Our Gang! (Left to Right) Stetson (front), Linus, Archer, and Raven. The human is me, Colby!
Welcome to PuppyInTraining.com!
Are you interested in the ins and outs of raising and training service dog puppies? Or maybe you have a cute, adorable, cuddly puppy who is:
- Barking… inappropriately (when is it ever appropriate) in his crate, in the car, in the house, in the yard?
- Chewing… the furniture, remote controls, shoes, clothes?
- Biting or nipping… hands, feet, arms, legs?
- Having potty accidents… in the house, on the rug, on the carpet, in the crate?
If this sounds like your puppy then I feel your pain…literally (those vampire puppy teeth can really hurt!)
We’ve experienced all of these common puppy behavior problems and many others while raising and training service dog puppies over the past 10+ years.
In fact if you’re looking for answers to common puppy training problems then look no further then the pages of this blog!
Not long ago we brought home our first guide dog puppy in training and after the initial excitement we soon realized this little puppy was not only going to test our patience, but teach us a thing or two about life, love, happiness, discipline, persistence, consistency and probably a dozen other adjectives and words!
My name is Colby and I’ve been raising and training service dog puppies since October 2006.
Follow me and my puppies on our journey from 8 week old puppy in training to working service dog!
Adelle, Puppy In Training #5
Raising And Training Service Dog Puppies
I’ve been volunteering as a puppy raiser for 10+ years now.
It all started back in 2006. Back then I spent a lot of my free time volunteering with non-profit organizations including Habitat for Humanity, Working Wardrobes and Special Olympics.
I truly enjoyed helping people in need, but I also had a love for dogs and wanted to spend my time helping both dogs and people.
This revelation coincided with America’s Family Pet Expo and while visiting the Pet Expo in 2006 I inquired about the many different volunteer opportunities with rescues, shelters and of course guide and service dog puppy raising programs.
I was a little hesitant about becoming a puppy raiser because the time commitment is quite long.
Most puppy raising programs require volunteers to raise puppies from 8 weeks of age until 18 months.
So instead of becoming a puppy raiser I started off my career in the doggy volunteer arena as a foster for one of the local animal rescues.
The thought process back then was fostering was a more short-term deal (not always).
If I could handle having an extra dog (I already had Linus) for a few weeks to a few months then I would be okay moving on to a more long-term commitment like puppy raising.
I fostered over a dozen dogs including a litter of seven German shepherd puppies!
After completing my self-imposed apprenticeship as a foster parent I decided I was ready to make the long-term commitment of becoming a puppy raiser.
Archer, Puppy In Training #6
Why Puppy In Training?
“Puppy in Training” is the writing you will often see on guide and service dog training capes signifying that the puppy is “in training” to become a working dog.
Before I picked up Stetson from Guide Dogs of America (GDA) I had a plan! The plan was to start a blog to chronicle his our journey from helpless puppy in training to working guide dog.
Unfortunately, getting a blog started took a bit longer then expected and the PuppyInTraining.com site did not make it’s debut until August 2007 a good 5 months after I picked up Stetson from GDA.
- The Bad News: I missed the cute and infuriating months of Stetson’s puppyhood.
- The Good News: Those early months were ingrained in my mind (a puppy barking when you’re trying to sleep at 2am isn’t easily forgotten).
July 2010 marked the debut of Puppy In Training TV. It was our goal to chronicle the life and times of our third guide dog puppy in training through a series of videos.
Puppy In Training TV was born and the star of the show was GDA puppy, Dublin!
If you’re interested in becoming a guide dog puppy raiser I highly encourage you to watch the entire Puppy In Training TV series. There is a happy ending 🙂
The Puppy In Training Crew!
Meet the puppies of PuppyInTraining.com
| Name | Breed | Status |
| Linus | Australian Shepherd Mix | Rescue Dog living with us |
| Stetson | Black Lab | Career changed Guide Dog living with us |
| Derby | Yellow Lab | Career Changed Guide Dog placed through GDA adoption program |
| Dublin | Yellow Lab | Guide Dog living in Arizona |
| Apache | Golden Retriever | PTSD Service Dog living in Oklahoma |
| Adelle | Yellow Lab | Mobility Service Dog living in California |
| Archer | Yellow Lab | TBI Service Dog living in Washington |
| Raven | Golden Retriever | Breeder/Foster living with us |
| Buster | Golden Retriever | POOCH program with Tender Loving Canine Assistance Dogs |
| Berlin | Golden Retriever | Being evaluated as a Breeder |
| Bear | Golden Retriever | Career changed Service Dog |
| Colby | The Human | Feeling lucky to have been a part of all these dogs lives. |
That’s the story of us! A blog about our experiences raising and training service dog puppies. I hope you enjoy reading about our adventures and if you have any questions or comments please visit our contact page.
