Puppy Raising
All Seeing Eye puppies get their start in the caring homes of volunteers.
What is The Seeing Eye Puppy Raising Program?
When Seeing Eye puppies reach the age of seven or eight weeks, they are delivered to the homes of volunteer puppy raisers who live in New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, and certain counties of Maryland, Delaware, and New York (see map below).
Puppy raisers are foster families from all walks of life who nurture and care for their charges until they are about 13—to 16 months old. They teach the puppies house manners and basic obedience and socialize them to a variety of social situations and experiences that range from shopping and car trips to visiting airports and boarding airplanes.
Are you interested in joining our community of dog lovers while contributing to a cause that changes lives?
Yes! Please email me information about volunteering:
If you prefer, you may call 973-539-4425 x1769. We look forward to hearing from you and potentially having you join our puppy raising family! Interested in getting started as soon as possible? Fill out the full contact form at the bottom of this page and we’ll get in touch!
Host Families
Over the course of a year and a half, volunteers like yourself host a puppy in their home. The family provides love, care, obedience training and social exposure to assist the puppy in becoming a future Seeing Eye® dog.
- Attend required puppy club meetings and outings
- Provide pup with loving environment, care of daily needs, and vet care for health needs
- Provide obedience training according to TSE guidelines
- Provide social exposure
- Gain support from the Area Coordinator
- Allow puppy to live in their home until returns for formal training
The Seeing Eye provides support by:
- Providing an online manual and guidelines for Puppy Raising
- Having a dedicated support staff member in your local area
- Ensuring host families have appropriate training materials
- Supplies heartworm and flea and tick preventative medications
- Covering veterinary expenses
- Assisting with food costs by supplying a quarterly stipend
- A dedicated community of like-minded volunteers to assist you with training support and puppy sitting when needed
Puppy raisers live in specific locations. Over the course of a year and a half, volunteers like yourself host a puppy in their home. The family provides love, care, obedience training and social exposure to assist the puppy in becoming a future Seeing Eye® dog.
Our Host Puppy Raising Families live in the following areas:
New Jersey: All counties and Rutgers University
Pennsylvania: Adams, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Chester, Cumberland, Delaware, Franklin, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia, and York
Delaware: Kent, New Castle, University of Delaware
Maryland: Carroll, Cecil
New York: Orange, Rockland
Questions? Read The Seeing Eye Puppy Raiser Program FAQ below.
I can't wait to learn more about puppy raising!
For more information, please complete the form below and someone will happily contact you to share more information about the exciting adventure of being a Seeing Eye Puppy Raiser! You will have an opportunity to ask further questions during the conversation.
If you prefer, you may call: 973-539-4425 x1769.
We look forward to hearing from you and potentially having you join our puppy raising family!
Frequently Asked Questions
- Yes, when applying to raise a Seeing Eye puppy you must join your local puppy club. Meetings and outings organized by your club are there to help you develop your puppy into a confident dog while getting and providing support for other members.
Absolutely! Becoming a puppy raiser is a wonderful way to learn how to raise and train a puppy. You will have access to a support system that includes a staff member dedicated to assisting you and other raisers in your club. Puppy club meetings are designed to provide you with the tools to train your puppy, and the ability to learn from experienced puppy raisers. You will also receive a manual with information about training your puppy, puppy-proofing your home, guidelines for socialization, and other helpful information.
Yes! In fact, this is good exposure for the puppy. However, if you have another puppy in your house, that puppy should be a minimum of six months older than the Seeing Eye puppy. This is at the discretion of The Seeing Eye and dependent on each individual environment. Please let us know if your family pet is altered.
You can volunteer as a puppy sitter to help other families when they need someone to watch their puppy while on vacation. You can also co-raise a puppy with another person in your club who may be in a similar situation.
Yes! The minimum age is 9 years old for a child to officially volunteer as their puppy’s primary raiser. There is no restriction on the age of children in the household, however, and families with children of all ages volunteer with the puppy raising program.
Adults are welcome to raise puppies as well! Many raisers start in retirement as a way to engage with other members of their community. Meeting and outing attendance is still required as it is a great learning experience for you and each individual puppy you raise.
The puppy is around 7 weeks old.
When your Area Coordinator calls to tell you a puppy is available for your family they will set up a time to drop the puppy off at your home and go over directions and the puppy’s supplies with you.
Families are responsible for scheduling veterinary care at the direction of The Seeing Eye’s vaccination schedule and your Area Coordinator. The Seeing Eye pays all medical expenses for their puppies.
Each puppy comes with a small bag of food to get them started in your home. After that each family receives a quarterly stipend to help offset the cost of food that each family purchases.
Puppy raisers teach the puppies to be good and confident dog citizens. They teach the puppies house manners, obedience and show each puppy the world that they will encounter as a working Seeing Eye dog.
Only dogs trained to assist someone with a disability are granted access to public spaces under the Americans with Disabilities Act. However, many businesses throughout our puppy raising coverage area are accustomed to seeing our puppies and welcome them into their establishment. Because the puppies are not performing a service for our puppy raisers, we ask that you contact the manager before entering a store or other place of business to ask permission.
Early exposure is essential, and a guideline will be given to you and reviewed with your Area Coordinator of where and when your pup can start venturing out in the big world.
While it is hard to say goodbye to your friend, knowing that they are off to support someone’s independence makes saying goodbye worth it. Many families will get another puppy to raise to fill that void.
Puppies typically return to us between 14 and 16 months of age but this can vary.
When the puppies return to campus, they are given a month to settle into the kennel while their medical procedures are completed. Dogs are then assigned to an instructor to learn the skills they will need as a Seeing Eye dog over the next four months. Once the first training period is completed, you will be invited to a town walk to watch the instructor work with the dog to see what they have learned. After your town walk, the dog may be matched with a graduate or continue training while waiting for their match. It should be noted that every dog is evaluated as a potential breeder.
In most cases as the dog’s puppy raiser, you are given the first chance to adopt the dog back. If you are unable to, the dog may go onto another line of work or be adopted by a family on our lengthy waiting list.