The first year of the puppy

If puppies are to become good guide dogs they must not only have the right parents; they must also be brought up properly.
When the puppy is about 6 - 8 weeks old, he has to leave his mother and his brothers and sisters to go to a puppy foster home.
There he will be nourished, raised and socialised.



Seven weeks is young but still a good age to leave the nest.
The pup is now most open to learn new things.
That's why the foster family has to start immediately with educating the pup.
Of course in a slow tempo. The puppy has to learn good dog manners.

At 6 - 8 weeks old, the pups have their first taste of guide dog training.
Volunteer puppy walkers introduce the young pups to the sights, sounds and smells of a world in which they will play such an important part.
This will mean taking the dogs on buses and trains, into shops and along busy streets.
The puppy walker will also teach the puppy to walk ahead on the leash (not ‘to heel') as it will once become a guide dog, and to obey simple commands such as ‘sit', ‘down', ‘stay' and ‘come'.

And he has to get used to everything he has to deal with once he his a blind guidance dog.
He should never be distracted by cats, trains, little children etc. once he has to do his job.
When a puppy does not get used to these things in his first year of life, he will never get used to it.
That is why a foster family is very important in the total education of the dog and they are of irreplaceable value.

When the pup is about a year old it returns to school for the next part of its important training.
This can be a sad time for the puppy walker, but they are rewarded with the knowledge that they have helped raise a dog who will one day act as someone's eyes.

"The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision"

© - Site Seeing - Sonny, Lotje, Laurette en Femke, The Netherlands 2006