I raise puppies for Guide Dogs AMA

[PuppyRaiser]

So this is my first AMA, but I get a lot of questions on the street so thought I’d try it. I volunteer for Guide Dogs, raising their puppies until they go into training to become a working Guide Dog. The only thing I don’t want to say is the present dogs name, because that’s pretty outing! But apart from that, AMA!

Can you train a guide dog puppy if you already have a dog at home?

We have just been accepted as Puppy Raisers and we heard today that 'our' golden retriever will be arriving in the next few weeks. We already have a labrador - she isn't a guide dog but is unofficially a support dog for our autistic son. Really looking forward to getting stuck in as a volunteer!

In our experience, yes you can - but our dog was 'interviewed' by Guide Dogs alongside us as part of the screening process. The puppy development advisor brought a slightly older trainee guide dog with her and a key part of our interview was assessing how our dog (and our cat) interacted with the guide dog. The cat completely ignored her and our dog was very sweet and shared her bones with her! So they both passed!

@PuppyRaiser @Rebeljustforkicks , no questions from me, just a huge thank you as the parent of a teen who is registered blind. DD1 is now 15 but lost her sight when she was 11; I wonder if she will ever become helped by one of the dogs you have raised?!

Anybody who's enjoying this thread might like to watch the long documentary "Pick of the Litter" which follows five pups through their socialisation and then training in the US. It was fascinating to me just how many hurdles there are: there are so many ways a dog might be unsuitable! For example, it hadn't occurred to me that a dog has to be able to veto a direct order if obeying would place their owner in danger.

It's available on the new Amazon FreeVee ad-supported service.