RETURNING YOUR PUPPY
| Information especially for first time
raisers, to inform you of the routine in finishing up your puppy and
the procedure of getting a new puppy if you wish to raise again. |
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Info for Raisers |
Sample Project Record |
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Your puppy's project record is due to our Community Field Represitive (CFR - formerly Puppy Raising Advisor) about two months before your dog will be recalled for harness training. You can either give it to Carmen or mail it yourself. Be sure to make a copy of the report for your own records. Use the form you were given when you received your puppy (it has the shot record on the first page). If you need a new form, you can download it here. (You must be logged-on the the GDB website to access this page.)
Include a copy of your puppy’s rabies certificate with the report. If your puppy has been neutered during its time with you, include the certificate of neutering as well. If you have an in-tact female, note her in-season dates. This will help the Breeding Department if she should be selected as a breeder dog.
The story at the end of the report can be done on your computer and inserted. It is important that you be honest and factual in reporting the year with your puppy. Examples are good if there has been a specific problem or a fear as well as a particularly vivid accomplishment. Your report can be helpful to the trainers as they work your dog through the phases of training as well as eventually placing the dog in the right home. If you have kept copies of your monthly puppy reports, these will be of great help to you in filling out the project book. The reports will remind you of things you may want to say in the final record, but need not be included as part of your final record--GDB already has copies of them on file.
Hints for a Perfect Project Book
The story at the end of the project book must be honest and complete if it is to be of value in your pup's future. Don't worry if some of it repeats the information from the question section of the project book. This is your chance to clarify what you meant when you checked each of those little boxes. Use anecdotes or examples to illustrate each point. Guide Dogs knows you love your pup and think he's wonderful. So don't describe “Everydog.” As you look back at your pup's monthly reports, here are some things to help your writing be more concrete and helpful to the people at GDB:
What is the home environment like?
Who lives there? People? Pets?
What is your daily routine?
Difficulties & strengths as the pup grew to maturity within this daily routine?
Crate behavior?
Sleep environment?
House manners?
Bad habits? Does the pup still do them?
Does he relieve readily on leash? On surfaces? Accidents socializing? When?
Favorite things to do?
Where does he ride in the car?
Strengths or weaknesses when socializing?
Was it always easy for her? (Any meltdowns?)
Fears? Stairs, surfaces, objects, sounds?
Staying with others? What did they say about your pup?
If your pup is a girl, what was she like when she went into season? (remember to record the dates.) Where did she stay?
What about your puppy made you most proud?
Preparing Your Puppy for Recall Day
About three weeks before recall, stop trimming your dog's toenails. He will be on concrete at the kennel and if his nails start our short, there's a good chance they will wear down to the quick and bleed when he gets to Guide Dogs. Keep as normal a routine as possible, and try not to be too upset about the pup's impending departure. Your puppy takes his emotional cues from you and if you are upset, parting from you will be much harder on him. On puppy truck day feed and water your puppy just as you would any other day. You may remove his bronze GDB tag as a keepsake (but not the brass plate on his collar). Keep your personal I.D. tag for use on your next pup. When you load your puppy the truck driver will take his feeding information down on a card so they know how much to feed him on the trip. Right before loading your dog on the truck, remember to relieve him--your dog will thank you. Try to be as matter of fact as possible when loading your pup and save your tears for afterward. If you treat the truck as a great adventure for your dog, he will be more confident about what's happening than if you act as though your world is falling apart--which is sure to fill him with dread. Let your pup's last memory of you be of a calm and encouraging friend!
Puppy Truck
When you bring your puppy to meet the truck, return all puppy coats, headgear, slip collar, extra Heartgard or food coupons—anything that belongs to GDB or HPWT. If you plan to raise another puppy or hope to puppy sit, please keep your puppy raising manual and one crate; otherwise these materials should be returned also.
When the pup gets on the truck, nothing goes with him: no toys, treats, coat, leash, food, etc. Exception: You may send special diet for about 5 days (if different from Eukanuba Adult food) or medical instructions if needed.
Be sure to remove your personal I.D. tag from the Guide Dog black collar and leave the collar with its flat bronze i.d. plate on the dog.
Females In Season
Occasionally it happens that a female is in season on the date of her scheduled return to Guide Dogs. Is this is the case, keep her away from the truck where the other dogs are loading. The idea is to keep the male dogs on the truck from realizing her condition. Alert the GDB staff that your dog is in season so they can take appropriate measures--they may want to load your dog early and place her in a kennel as far from any males as possible. Do not put britches on the dog for the truck.
New Puppy Application
If you’d like to raise another puppy, please ask for an application. If you wish to get a new puppy on the same day you put the “old” puppy on the truck, an application should be completed when your puppy is about one year old and returned to Carmen for processing.
Recognition
HPWT recognizes all returning dogs and their raisers with a plaque and photo certificate. These are usually presented on the last regular meeting before your puppy is to be returned to Guide Dogs. Be prepared to say a few words about your puppy.
4-H Project of Guide Dogs
If you are enrolled in the 4-H program, you may, of course, exhibit at the county fair, even though your puppy leaves your home in before the date of the fair. This is the case whether or not you get a new puppy.
Weekly Progress Reports
E-mailed weekly progress reports will continue to be sent to you throughout your puppy’s training. These reports will suddenly have more meaning to you than when you do not have a puppy at San Rafael or Oregon!
In the event of Career Change...
In the event of a pup being dropped (career changed) from training because of a medical or temperament issue, a leader will call you to ask if you plan to take the puppy back as a pet. This means you should decide now if you want him back. It is too emotional to struggle with that decision at the time of career change. If you want to place a CC dog locally, it should be with a family that has known and loved the dog while it was being raised.
You will remain on the Puppy Pipeline emailing list as long as you have a puppy in training. If you choose not to raise another puppy, and do not want the monthly newsletter reminders, please notify the editor and we will take your name off the list.
In the event of GRADUATION…
A leader will call you as soon as your dog has been matched with its blind partner, so you can begin making tentative travel plans if you are going to attend. Being placed in class usually means the dog will graduate at the next ceremony. Rarely, something will happen that the dog does not graduate with its first placement. When Guide Dogs is relatively certain the team will graduate, they send you a letter with your dog's partner's name, and contact information--time to confirm those airline reservations!
Keep in mind, the most meaningful gift you can give your dog’s blind partner upon graduation is puppy pictures taken during this first year. Often, the guide dog user has a limited amount of vision and can enjoy the pictures if enhanced on their computer. All of these folks have families who would enjoy pictures. For more tips on great graduations, click here.