December 27, 2000
Following the Leader Dog
Families train puppies for Leader Dogs for the Blind
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
In a swirl of yellow fur, seven yellow Labrador retrievers of a variety of sizes rolled, growled and careened around the Community Room at the Grand Traverse Mall.
The first 15 minutes of the monthly meeting for area families raising Leader Dog puppies are always a slice of controlled chaos as the dogs work off some steam. Then things quickly get down to business as the trainers slip a Leader Dog in Training harness onto each puppy and the program begins.
For the next two hours, Puppy Program counselors Bruce and Carol Hutchins led their puppy, Cedar, and the others through Leader Dog basic training. The dogs and their trainers circle the room, either one at a time or in a group, practicing basic obedience commands plus navigational and guidance skills specific to being a Leader Dog.
As dogs also learned to ignore each other and a variety of distractions, the Hutchins kept a sharp eye on each puppy's progress.
"Every time we do a puppy class we have to send in an evaluation of each dog," said Carol Hutchins, who has been raising Leader Dogs for 12 years. "This monthly meeting is mandatory and we also get together to ride the BATA bus, walk in parades or go to festivals."
Volunteer families in the puppy program live with and raise the dogs during their first year, providing a crucial step in socializing and training a working Leader Dog. When a family commits to raising a Leader Dog for a year, they agree to take it with them to as many places as possible.
The dog is more than a pet and must be included in their day-to-day lives as much as possible, mimicking their future life as a Leader Dog. Exposing them to a variety of situations gives them the necessary social confidence, friendliness and flexibility.
"We try to take him out as much as possible," said Toni Whiting, whose family is raising nine-month-old Sam. "I own a restaurant in town and take him there, keeping him out front. We've also taken him to the Cherry Festival, the bank and the grocery store."
Members of Michigan Lions Clubs founded Leader Dogs for the Blind in 1939. Since then, the school has placed more than 10,000 Leader Dogs with blind people. The school estimates the cost of breeding, training and placing each dog at $17,000; all of it paid for by charitable donations.
Leader Dog breeds include yellow labs, golden retrievers and German Shepherds, all selected for their high intelligence and trainability. One of the eight families in the Grand Traverse region has a German Shepherd, the other families have yellow labs.
The Arnot family is on their fifth Leader Dog for the Blind puppy. Their current puppy, Tanner, three months old, was born to the first dog they kept, who is now a breeder dog. Arnot daughters, Lindsay, 15, and Stephanie, 10, help with all aspects of Tanner's care and training.
"He's our grandpuppy, he's special," said Sandy Arnot, who heard about the program from friends who participated downstate. "The fact that our kids want puppies and they are puppies for just a short time makes this work."
Once the Leader Dog puppy is 12-14 months old, the families must return them to Leader Dogs for the Blind headquarters in Rochester, Mich. There, the dog will undergo four months of intensive training before being assigned to a blind student accepted by the school. Together, the student and dog will complete another month of training before they are ready to be on their own.
But that initial separation of family and dog is a wrenching one.
"It is hard to say goodbye, that is a hard day," Hutchins said. "We've been able to see two of our puppies with their student, that helps."
Many families enjoy the experience so much that they time their application for a new puppy with the return of the previous one. This means that while they may leave an old friend in Rochester, they return home with an eight-week old puppy to start the process all over again.