2005, 09:06 AM

Sounds great! I went to the Guide Dogs for the Blind training centre with my college, never got to see the pups though!

Crossfire Bulldogs · 01-18-2005, 09:45 AM

That is something I've always wanted to see; as a breeder it always peaks my curiosity on just how a larger scale breeding facility does things and I have tons of questions about it like, how often they socialize with their pups, do they bottle feed along with allowing them to stay with the dam and a million others.

GEB is a terrific program and I support it but I've often wondered about mass production of pups, I realize that that they need some way of doing things but a large scale breeding facility? No matter what the size though I guess the bottom line is the motivation behind it and it's ethics. If I ever get over that way I'm planning a day devoted to taking a tour there to bug them with my million questions.

LabLuver22 · 01-18-2005, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by My2Swissies

How fun!
Carrie- I believe it is Guiding Eyes for the Blind. From what I understand, the puppies are kept at the kennel until they are about 10-12 weeks. They then go to training foster homes until they are two. If the are successful in the training, they go to their permenant home as a seeing eye dog!

Yup.

Crossfire, there actually weren't that many litters there. "Whelping kennels" is sort of misleading because they aren't really kennels at all, they're more like "puppy rooms". I think there were about 4 or 5 very-young litters (1-2 weeks) and then 4 older litters (5 weeks to 7 weeks). I'm sure how this is in comparison to other guide dog organizations.They say that they would rather stay a smaller organization and breed really good-quality pups than breed more puppies that were of a lesser quality.

When we were there, I saw a volunteer sitting in one of the kennels, massaging the puppies. Apparently, they "puppy massage" all of their puppies every day beginning at when the puppies are five days old. It's much more puppies than a single breeder would breed, but I wouldn't really call it mass production.

gaddylovesdogs · 01-18-2005, 05:01 PM

Aw, I bet they were adorable!

01-17-2005, 06:36 PM	#1 (permalink)
LabLuver22 Laura Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Maryland Posts: 488 Rep Power: 89	Went to the GEB whelping kennels..... And I have a new favorite place to go! (Who cares if it's 6 hours from my house!) I had to try a couple of times, but a GEB employee was nice enough to show me around the whelping kennels. I got to see Trish's mom, Quarry, who was such a sweet dog. She looked so much like Trish. Normally, the brood dogs live in foster homes, but Quarry had just had a litter of puppies. They were only seven days old!! They were so tiny, and it was really amazing to watch them crawling around. Guiding Eyes posts pictures of their litters on their website, so I might be able to get you all a picture soon. I also got to see the whelping room and several litters of 5-week-old puppies, who we were allowed to pick up and hold (but we had to wash our hands in between litters). If you're ever in Patterson, NY, make sure that you stop by the breeding center!
	__________________ "Some days you're the dog, some days you're the fire hydrant." --Unknown I love my pets! Gabby, German Shepherd-Lab mix Trish, yellow Lab and future guide dog! Sherbet, DSH orange-and-white Napper, DSH tortoiseshell Marty, guinea pig

01-18-2005, 09:06 AM	#4 (permalink)
metalmorphosis Double Trouble Pups! Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Lincolnshire, England Posts: 249 Rep Power: 80	Sounds great! I went to the Guide Dogs for the Blind training centre with my college, never got to see the pups though!
	__________________ Owned by... Hoofa- SBT x (?) Cleo-Bullmastiff x Bordeaux 9 snakes and some catfish!

01-18-2005, 09:45 AM	#5 (permalink)
Crossfire Bulldogs Sourmug Mom Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Snuggled Between The Snorts & Snores. Posts: 7,844 Blog Entries: 3 Rep Power: 287	That is something I've always wanted to see; as a breeder it always peaks my curiosity on just how a larger scale breeding facility does things and I have tons of questions about it like, how often they socialize with their pups, do they bottle feed along with allowing them to stay with the dam and a million others. GEB is a terrific program and I support it but I've often wondered about mass production of pups, I realize that that they need some way of doing things but a large scale breeding facility? No matter what the size though I guess the bottom line is the motivation behind it and it's ethics. If I ever get over that way I'm planning a day devoted to taking a tour there to bug them with my million questions.
	__________________ Get more out of Global Paw. Check out these great features. Global Paw Book Club -- Art Classes -- Woof Review I would rather have a mind opened by wonder than one closed by belief. ~ Gerry Spence As a member of Global paw staff my opinions are not necessarily those of the website or the owner.

01-18-2005, 05:01 PM	#7 (permalink)
gaddylovesdogs don't have a cow! Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: USA Posts: 3,426 Rep Power: 155	Aw, I bet they were adorable!
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01-17-2005, 07:40 PM	#2 (permalink)
*Carrie* Super Moderator Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: north panhandle of Idaho Posts: 7,551 Rep Power: 292	That sounds so fun and interesting. What is GEB? I'm glad you got to do this.

01-18-2005, 09:05 AM	#3 (permalink)
Alexis Greater Swiss Mtn Dogs Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Vermont Posts: 282 Rep Power: 85	How fun! Carrie- I believe it is Guiding Eyes for the Blind. From what I understand, the puppies are kept at the kennel until they are about 10-12 weeks. They then go to training foster homes until they are two. If the are successful in the training, they go to their permenant home as a seeing eye dog!

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