We do our best to update the Puppy In Training blog 2-3 days a week and encourage you to subscribe to our newsletter or RSS Feed.
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Thanks for visiting our site!
Linus, Stetson, Raven, and Colby
Sreedharan says
Hey Colby,
I just found your website and it’s great!
Thank you for being such a great help to us in need.
I have a six week old healthy pup german shepherd,i brought him when he was 30 days
just after few days he started biting,nipping hands, feet, arms, legs,furniture and now i dont know what to do i have tried everything.
please help me!
Colby says
Congratulations on your new puppy! Take a look at this article: https://puppyintraining.com/the-ultimate-guide-how-to-stop-a-puppy-from-biting-and-nipping/
Hopefully that helps. Good luck training your puppy!
Clair says
Hi,
I lost my lab cross 2 weeks ago and I felt empty he was the most intelligent dog I’ve ever known,
He never did anything wrong,
Now I have just bought a black labrador “Destiny” and she is driving us mad ,
She hates the car (our Lennox loved it) ,
She just doesn’t listen to any command ,
She bites everything, I’ve just tried the “yelping when she bite me and I think it has worked ,
The problems we are having with destiny is :
1: Jumping all over us and everyone and cannot get her to stop ,
2: the treats we gave her I’m worried about as a tooth came out while she was tearing away at a rawhide (I know there puppy teeth come out anyhow but I don’t want to encourage it by the treats I give”,
3: we will eat a meal and she will jump and eat it if she could me and my partner take it in turns eating it’s so annoying”
I tell her to “stop” in a deep voice so she knows I’m telling her she HAS to, but only somtimes it works and plus my partner says “I can’t tell her off I feel bad” so I don’t want her to think of me as being the mean one and he does nothing
Any help greatly appreciate it
Last night me and destiny waited in the car for my partner to come out of the grocery store and she was a nightmare she whined for him and played up 🙁
Colby says
I’m sorry to hear about your Lab cross. Here are a few things we’ve done with our puppies in the past.
1. We’ve had puppies that did not like the car. A few things that we’ve tried that have worked are. Taking them for short rides just through the neighborhood and increasing the time they spend in the car in small increments. Also, we’ve tried taking our pups only to places they enjoy so they think that car rides are always fun.
2. One thing we do when teaching commands is to only say it once and then enforce the command. For instance when we say “come” we always enforce the command by having a long line or flexi leash on our pups and make sure they return to us every time we say “come”
3. Take a look at this article: https://puppyintraining.com/the-ultimate-guide-how-to-stop-a-puppy-from-biting-and-nipping/
4. When our pups jump up we shorten up our leash and stand on it until they stop. As soon as they stop we reward and praise.
5. Every dog is different regarding treats. Some treats don’t work well with aggressive chewers.
6. When we eat meals our pups are always in a down-stay under the table. We start off teaching this by keeping our pups on leash and if they’re trying to come up to the table we shorten up and stand on the least.
7. Puppies need consistency and routines. When my fiance and I train our puppies we make sure and do everything exactly the same otherwise our puppies are confused and do not understand what is okay and not okay to do.
8. Linus has had some separation anxiety similar to what you’ve mentioned about Destiny when your partner went into the grocery store. One thing we’ve tried is using a thundershirt to help anxiety. While it is meant for dogs with anxiety with loud noises it has worked to a small degree with Linus when he has any kind of anxiety. I’d also mention that we’ve heard mixed reviews on the product some say they’ve had great success while others say that it hasn’t helped at all.
If you haven’t had a chance you might want to read this one too: https://puppyintraining.com/3-traits-of-successful-puppy-raisers-and-bloggers/ You can ignore the part about bloggers, but the puppy part is very relevant.
Hopefully that helps. Good luck with your training!
michelle says
I feel very foolish to feel like I have to look for answers on the internet but I am completely clueless!!! Please help!! We just had a litter of Pitt bulls, (was told father was fixed) mom is 3 yrs old, had 13 puppies one died so all together she is nursing 12 puppies.. All including mom seems to be doing fine. Mom seems to be wearing slowly. We have changed her food to a high calorie/fat puppy mix and mix wet food in it. My questions are;
When should I introduce puppy’s to food? I took one cup of puppy food and let in soak overnight with water and I am wondering if that is ok to introduce to puppies.
When/how should I start potty training puppies.
