BECOME A HOME FOR A MAMA OR PAPA DOG
A Breeding Dog Host Home will provide a PAWS Mama or Papa Dog with a loving home! Providing custom-trained Assistance Dogs to people living with disabilities begins with our Breeding Program and our Breeding Dog Homes. As a Mama or Papa Dog Home, you will play an important role in delivering the PAWS mission by providing the dog with love, general care, and basic training.
A Mama Dog Home will also assist with whelping and raising litters until the puppies are about 8 weeks old. The PAWS family is here to help our Breeding Dog Homes every step of the way!
RESPONSIBILITIES OF A BREEDING DOG HOME
- Provide a loving home for the Mama or Papa Dog
- Meet the dog’s daily exercise and nutrition needs
- Attend scheduled Breeding Host meetings at PAWS National Headquarters
- Work on training and basic commands at home
- Keep the dog’s vaccinations and heartworm medications up to date
- Transport the Dog to and from PAWS for breeding sessions and veterinary evaluations
- For Mama Dog Homes, whelp litters of puppies and provide the pups with a safe and loving home until they are 8 weeks old
Veterinarian Care
- Veterinary care for Breeding Stock Dogs is provided free of charge at PAWS Headquarters! Breeding Host Homes will also be able to purchase medications such as flea/tick and heartworm preventatives at cost from PAWS.
Retirement of Breeding Dogs
- At the time of retirement for the Mama or Papa Dog, the Breeding Host Home will be given the opportunity to adopt the dog and transfer full ownership to the Breeding Host Home.
THE STEPS TO BECOME A BREEDING DOG HOME
Step 3:
Attend a Breeding Dog Home Orientation
Step 4:
Complete a Home Visit & Background Check
The first step to becoming a Mama or Papa Dog Home is reviewing the guidelines for hosting a Mama or Papa Dog. If you meet the criteria and feel like this is the right opportunity for you, you can complete the online application. After reviewing your application, the Breeding Department will contact you to set up a Breeding Dog Home Orientation. This will give you the opportunity to learn more about the program, requirements, and ask any questions you may have.
After completing the Breeding Dog Home Orientation, you will need to complete a Background Check for all members of the household ages 18 years and older. After these are processed, we’ll contact you to schedule a Home Visit. The Home Visit is an important requirement to ensure that the home is a safe environment for our breeding dogs and puppies.
Breeding Dog Home FAQs
Is PAWS looking for Breeding Homes in specific locations?
PAWS places Breeding Dogs within a specified range of PAWS Headquarters, based in Wayland, MI. The host homes for the males must live within 45 minutes of PAWS and the host homes for the females must live within 1 hour and 45 minutes from PAWS.
Why does PAWS require a background check for volunteers?
PAWS requires a criminal background check on all Breeding Host Home volunteers and any members of the household that are over 18 years. This is to ensure there is a safe environment for our dogs, staff, and volunteers.
Can I have other pets in the home?
Yes, other pets are welcome in the home while housing a Breeding Dog! However, there cannot be another dog of the opposite sex that is intact. When we have a Breeding Dog ready to go home with you, we will have you bring your personal dog to PAWS headquarters so the two dogs can meet and we can make sure they get along well.
Is a fenced in yard a requirement?
No, but anyone without a fenced yard should use secure tie out or be able to leash walk the dog for break times. PAWS dogs are not allowed to run free unless they are in a completely fenced area to ensure the dog’s safety. We do not allow host homes to use an invisible fence with the dog.
If I work full time outside the home, can I still host a breeding dog?
Yes, most PAWS breeding host homes do work full-time outside the home! If hosting a female Breeding Dog, you may want to arrange to have a few days off around the time puppies are born to make sure everything is going smoothly, especially the first time she has puppies.
Can I state a preference for a particular breed or sex of the dog?
Yes, but be aware that this could affect the wait time before we have a dog available for you. For example, if you are interested in a male dog only, the wait could be longer since our highest need is generally for female homes.
What equipment will I need for the dog?
PAWS will provide a crate, collar, leash, and small bag of food to transition them over to their regular food. If housing a female, PAWS will provide all the whelping equipment and puppy food for mom and puppies during whelping and the care for 8 weeks before they turn in to PAWS.
Why does PAWS use a breeding program?
When PAWS began in 1979, we were training rescue dogs to be Assistance Dogs, but we no longer do this for several reasons:
The health, temperament, and trainability of rescue dogs can be difficult to predict because the origin of the dog is often unknown. Good health, temperament, and trainability are critical to becoming an Assistance Dog. The dog must have specific characteristics such as the motivation to work and desire to have a good relationship with humans, which are not always found in dogs from shelters. After years of working with dogs from shelters, we found the success rate of a dog becoming an Assistance Dog was only around 1 in 12. By using specific breeds with the characteristics needed for an Assistance Dog, the success rate has increased to 1 in 3 or 4.
Rescue dogs can come with a multitude of unknown health issues, which can prevent or end the dog’s career as an Assistance Dog. An example of a rampant health issue in dogs is dysplasia, typically with hips or elbows. However, dysplasia cannot be fully diagnosed/recognized until the dog is at least 6, and sometimes not until they are 24, months old. PAWS would have to train a rescue puppy for six to 12 months, investing a great deal of resources into the training, to then find out the dog would be in pain and suffer as a working Assistance Dog later in life. With a breeding program, we have been able to drastically reduce or eliminate some health issues that our dogs could face, allowing them a higher probability of becoming an Assistance Dog and/or extending their career.
The investment in training an Assistance Dog is estimated to be around $35,000 and takes about 2.5-3 years for a dog to complete training. It requires a massive amount of time and money to train an Assistance Dog and we must be mindful of our limited resources as a nonprofit. There are no medical insurance companies or government grants that cover this cost, so almost all the money comes from generous donors, and we take being stewards of their contributions very seriously.
We also consider breeding dogs very seriously and take many precautions to maintain a conscientious breeding program, so as not to contribute to shelter populations. We spay/neuter each of our dogs before they leave for their final placement, carefully track puppies born in each litter, and meticulously consider each dogs lineage and each litters potential before breeding.
Additionally, we are committed to a goal of 90% of the dogs we breed going into a working career. If a PAWS Dog is unable to become an Assistance Dog, it is the first priority to find them working careers as Facility Dogs that provide therapy to people in hospitals, schools, courtrooms, etc. After that, the second priority is for the dog to work with law enforcement or to serve Veterans. Becoming a pet is rare for a PAWS Dog and is not the intention of our program.
Our goal is to provide healthy, well-trained, life-changing Assistance Dogs to people with disabilities, and we have found that the breeding program is the best way to accomplish this.
Additional Questions?
Please contact Debby Gaylor at dgaylor@pawswithacause.org or call (616) 877-7297.