Raise a Puppy
A puppy-raiser is the first and very important step toward placing a working dog with a PADS applicant. From the time a puppy goes to live with a puppy-raiser at either 8-10 weeks of age (or in the case of EPE Puppies 4-6 months of age) until it returns to advanced training at 14 months of age, the puppy-raiser is part of the wonderful process of placing a graduate dog with a PADS client.
Puppy-sitters
PADS often requires puppy-sitters to care for the puppies in our Early Puppy Education (EPE) and puppy-raising programs. EPE puppies go out to volunteer homes every weekend to receive socialization to a home environment and the world at large.
Sometimes puppy-raisers go on vacation and need to leave their puppy in the care of a puppy-sitter for a short period of time (e.g. several days or several weeks). Given the impact that puppy-sitters will have on the puppies, puppy-sitter volunteers are required to go through the same application process as puppy-raisers. This includes attending puppy classes and having a personal interview since consistency is very important at every step of a puppy's life.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are many questions that puppy-raisers/puppy-sitters may have. In addition, puppy-raisers/puppy-sitters get asked many questions by others often while in public. Visit the PADS Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for more information.
To apply to become a PADS puppy-raiser or puppy-sitter, please complete the following Puppy-raiser Inquiry Form and plan to attend our next Volunteer Orientation