When I do give puppies food, what should I give them? Dry, or wet.
Any adobe anyone had about maintaning a litter and a nursing mom would b greatly appreciated… Please no rude comments, that will not help me in keeping these puppies healthy… Thank you so much.. And please forgive my ignorance.
Colby says
Congratulations on your litter of puppies! Unfortunately, you’ve come to the wrong place as I’ve never whelped a litter of pups. I have had puppies as young as 4-5 weeks, but they were rescued from the shelter without mom. I was instructed to feed these puppies kibble soaked in warm water for 5-10 minutes. It was basically a mush after soaking.
In general I receive puppies from Guide or Service Dog organizations when the pups are 7-8 weeks old. At that time I begin the puppy’s potty training.
Hopefully that helps. Good luck with your puppies!
Michelle says
Thanks so much for your input. I have been trying to give them food. I mix it with milk in a food processor. They seem to like it. Hope its ok to put milk in it, next time I may just mix with water. Thanks again
Kathy says
Hi, I am trying to figure out why my 4 month old boxer is peeing on her big comfy pillow. She has been toilet trained for almost 2 months. She is also crate trained. Because she wants to sit on the couch with us, we decided to get her a big comfy cushion to sit on beside us. It looked big an d soft when we purchased it but found that it was flat when she sat on it after we brought it home so we put some extra fillers in it and she loves it. I pretty well know her routine which is out fist thing from the crate for both businesses and then eat…..about 10 mins later out again. This is the second time she has come in after doing her business the second time and walked over to her cushion and did a big pee on it……What could be going on. I understood that a dog does not like to mess in or on the same place they sleep…..so what could it be?
Colby says
If you haven’t already take a look at this article: https://puppyintraining.com/my-puppy-pees-outside-then-pees-inside/
Also, there’s a good chance that your puppy can still smell the urine in the pillow she’s peeing on. You might look into either replacing the pillow or cleaning it thoroughly with an enzymatic cleaner. Good luck with your training!
Laura Banks says
Hi there….I’m Laura and this Wednesday I am going to a volunteer’s meeting at Leader Dogs for the Blind in Rochester, MI. I would like to volunteer in the puppy area; however, after watching your some 21 videos, I think I would absolutely LOVE to raise a puppy! I currently own a registered therapy dog and we volunteer at a local hospital twice a week, one hour per day. My other dog is his sister and I am going to get her tested through TDI, also. I am just so excited about this idea of raising a puppy in the right environment and knowing that the puppy will go toward someone in need, is of great benefit to me. How long did it take you to get approved to become a puppy raiser? I know it will be different in all areas, but I was just curious. I’m thinking there has to be a home visit in order to get clearance, etc. Look forward to hearing from you! Thank you so much for your videos! I absolutely LOVE them!
Laura Banks
Colby says
Hi Laura,
I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed Dublin’s videos! Puppy raising is a life changing experience. I’m very excited for you and I hope you are able to raise a puppy for Leader Dogs for the Blind.
Like you said each organization is a little different with their puppy raising programs. How long did it take to get approved to become a puppy raiser? It’s been a while since I first applied to become a puppy raiser, but if memory serves me I applied in October 2006, in January 2007 I was approved, and in February 2007 I received my first guide dog puppy, Stetson! However, I’ve spoke with many puppy raisers at Guide Dogs of America(GDA) and the experience has been different for everyone. It took some of our puppy raising friends over a year to receive their first puppy. GDA has their own breeding program and sometimes they have a lot of puppies and new puppy raisers receive puppies in short time while other times they have very few puppies and it can take a while. GDA does have a home visit and interview before getting clearance as a puppy raiser.
I am so happy to hear that Dublin’s videos have inspired you! Thank you so much for letting me know about your journey to become a puppy raiser. Please feel free to contact me and let me know if you have any other questions.
Take care,
Colby
HelloCutePup says
Hey Colby,
Your site is very useful for me. I have learned many things from your site. Good luck!
Colby says
Thank you! I’m glad it’s been helpful. Let me know if you have any questions.
Lisa Yelichek says
Hi Colby…..
I’m trying to make sure we keep our five month old bichon/Beagle mixed girl (as my husband is losing his mind with her). We’ve had her for two months. She has to be crated while we work and I come home at lunch to let her out for about an hour. We’ve adjusted the size of the crate like we’ve read about and she pees like crazy there and absolutely hates being in there when we put her there. She also is happy to go outside when we go out and then go again in the house without letting us know she has to pee again. We’re a bit at our wits end. Are we crazy to think after two months of training and at her age that we should expect her to be better? Thank you.