Volunteer Service Dog Puppy Raisers

Putnam Service Dogs adopts mixed-breed puppies from local rescue organizations and trains them to become trusting, loving service animals that assist people with physical disabilities other than blindness. It's looking for Volunteer Puppy Raisers to help raise its next class of puppies and prepare them for their formal training. (Already have a dog? That's OK—Putnam Service Dogs' trainers will assess your pet to make sure they'll do well with the puppy.)

Volunteer expectations:

• Must be willing to spend 1-2 hours per day loving, caring for, exercising, training, and socializing a pup
• Must love dogs and have a desire to learn more about them
• Must be a hard worker who is dedicated to helping others

Volunteer puppy raiser program:

• Volunteer puppy raisers learn how to form a very close bond with their pups, exercise them appropriately, socialize them to new people/dogs/experiences, train their puppies to achieve a high level of obedience and beginning service dog commands, and care for their pup.
• Puppy raisers attend weekly classes, led by professional trainers, once a week for the first year, with daily training at home, and weekly socializing as directed by the Putnam Service Dogs trainer. There are 3-4 puppy raisers per class, so the puppies learn to work under distraction. Class scheduled dates are determined after polling the class members for what works with their schedules.
• Formal training begins at about 18 months of age when puppies move to live with trainers. They'll be taught the specific tasks they'll use to help the recipient they've been matched to, such as retrieving dropped items, assisting with dressing, turning lights on and off, and opening and closing drawers and doors.

1. Express interest below to record this opportunity in your Volunteer New York! profile
2. MANDATORY: Click here to complete your application