Team Puppy Raisers
NEADS World Class Service Dogs change lives every day, and you can be part of this life-changing story when you join NEADS as a volunteer Puppy Raiser.
What is a Team Puppy Raiser?
NEADS World Class Service Dogs change lives every day, and you can be part of this life-changing story when you join NEADS as a volunteer Puppy Raiser.
Team Puppy Raisers are dedicated volunteers who are interested in working as part of a team to collaboratively raise a dog.
These Puppy Raisers share responsibility to raise our Service Dog in Training for 12 to 16 months, working on critical socialization and basic obedience. The dog is then moved into a prison facility to finish its Service Dog training or is chosen as a Breeder Dog. Together, they will work out a schedule to ensure the NEADS dog is cared for seven days a week.
What Does the NEADS Team Puppy Raiser Program Look Like?
As a Team Puppy Raiser:
- You welcome a puppy over the age of 8 weeks old into your home
- With your teammate, you will create a schedule to ensure the NEADS dog is cared for and provided a safe, healthy, and loving environment seven days a week.
- You will follow the progress of the Service Dog in Training with teammates.
- You practice training and socialization exercises, as well as daily exercise, as directed by the NEADS Raiser Instructor.
- You attend regular classes with a NEADS Raiser Instructor, both on and off campus.
Support for Puppy Raisers
- NEADS Raiser Instructors: Weekly in-person classes with a qualified NEADS Instructor and one-on-one consultations and advice by phone or email as needed.
- Dog Sitters: network of temporary homes who can keep Service Dogs in Training for vacations or time off needed.
- Teammate: raising as a team offers the opportunity to share resources and responsibilities
- Supplies: NEADS provides all the necessary supplies for its puppy raisers, at an estimated cost of approximately $5,000:
- Food
- Treats
- Crate & Puppy supply kit
- Dental care (toothbrush & toothpaste)
- Toys, chews
- Flea, tick & heartworm preventatives
- Pre-approved veterinary care
Steps to Becoming a Team Puppy Raiser
- Submit an online application
- If it's a good fit, attend an orientation
- Schedule a home visit with NEADS staff
- Receive the NEADS Service Dog in Training
Learn more about Raising a Puppy for NEADS
Puppy Raising the NEADS Way: Support Makes the Difference
NEADS volunteer Puppy Raisers play a vital role in raising future Service Dogs by providing loving homes and crucial socialization for our dogs in training. While the joy of caring…
Raising Jettie – My Life as a College Student Raiser
By Jennifer Girardin, NEADS College Raiser Instructor and former NEADS College Puppy Raiser I started my puppy-raising journey as a college junior alongside Jettie, an adorable black lab and NEADS…
Meeting Benson, NEADS Service Dog in Training
If you’ve attended Sunday Services [at First Parish in Wayland, MA] recently in person, you may have met Benson, a handsome NEADS Service Dog in Training. He is accompanied by Luke Rubin, who, along with his wife, Megan, are Benson’s Puppy Raisers…
A Story about Parting Ways with the Dog You Just Raised
For Puppy Raiser Ed Nobrega, the hardest part early on (Fritz, weekend dog; Judy, weekend dog then full-time for 4 months (Phoenix beta)) when letting the dog go was not knowing whether the dog would make the cut after completing training and wondering what would happen to the dog….
More than Just Loving a Dog
Because we see ourselves as dog lovers, we fall in love with the NEADS dog instead of with the work we do. The secret to letting go of the dog is to fall in love with the work, fall in love with the reasons for raising the dog in the first place. Being a dog raiser asks you to rise above average, to turn that love of dogs into a gift that you give away instead of keeping it for yourself.
The Places They Go
One of the most important jobs a Puppy Raiser has is to help the NEADS dogs feel comfortable in many different situations, around many people. They do this by making sure they have plenty of real-world exposure to different sights, sounds, and people.
But what does that look like day to day? Dana, who has raised two puppies for NEADS and is currently raising her third puppy, shares a few highlights of her puppy raising experience with the two pups she’s raised. What a journey!
