Pet Ambassador Knowledge Test Study Guide
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Pet Ambassador Knowledge Test Study Guide Section I: Overview and Background Section II: Our Puppies and Dogs Section III: Guide Dog Training Program Section IV: The Making of a Guide Dog Team Section V: Access and Etiquette Section VI: Guide Dogs Organizational Overview Section I: Overview and Background Mission Statement Guide Dogs for the Blind empowers lives by creating exceptional partnerships between people, dogs, and communities. Vision Statement Guide Dogs for the Blind envisions a world with greater inclusion, opportunity and independence by optimizing the unique capabilities of people and dogs. Our History Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB) was founded in 1942 by a small group of volunteers who wanted to provide guide dogs to blinded veterans of World War II. Our first training center was in Los Gatos, Calif., and relocated to our present site in San Rafael in 1947. In 1995 we opened a second campus in Boring, Ore., outside of Portland. Whom We Serve Any person who is legally blind or visually impaired desiring enhanced mobility and independence can benefit from the skills a guide dog provides. The person must be able to travel independently, and suited to work with a dog. Minors may be accepted into the program on a case-by-case basis; the usual minimum age is around 16 and there is no upper age limit. Our services are provided free-of-charge to men and women from throughout the United States and Canada. Our Dogs Guide Dogs for the Blind breeds Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers and Lab/Golden crosses from our own stock, specially selected for excellent temperament, intelligence and health. Advances in research and technology help make it possible for us to continue to improve the quality and health of our dogs and ensure their success as guides. Puppy Raising Guide Dogs for the Blind | www.guidedogs.com | Pet Ambassador Knowledge Study Guide 1 GDB puppies are born in our kennels, but they are raised in the homes of volunteer puppy raisers as young as 9 and adults in ten states (Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Colorado). Puppy raisers devote incredible time and effort on our behalf; it's really quite amazing what they and their families do for us. They teach the puppies obedience and socialize them to the world. Raising a GDB puppy involves joining a club and participating in supervised club activities. It's a commitment that not only grows good puppies, it strengthens families and develops tomorrow's community leaders. Our Community Guide Dogs for the Blind has one of the nation’s largest volunteer networks with thousands of volunteers assisting in the success of our mission. The human/animal bond creates a ripple that adds meaning and enrichment to each of our lives and strengthens our communities. Governance GDB is a private, nonprofit organization governed by a Board of Directors which oversees mission and policy matters. The Board is responsible for the appointment of a President and Chief Executive Officer who assumes direct responsibility for carrying out our mission. How We Are Funded We are supported entirely by private donations. We receive no government funding. Donors contribute through general contributions, bequests, grants, memorial and honor donations, charitable remainder trusts and other planned giving options. Section II: Our Puppies and Dogs Guide Dogs for the Blind fosters the human/animal bond, working tirelessly to ensure that we produce and nurture the best dogs possible. Breeding Program Labrador Retrievers have proven to have the most success worldwide as guides; at GDB, Labradors constitute the largest percentage of our breeding colony. We also have a smaller percentage of Golden Retrievers and Lab/Golden crosses. The vast majority of our dogs are bred from our own specially selected stock, but a percentage is donated from other schools, through international programs, and other means. Our dogs need to not only have excellent health, intelligence and temperament, but also exhibit a willingness to work and thrive on praise. In addition, the breeds we use offer enough variation to fill the myriad needs of our students, including: • Being of a size and weight that are appropriate for working beside a person and riding public transportation • The ability to live in a variety of climates, thanks to easily-cared-for double coats The puppies are all born on our California campus. From the earliest stages of their lives, our puppies (and their moms) are cared for by a team of experts including full-time veterinarians and technicians supported by consulting specialists and volunteers. As the pups grow, our veterinarians will