AP PHOTOS: Fuzzy pups trained to be guides for the blind
FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) — Wiggles, kisses, and puppy breath.
The five 8-week-old Labrador retriever and German shepherd puppies were open-hearted balls of fluff when they first arrived at Tipton Airport in Fort Meade earlier this month.
Now, they are on a path to greatness — potentially as guide dogs that will transform the lives of people with vision loss and vision impairment.
The furry faithful-friends-to-be traveled aboard a “Pilots To The Rescue” flight from the Guiding Eyes for the Blind headquarters in Yorktown Heights, New York, where they were born and spent the first two months of their lives with their moms and siblings.
Although the young canines have been bred for health and temperament, it will require the expertise of the volunteer Puppy Raisers here to transform the excitable, wiggly youngsters into well-trained, well-mannered and well-socialized dogs.
The process will involve 14 to 16 months of weekly classes and evaluations. Training starts with the basics: name recognition, manners and commands such as “sit” and “down.” More complex commands are then taught before the puppies are introduced to the world by the raisers and the raisers’ families.
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