Become a Puppy Raiser

Puppy raisers raise and train their puppy for 12 to 15 months until the dog comes to back to us to begin its advanced training.

During the puppies’ first 12 to 15 months, they attend classes with their puppy raisers. Puppy classes are held weekly and they are run by one of our trainers. In addition, the puppy raisers attend one group outing each month to train the puppies in public.

The following is a list of things that Lead Dogs Service Dogs expects you to do with your puppy. Early experiences help ensure success in later training!

  • Lots of love and snuggling
  • Lots of daily exercise – long walks, runs and panting puppies
  • Diligence with housebreaking
  • Regular attendance at puppy classes (2-3 times per month)
  • Special games at least twice a week
  • Car rides all the time
  • Walks in populated places
  • Walks in parks and forests – especially important for young puppies to increase their learning capacity
  • Go inside to new and interesting places at least once a week
  • Take the puppy to meetings so it learns to wait quietly
  • Discourage barking, except during playtime
  • Absolutely NO feeding from the table – use the dog dish ONLY
  • Purchase food. This is the only cost the puppy raiser family is responsible for.

Puppy raisers raise a service dog in their home for approximately 15 months. Puppy sitters provide relief services for shorter period of time (a day, a week, and in some cases, longer) when the puppy raiser is unavailable. Puppy raiser homes are ideally located within Anchorage, Mat-Su or Kenai Peninsula area,  This allows ease of access to veterinary care, functions and outings, and convenience for attendance at puppy classes provided by Lead Dog Service Dogs.

[button color=”red” size=”medium” link=”http://alaskadogworks.com/puppy-raiser-application/” icon=”” target=”false”]Apply to be a Puppy Raiser[/button]