continue to monitor their health and well-being. Guide Dogs for the Blind | www.guidedogs.com | Pet Ambassador Knowledge Study Guide 2 Breeding stock dogs all live within a 50-mile radius of the California campus with volunteer Breeder Custodians. Brood bitches are normally retired between the ages of 6 and 7; stud dogs are retired on an individual basis and may be active in the Breeding Program up to ages 11 or 12. Upon a dog’s retirement from the Breeding program, the custodial family is offered the opportunity to adopt the dog. The Whelping Kennel The gestation period for female dogs is 64 days. GDB's female breeder dogs check in to our whelping kennel five days before the official due date. Their individual runs are equipped with a plastic wading pool lined with newspapers, which the moms will start to shred as part of her "nesting" routine when the time for delivery is near. As the births occur, the kennel staff assists when needed; this can involve resuscitating newborn puppies, clamping umbilical cords, monitoring the unborn pups via ultrasound and/or a uterine monitor, and giving medications as prescribed. Stalls in the whelping kennel are monitored via closed circuit video so that our staff can keep an eye on the moms and pups 24 hours a day from different locations on campus. The newborn puppies are weighed twice a day for first two days then daily for the next 5 days to ensure that they are gaining weight. Puppies that are lagging behind may be bottle- fed. The puppies are identified after birth by a shaved area on their shoulder and/or hip (called their "clip"); this clip is used for identification until an official ID number is tattooed in their ears and they are given names. The puppy’s sex and the location of the shave mark are used to identify each puppy in the litter (“Right Hip Male” or RHM). The clip order used for every litter is as follows: Right Shoulder (RS), Left Shoulder (LS), Right Hip (RH), Left Hip (LH), Double Shoulder (DS), Double Hip (DH), Right Shoulder Right Hip (RSRH) and so on. All of the males are clipped in order from biggest to smallest and then start again at RS to clip all the females using the same pattern. One exception to the biggest to smallest rule is when a litter has both black and yellow puppies, in which case the black puppies are all clipped first then the yellow. The puppies spend their first 3 weeks in the wading pool and dine on mother's milk. At 3 weeks, the pool is taken away and they are put on the floor on shredded newspaper, and they start eating solid food. They are fed three times per day on a diet of a dry puppy food soaked in hot water mixed with canned puppy food. By 5-1/2 weeks the puppies are fully weaned from their mother. At 6 weeks the puppies get their microchips, a physical exam and vaccinations, and are ready to be moved to the Puppy Kennel. Within a few days of their move, the mother's milk will have dried up and she can go home. The Puppy Kennel In the Puppy Kennel, staff cares for the puppies until they are placed with their raising families at about 8 weeks old. In the Puppy Kennel, the puppies are placed in stalls with their littermates, with a maximum of four to a stall. The puppies are still fed three times per day, and have additional puppy socialization added to their daily schedules as well. Puppy Socializing Monday through Saturday mornings, the puppies are engaged in an extensive puppy socialization program run by a dedicated team of more than 100 volunteers. This socializing Guide Dogs for the Blind | www.guidedogs.com | Pet Ambassador Knowledge Study Guide 3 exposes the puppies to new sights, sounds, and situations and teaches the puppies to overcome any initial fear or surprise toward new things. Additionally, they learn to enjoy the company of people. The volunteers introduce the puppies to things like walking on leash, wearing collars, encountering stairs and strange surfaces, and being handled on all parts of their body. How do the puppies get their names? Each new litter of puppies is assigned a letter alphabetically. For example, a litter of pups could be given the letter “S.” That means that every puppy in the litter would need a name starting with “S.” The next litter of puppies born would get the letter “T,” regardless of the litter’s breed. It seems easy enough to come up with four or five or more names beginning with “S” but several considerations must be taken into account. For instance: • A GDB puppy cannot be given the name of any other dog that is currently active in the GDB program: all working guide dogs, active breeding stock dogs, other GDB puppies, and dogs in training or class. • The dog’s name must hit just the right balance between being dignified and special without being too unusual or complicated.