Puppy Raising
What is a Puppy Raiser?
Puppy Raisers are the individuals primarily responsible for the care of a Canine Companions puppy during their time in the puppy-raising program. Puppy raisers receive the puppy at 8 weeks of age, and are responsible for all training and socialization prior to the puppy's return to California for Professional Training after about a year and a half. Puppy Raising is a volunteer role, and Raisers are fully financially responsible for vet expenses, food, and preventatives, although Collar Scholars works to assist with these expenses.
How do I become a Puppy Raiser?
Puppy Raiser applications will be accepted on a cyclical basis with a two-week period in which applications are open each semester. The Fall Cycle applications will open around mid-October to get a puppy over Winter Break, and the Spring Cycle applications will open around mid-March to get a puppy over Summer Break. We anticipate accepting 1-2 puppies per Fall Cycle and 3-5 puppies per Spring Cycle.
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*For the 23-24 School year, there will only be a Spring Cycle Application*
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During each two-week application cycle, individuals meeting the prerequisite requirements (see below) will be invited to fill out a comprehensive written application. At the end of the two-week cycle, written applications will be graded based on a rubric grading of the written application, and top candidates will be invited to the Interview Day.
Club raisers are required to attend at a minimum all club puppy classes and at least one additional event monthly (general meeting or special event). Puppy raisers are responsible for their own puppy classes over breaks.
Cycle Prerequisites:
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Complete the Raiser Interest Form.
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Be a certified puppy sitter
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Cannot be a first-year when you receive a puppy
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May apply in the Spring Cycle of freshman year to get puppy summer after freshman year
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Must be able to have the puppy on campus for at minimum 2 full semesters
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Seniors must receive a puppy before the first semester of senior year
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Exceptions may be made for prison “finishing” or dogs that will be fully vaccinated the entirety of their time on campus.
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Must live in approved housing
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Puppies may not live in dorms
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Please reach out to the club for a list of approved housing
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Must puppy sit for 25 hours including two overnights
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To be invited to complete the comprehensive written application, you must be at 15 hours by the start of the respective cycle.
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If unable to complete overnights due to housing, you may instead complete 35 total hours of sitting instead.
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Tracking will be completed by the President and Puppy Sitter Coordinator based on hours on the Hourly Log.
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Must be at 60% attendance for the semester of the application cycle and all semesters until you receive the puppy.
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Please email ccicollarscholars@gmail.com if you have a conflict and need to be excused from a meeting.
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Written Application:
If a raiser candidate meets all prerequisites prior to the cycle beginning, they will be invited to fill out a comprehensive written application. This application is about 20 questions designed to be longer response. This application is to be completed within the two-week application cycle period.
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At the end of this period, Officers will review all written applications based off of a preset rubric. Each officer will individually grade applications, and based on spots available, the top candidates will be invited to the Interview Day.
Interview Day:
Following invitation based on the Written Application, eligible candidates will be invited to an Interview Day. All candidate interviews will take place on the same day to allow for an unbiased review of the application.
There will be two required portions of this day, plus one optional component.
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Interview - each candidate will interview with the Officer Team. There will be set questions for all applicants, and the Officers will also be allowed to ask any additional questions they may have regarding a candidate’s application. The Interview will be graded on a preset rubric by all Officers individually, and scores will be averaged.
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Handling Demonstration - each candidate will be asked to demonstrate a set of handling tasks in front of the Officers. These tasks will be designed to represent many components of puppy raising. The Handling Demo will be graded on a preset rubric by all Officers individually, and scores will be averaged.
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Coraising Interview - this optional portion is for individuals hoping to co-raise who already have a co-raising team planned. The full co-raising team will be invited to interview together with the Officer Team and be asked specific questions to co-raising. The Coraising Interview will be graded on a preset rubric by all Officers individually, and scores will be averaged.
After Interview Day:
Following Interview Day, Officers will meet to deliberate based on scores and determine which raisers we are able to offer spots to. The number of spots we have available will depend on pantry resources, financial situation, and sitter availability.
We will send invites to the chosen candidates, who will have one (1) week to accept or decline the club raising offer. If declined, the raising spot will go to the next eligible individual or co-raising team.
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If invited, candidates will then begin the Canine Companions application process. Further details on this process will be provided by the Officer Team at that time.
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On the comprehensive written application, candidates will be asked to indicate if they would be interested in co-raising as a first choice, if it is the only way they’ll be able to raise, or not at all. Part of picking Puppy Raisers will be matching co-raising teams, if interested, to maximize the number of puppy raisers and set the puppy up for success.
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If not chosen in a cycle, candidates are strongly encouraged to reapply for the subsequent cycles. Officers look favorably upon individuals who continue to puppy sit and remain involved in the club between cycles.
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Considerations:
Many factors go into the decision of who will be a good candidate to puppy raise. A few things that are considered are:
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Amount of time left at CSU
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Commitment to club attendance
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Commitment to puppy sitting
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Consistent demonstration of safety and trustworthiness while sitting
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Communication with Puppy Raisers and Officer team
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All components of the application (written, interview, handling)