Service and guide dog schools breed dogs over generations to be successful working dogs, and to that end PADS participates in numerous breeding puppy exchanges with other schools every year.Β Exchanging potential breeding puppies enriches both programs by providing new bloodlines to each schoolβs breeding program bred for the same temperament and health qualities that make for successful working dogs.
We are part of the ADINA (Assistance Dogs International North America) Breeding Cooperative (ABC), a partnership of guide and assistance dog organizations joined together to collectively improve the quality of service dog health and temperament in the dogs they breed. This breeding cooperative provides all participating schools with steady access to quality working puppies, genetic diversity, new bloodlines and increased purchasing power when seeking out geneticists and other experts, while helping to minimize losses from missed litters or unsuccessful litters by spreading these losses across all member schools.Β There is a strong history of cooperative breeding programs in the guide dog world that have resulted in member schools establishing strong, self-sustaining breeding colonies.
ABC has three categories of membership:
- Foundation members are larger organizations who contribute puppies, adult breeders and stud service, while only drawing aΒ puppy from the queue on occasion
- Host members are schools who host breeding stock, raise puppies, and receive puppies from the puppy distribution queue as well as earning extra puppy credits in exchange for hosting litters, donating puppies, contributing stud service and other activities
- General members do not host litters and receive puppies through the puppy queue.
PADS is a foundation member of ABC, and for the year of 2014 received 38 puppies. We were also able to lend out some of our dogs, earning three to five puppies per litter as credits. For more information or to get involved with the breeding program, please find out more about our volunteer opportunities.