Today is one of the biggest shopping days of the year, and SSD Grace is hoping her puppy raiser brings her some presents!Grace is one of the Rock and Roll Stars puppies, and she is currently living with her puppy raiser, learning how to be a service dog. This holiday season, Grace would like to give thanks for all of SSD's wonderful puppy raisers!
Puppy raisers are volunteers who welcome a puppy into their lives for 18 months. They train the puppy in basic obedience and good house manners, and they take the puppy out in public to many different places so the puppy gains new experiences and learns to give behaviors regardless of what environment it is in.
One of the most important things a puppy raiser teaches a puppy is self control. The puppy must be able to walk in a controlled manner beside its handler, greet other dogs and people calmly, and ignore food and other interesting objects in the environment.All of our puppy raisers attend Puppy Class two to three times a month, where they learn new skills and behaviors to practice with their dog. Grace loves going to Puppy Class, where she can demonstrate her progress and see her brothers and the other dogs. Watch a video of Grace learning how to "heel":
In addition to training, puppy raisers provide food, toys, and best of all, lots of love! Grace would like to thank each one of our puppy raisers for their dedication and love. She and the other puppies wouldn't be able to become service dogs without you!
If you've ever raised a puppy, whether it's a service dog, guide dog or a beloved pet, share your favorite puppy experience in the comments.
Posts
I'm thankful for the opportunity to raise SSD Grace, SSD Thunder, SSD Lili and our own wonderful Maggie! SSD has proven to be the volunteer opportunity that I love. It's also given me a chance to meet many great people... my fellow volunteers, the SSD staff and clients! Happy holidays to all!
ReplyDeleteI love the photos and videos you post. I am raising Grace's half-sister Kaz II for Canine Companions for Independence. (They have the same daddy, CCI's Paxton III). They look so much alike. Kaz is my 8th CCI pup and puppy raising has definitely been a life changing experience. I have had three dogs graduate (one of them Paxton's sister, Persia II) and three dogs career changed (kept one for myself) and one dog in advanced training now. I also have met so many wonderful people in the process. Happy Holidays!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for raising so many dogs for us! We love having Thunder in advanced training, and you're doing so well with Grace. We're lucky to have you and all of our puppy raisers as volunteers!
ReplyDeleteWe're glad you like the photos and videos! Thank you for sharing about Kaz II. We love hearing about our dogs' relatives in other organizations! You are absolutely right about puppy raising being a life-changing experience. It has certainly changed our lives!