Labrador Puppies have got to be the cutest puppies!
What is a Puppy Mentor?
Socializing, obedience training, potty training, and acclimating puppies to living in a home is the foundation for a long life of service for our dogs. We can only do so much in a professional training facility and that’s where you come in!
What does it involve?
Your job as a Puppy Mentor will be to socialize our puppies in many different environments, get them used to living in a home, and if your job allows your puppy can go to work with you. If you are in college your puppy can attend classes and select events with you. You will be required to attend weekly training classes and make sure your puppy stays up to date on their shots and heart worm and flea/tick preventative (we will provide). Our puppies go with their Puppy Mentors when they reach 10 weeks old and stay until they are 12-14 months old.
What’s in it for me?
Once your puppy comes back to us for formal Service Dog training it will be paired with a person or family that needs the dog in order to have a more rewarding and fulfilling life. Puppy Mentors are possibly the most important part of the process. Without the solid foundation the dog won’t succeed as an adult. Not only will you be helping us “raise puppy right” you will learn about dog behavior, reward, punishment, and many other important factors on dog ownership. In fact, you will learn skills that will help your own dogs be better behaved at home and in public.
What if we can’t commit full time?
We also have a Weekend Puppy Program for those families that would like to help but can’t commit to a puppy for an entire year. In this program your family would pick your puppy up on Friday and bring it back on Sunday. You would be responsible for socializing your puppy, getting it used to living in a home, working on potty training, and working on obedience skills. You are required to do all weekends unless special circumstances arise that we don’t feel would benefit the puppy.