Discover the joy of puppy raising.
Are you looking for a fun, rewarding, and flexible way to give back to your community? Consider raising a puppy for Southeastern Guide Dogs.
Puppy raising allows you to make a difference in the lives of others while enjoying the companionship of a furry friend.
Your mission? To take home one of our amazing pups and bring back a happy, socialized, well-mannered dog. That’s it.
We’ll provide you with all the help and support you need, when you need it. And we’ll make it easy for you to fit raising into your busy life. Need a break? Planning a vacation? Great! We’ll place your puppy with another raiser while you recharge your batteries.
Ready to learn more?
Two Great Ways to Raise!
Start to Finish
Raise a puppy for about a year until they are ready for advanced on-campus training.
Short Term
Host one of our younger puppies in your home for as few as 3 to 6 weeks.
A Journey Through Puppy Raising
Curious about puppy raising? Laugh and cry with puppy raisers Scott and Christine as they share their experience of raising a sweet puppy, returning it to us, and meeting their pup’s forever person.
Our puppies are “No Ordinary Dogs.”
Meet Smokey, CW, Roxy, Conway, and Chenille—just a few of the puppies raised by our fantastic puppy raiser volunteers. But be prepared; watching these “pups with potential” grow to achieve their destinies just might bring a happy tear to your eye.
Raise a puppy—Change your life!
Our puppy raisers change lives for people who need our dogs. But our volunteers tell us repeatedly that raising a puppy changes their life, too! New friends, warm puppies, doing good—there are so many positive emotions surrounding raising a Southeastern Guide Dogs puppy.
We teach our volunteers everything they need to know, and our raisers become quite educated about puppy training, a wonderful skill for any pet owner.
Interested? Choose from one of these upcoming puppy raising information sessions to learn more.
April 1, 2023
May 20, 2023
June 17, 2023
August 5, 2023
October 7, 2023
December 2, 2023
You can take home a puppy.
As a volunteer puppy raiser, co-raiser, puppy starter, puppy finisher, or puppy sitter, you can take an adorable puppy into your home. For just over a year, you will provide a loving base where the puppy can learn good house manners and basic skills. We would love to invite you to our Palmetto, Florida campus to pick up your puppy, or we’ll deliver the puppy to you. You’ll help us create extraordinary dogs that transform lives.
Who can raise a puppy?
To volunteer as a puppy raiser, you may live near one of our puppy raiser groups and be able to train with the group. Or, you may qualify as a remote puppy raiser no matter where you live. Scroll to the bottom of this page to see where our puppy raiser groups are located.
We’ll teach you everything you need to know.
No experience needed! For puppy raisers living near one of our groups, we surround you with a supportive team and teach you how to raise a future guide or service dog. You’ll learn new skills and make new friends at your local group meetings held twice a month. (Note: some training takes place virtually.)
How does remote puppy-raising work?
For qualified remote raisers, you will meet virtually with a Southeastern Guide Dogs regional manager using Zoom technology for one-on-one learning sessions, tailored to your schedule. You may also be asked to record and send videos demonstrating your puppy’s skills, so you should be comfortable using technology as a communication tool.
Remote puppy raisers may also be asked to attend local dog obedience classes, or classes held by other service dog organizations, if available.
Have questions about remote raising? Email your name and the best way to contact you to prsapplicant@guidedogs.org with the SUBJECT Line: Interest in Remote Puppy Raising.
Share the love. Co-raise a puppy or volunteer as a puppy sitter.
Not sure full-time raising is for you? Share puppy raising by recruiting a friend or a neighbor (you can learn together), or by partnering with a more experienced raiser. Puppy sitters fill in when raisers travel or need a helping hand.
Endless rewards.
Puppy raising is full of wonderful surprises and unforgettable memories. It takes consistency and a commitment to twice-a-month meetings with your local puppy raiser group to practice skills and cues, plus, you’ll experience group excursions to help pups gain confidence in the world. To get started with your training, you’ll commit to attending Puppy Kindergarten (about once a week for six weeks, depending on your group). You’ll also commit to “Walk and Talk” puppy evaluations and coaching sessions, all designed to help you and your pup succeed.
But, how do you give the puppy back?
We often hear our puppy raisers say, “I may love this puppy, but someone else NEEDS this puppy.” They understand the big-picture destiny that their pup may someday make a difference in somebody’s life. Many puppy raisers soften the blow of returning the older puppy by picking up their next puppy and starting again!
Ready, set, go!
Want to raise a puppy? First, take a look at our Puppy Raiser Information and Applicant Checklist. If you are ready to raise a puppy, please fill out our no-obligation application. You’ll then receive a link to our online pre-placement class, which is part of your approval process.
Have questions about your specific situation that you would like to discuss? Email your name and the best way to contact you to prsapplicant@guidedogs.org with the SUBJECT Line: Interest in Puppy Raising.
“Watching a puppy you raised go on to guide a visually impaired person, giving them the independence they want, need, and deserve, is an awesome experience.”
— John Bauer, puppy raiser, area coordinator, puppy sponsor, donor, and longtime friend of Southeastern Guide Dogs
Our puppy raiser groups are currently located in the following areas of the country—
Alabama
Birmingham, Hunstville, Montgomery, Tuscaloosa
Florida
Bradenton, Central Pinellas, Cocoa Beach, Eastern Hillsborough County, Ft. Lauderdale/Miami, Ft. Myers (Cape Coral, Marco Island, Naples), Gainesville, Gulf Coast, Jacksonville, Lakeland/Winter Haven, Lakewood Ranch, MacDill, Miami/West Palm Beach, North Pinellas, North Orlando/Daytona, North Tampa/USF, Orlando, Palmetto/Ellenton, Pinellas County, Sarasota North and South, Southern Pasco County, Southshore (Southern Hillsborough County), St. Petersburg, Tampa, Tri-County (The Villages)
Georgia
Atlanta, Macon, Savannah, South Georgia: Waycross, St. Simons Island, Brunswick, St. Marys
Indiana
New group coming soon, so remote raising is an early option.
Michigan
New group coming soon, so remote raising is an early option.
Mississippi
Pascagoula
North Carolina
Albemarle, Charlotte
South Carolina
Charleston
Ohio
New group coming soon, so remote raising is an early option.
Tennessee
Nashville, Chattanooga
Texas
Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Houston FFA
