Seeing Eye Dog Selection A Blend of Science and Savvy

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Jewel Kelley
5 years ago
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1 Seeing Eye Dog Selection Monitoring and Selection Process used to develop Seeing Eye dogs from breeding through graduation

2 Early development : Staff and volunteers observe and handle puppies at the breeding station

3 Early development : Interaction between litter mates

4 Early development : Prescribed handling of puppies

5 Early development : Activities in the socialization rooms Variety of surfaces and stairs Sounds and sights

6 Early development: Monitoring of Health Regular physicals German Shepherd puppies screened for Megaesophagus

7 Early development and beyond Communication Interdepartmental Veterinarians Puppy Development Breeding Station staff Training Puppy Raisers Outside veterinarians

8 Puppy Development: Puppy Development Staff Place and retrieve puppies

9 Puppy Development: Puppy Development Staff Visit Families

10 Puppy Development: Puppy Development Staff Evaluation for Vesting at 6 months

11 Puppy Development: Puppy Development Staff Oversee county club meetings County Club run by volunteers

12 Puppy Development: Puppy Raisers Teach good household behavior Obedience commands Exposure to a great variety Environments Activities Complete evaluation forms 6 and 12 month CBARQ Final Report

13 Puppy Development: CBARQ Scores Program to identify low scores on 6 month Intervene if possible problem Work with family Move puppy Reject puppy

14 Training Selection: Brought in for training Age Variety of breed and gender Medical Health history is reviewed Comprehensive physical exams Radiographs Neutering if not for breeding

15 Training Selection: Evaluations Gait Evaluation number score assigned Temperament Puppy Development Records are reviewed Behavior evaluation» In Kennels» On walks

toward maintaining good health in dogs Penn Hip evaluations

16 Training Selection: Medical Testing The Seeing Eye maintains a strong commitment to supporting veterinary research directed toward maintaining good health in dogs Penn Hip evaluations Evaluate German Shepherds for bleeding disorder Optigen testing on PRA

17 Training Selection: Temperament Instructor Assistant Work with red flag issues Allowing further assessment Potentially Resolve issues

18 Training Selection: In for training test (IFT) Participated in a combined effort to develop IFT University of Pennsylvania and other dog guide schools Developed and evaluated key components for testing Trial tests for level of predictability of success IFT is not currently used

19 Breeding Selection: Test Dog Potential breeder Non Test Dog Considered for training

20 Breeding Selection: Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) used to identify test dogs (potential breeders) Clear medical histories Positive temperament evaluations

21 Breeding Selection: Training Assignment Test Dog Assigned to special instructor for short training period Assessed for temperament and working ability Undergo additional medical evaluations

22 Breeding: Selection of mates Chart of inbreeding coefficients of prospective litters is used in selecting mates

23 Training Assignment: Not a Test Dog Neutered Assign to an instructor for four month training period

In Training: Formal evaluations by manager :

evaluations All evaluations are carefully

24 In Training: Formal evaluations by manager : two week, midterm blindfold, final blindfold concerns and solutions discussed Progress is monitored at all times Regular medical evaluations All evaluations are carefully reviewed before a dog is taken out of the program

25 In training: Puppy Raisers are invited to watch the puppy they raised work with their instructor near end of training before assignment to student

26 In Class: Dog assigned to student Team progress is monitored and evaluated throughout class training

27 Graduation: Follow up assistance is available as needed after graduation

28 SUCCESS!

BEYOND PUPPY RAISING. Items That Need To Be Returned With The Puppy

BEYOND PUPPY RAISING. Items That Need To Be Returned With The Puppy BEYOND PUPPY RAISING Recall Generally, puppies are recalled to campus for formal training and breeding evaluation between 13-18 months. The age of recall will vary depending on a variety of factors, but