Get Involved

Puppy Raising

Puppy raisers are an extremely important part of the ADW program. We rely on volunteer puppy raisers to help our young dogs develop skills that are critical for becoming quality assistance dogs. The following information is a sampling of the guidelines provided to our enrolled puppy raisers. Please contact our office at 505-986-9748 if you are interested in becoming a puppy raiser.

Qualities of an Effective Puppy Raiser
Begin by picturing yourself with a well-behaved and attentive puppy at your side. You are strong, confident and your timing is almost perfect. You puppy is looking at you awaiting his next direction.

Expectations of the Puppy Raisers

Attend puppy raiser school on a regular basis.
Follow our training techniques and recommendations as closely as possible.
Communicate the puppy's good and bad behaviors with the trainers.
Provide the puppy with a safe, consistent and enriched upbringing.
Get to know the other puppy raisers, trainers, and staff. As a team we become better trainers, stronger community educators, and effective advocates.
Be positive and engaging to the public. Learn about our program and what assistance dogs have to offer people with a variety of abilities. You are representing our organization, each other, our dogs, and future assistance dog recipients.
Have fun with the puppy and our organization.

Puppy Classes
You and your puppy will be required to attend puppy raiser school on a regular basis. The training techniques are based on positive reinforcement for appropriate behaviors and task completion. The purpose of the puppy raiser class is:

To teach you how to communicate with the puppy.
To teach you how to use positive training and motivation techniques.
To reinforce positive behaviors and skills that the puppy learned during puppy day-school.
To teach the puppy appropriate behaviors and responses to real life situations.
To teach you and the puppy solid problem solving skills.
To teach you and the puppy appropriate social skills with other people and other dogs.

We will help you to acquire the skills necessary to be an exceptional puppy raiser. Remember that it takes time and consistency to master these skills. Furthermore, all puppies are different in personality, behavior and learning styles. The puppy’s working potential is influenced by effective puppy raising skills which include the following:

Ability to achieve and maintain the puppy’s attention in any environment.
Ability to give one command and allow the puppy time to respond.
Ability to use a normal volume and tone of voice.
Ability to give well timed and positive praise.
Ability to appropriately use a variety of cues and lures.
Ability to follow through with practice to ensure the puppy has mastered a skill or task.
Ability to observe and document improvements.
Accurately recognizes signs and sources of stress, fear, hesitation and non-compliance.
Ability to assess a situation or environment and take appropriate action.
Ability to self-evaluate your own skills and adjust them accordingly.
Ability to ask for help when needed.
Ability to seek out and share new information with our organization and the community.
Ability to prevent bad or unwanted behaviors that can turn into habits.
Ability to provide consistent positive handling and training techniques even when the puppy has made a mistake.
Ability to immediately intervene in problem areas.
Ability to provide positive reinforcement for positive wanted behaviors.
Ability to calmly release the dog, knowing that it will move on to increase someone's independence and improve their quality of life.