The Puppy Raising Program
The aim of the program is to raise a dog that is perfectly suited to the role of service and assistance dog by working with specialist puppy raisers and dog trainers to produce a well-trained dog that is tailored to the particular need of our clients.
The timeline from birth of the assistance dog to handover to the client
Week 1 - 8
The pup spends time with the breeder.
Week 9 - 26
Then transitions to working with our puppy raisers.
Week 27 - 28
The fun really begins here, when the puppy goes to Boot Camp!
Week 29+
And heads on to our client where the training continues!
The Role Of The Breeder
The role of the breeder is to raise sound puppies that, with continued training and socialisation from their owners, will develop into a confident, sociable and well-adjusted assistance dog.
The breeder’s role includes:
Breeding from only health and health tested dogs
Provide a structured training and socialisation program for each puppy from each litter from day 3 to when the pup is 8 weeks old
Place each pup from the litter through a temperament test to evaluate the potential and suitability of pups for service work
Ensure the selected pup has basic skills such as sit and recall
Finding and liaising with the puppy raiser.
Engaging relevant trainers for the assistance dog.
Monitoring progress including the health of the dog and providing education to the puppy raisers on how to raise a healthy puppy.
Ensure the dog has basic socialisation awareness appropriate for its age, including exposure to various people, both adults and children and exposure to various noises and situations the dog will encounter throughout its life
Ensure the dog maintains all its health checks until handover to the puppy raisers
Monitoring ongoing training leading to the dog successfully passing its Public Access Test (PAT)*
Act as project manager for the whole process including liaison with all stakeholders
What Does Success Look Like?
Providing an assistance dog that passes the Public Access Test (PAT)
Providing an assistance dog that meets all the requirements of the recipient
Meeting or beating the budget set for the project
Improving public awareness of the role of an assistance dog & continuously sharing our successes
Want To Know More?
Our Labradoodles are the perfect pups for the job, and we're working to ensure they are matched to clients who are in need - and quicker!
We're running more pilot programs and always keen to share more stories, just like Simba's, so get in touch.