The Israel Guide Dog Center maintains ownership of the guide dog from birth through retirement. Once a guide dog retires, ownership is transferred either to its blind partner or to the new adoptive family.
No, but thank you for asking. We breed our own puppies from a set of parents who are carefully screened for trainability, health and temperament. Occasionally, we will accept puppies from breeders or other Guide Dog schools whose dogs conform to our rigorous health requirements. Good genes are critical to a successful breeding program.
If you want to follow a puppy, you can join our monthly donor program and follow a puppy from birth until placement. After the dog is placed with a client, we will no longer follow the team. We give our dogs to people "with no strings attached", so our clients are not asked to provide photos or additional follow-up after graduation.
Each litter is assigned a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and the dogs are given English names, to avoid confusion so the dog will not hear its name called out while working in public spaces in Israel. In 2022 we started a program so you can name a puppy. Some restrictions apply. Click here for more information.
Approximately 75-120 pups.
There is no difference. The first guide dog school in America is called The Seeing Eye. They trademarked the term “Seeing Eye Dog”, but there is no significant difference between the training of a Guide Dog in Israel, and a Seeing Eye Dog from Morristown, New Jersey.
It varies depending on factors such as the number of breeding dogs and size of litters, and the number of dogs that are required to enter guide dog training.
No. A guide dog’s job is to lead a person who is blind safely. The breeds that are used for guide dogs are calm and non-aggressive, and they do not attack strangers or bite. It is extremely important that the dogs remain calm when they are working in crowded or noisy public places.
There is no difference.
All of the dogs we breed and raise assist someone in need. About half become guide dogs, and the rest that don’t meet our high standards are offered to people with Special Needs—such as a child who is blind or on the autism spectrum, IDF soldiers suffering from PTSD, or to those with other physical, emotional or psychological needs.