Breeding & Whelping

2. Breeding & Whelping For over 28 years, Southeastern Guide Dogs has been selectively breeding and raising friendly, intelligent puppies at our state-of-the-art Puppy Kennel located on our 35-acre campus in Palmetto, FL.

3. Puppy Socialization Our tiny puppies start getting used to the world when they are just two weeks old. Trained volunteers help tickle, stretch and hold them, while exposing them to different sights, sounds, and textures. They hear the sounds of things like vacuums and hair dryers and they learn to walk on carpet, sand, grass, and mulch.

4. Puppy Hugging- not just for fun! When our puppies turn six weeks old, they’re ready to expand their people skills and get some hugs. Five days a week, our state-of-the-art Puppy Kennel welcomes visitors. The puppies get to meet all kinds of people and their confidence grows tremendously! Over 20,000 people a year come to give and receive puppy hugs.

5. Seeing the World When our puppies are nine weeks old, they are ready to see the world! Volunteer puppy raisers take them home to help prepare them to become guide dogs. Puppies get to go everywhere—to work, to restaurants, movies, the bank and even the barber shop, always wearing their bright blue training coats!

6. Formal Harness Training When the puppies are about 16 months old, they come back to campus for their formal harness training. For 4 to 6 months, our Certified Guide Dog Trainers use repetition, praise, and love to teach these remarkable dogs over 40 commands! The dogs even learn intelligent disobedience—the refusal to follow a command if it places their handler in danger.

7. Creating Guide Dog Teams After many months of preparation, our dogs are ready to meet their new handlers — our visually impaired students. Our students live and learn on campus for 26 days, mastering the skills needed to handle their guide dogs. Together they practice on campus, then explore city streets, shopping malls, and public transportation. They work hard, but it is all worth it!

8. A Dog-Gone Great Life! Guide dog teams work together for an average of eight years. Retired guide dogs spend their golden years comfortably and well-loved in the homes of graduates, family members or puppy raisers.

9. Between 200 and 250 puppies are born on campus every year! We have about 100 dogs on campus almost every day! There are around 80 dogs in training at any time!

10. A Southeastern Guide Dogs trainer walks almost 2,500 miles in a year! The most common names sponsors choose for puppies are Maggie, Buddy, and Liberty

11. Since Southeastern Guide Dogs opened, we have matched more than 2,800 guide dogs teams! Right now, there are about 500 active guide dog partnerships!

12. From birth to retirement, it costs $60,000 to raise and train a guide dog! Our students pay nothing!