ICAN's Breeder Dogs

ICAN’s Breeder Dogs – Our Special Mamma’s!

ICAN dogs in training come from three sources:

• ICAN's purpose bred breeding program
• Donated purebred dogs from qualified breeders
• Rescue/shelter dogs.

Nationally, about 50 – 60% of dogs who enter service dog programs go on to become service dog. Much is asked of a service dog in regard to temperament and health.

ICAN is also part of Assistance Dogs International Breeding Cooperative. Jamie Young, DVM PhD, a long time ICAN volunteer, consults and helps coordinate ICAN's efforts. Through participation in the Breeding Cooperative, ICAN is able to be part of a large network of service dog organizations' breeding programs. The work of the Cooperative is to help programs breed dogs with the health and temperament needed to become service dogs. About 30 accredited service dog programs are part of the Cooperative. The Cooperative carefully researches earlier generations of dogs to ensure that hip, elbow, and general orthopedic health is predictable and stable and that temperament is suited for service work.

The Cooperative helps programs network to bring together the best possible match of breeder dogs. As an example, ICAN Alpine was bred to a male dog, Sapo who has a history of producing service dogs for the Guide Dog Foundation. Another example is ICAN Desiree. Desiree was purchased from Guide Dogs Queensland because of the long history of her line of Guide Dogs. Desiree is now at Pacific Assistance Dogs in Vancouver waiting to be bred to Brass, a dog from a long line of Guide dogs.

ICAN closely monitors all our dogs in training. As the breeding program develops we will be able to compare success rates of our dogs in relationship to how they were acquired.

Alpine Desiree Holly

Alpine

First Name of Handler: Dennis (previously)
Facility: PCF (previously)
Date of Birth: 12/2/2011
Breed of Dog: Golden Retriever
Current Level of Training: Being a Mama

Hi, my name is Alpine. I came to ICAN from a breeder in Colorado about 4 years ago. I was in training to be a service dog at Pendleton for about 2 years. My handler was Dennis and he taught me a lot. About 2 years ago I finished all my medical and temperament evaluations and was selected as a breeding dog for ICAN. I have had 3 litters of puppies for a total of 26 puppies. I have traveled to Oregon and Long Island to be bred. When I am not busy being pregnant or raising puppies, I enjoy working as a therapy dog. My favorite place to visit as a therapy dog is Riley Hospital for Children.

Desiree

Date of Birth: 8/24/13
Breed of Dog: Black Lab
Current Level of Training: Being a Mama

Hi, my name is Desiree. I am a 2 ½ year old Black Labrador retriever and a right nice sheila. That's what they call girls in Australia where I am from. When I was just a young pup I got on an airplane and flew all the way to Indiana to help ICAN. One of the things that is special about me is that I come from a service dog family, my mom, my grandma, my great-grandma, my great-great-grandma and even further back than that were all service dogs. I figured that's what I wanted to be too when I grew up.

When I got to Indiana, I went to a nice lady's house but something happened overnight. When I looked outside in the morning everything was cold and white. What is this? Where I came from it was summertime! Then the lady told me we were going to walk in this stuff and get our toes all cold. I didn't really want to but the lady told me that is what service dogs do here so I went along. When I found out she had brought yummy treats with her, it got a lot better. Today I have a very special job with ICAN. I am a momma and I am a working dog. I know a lot of skills and I am a big help as a service dog. Then sometimes I take some time off to have puppies. Now my puppies are going into the family business and they will be service dogs too. (Sorry, photo is coming!)

Holly

Date of Birth: 9/26/12
Breed of Dog: Golden Retriever
Current Level of Training: Being a Mama

Hi, my name is Holly. I am a 3 ½ year old Golden Retriever. I am so beautiful and so smart that I have a very special job with ICAN. I have puppies for them. My puppies are so beautiful and smart that they decided that should be my full-time job. I am glad they made that decision. You have no idea how exhausting it is to feed, clean and teach a bunch of puppies. One time I had 12 puppies at one time. Sheesh, a girl needs to rest after a couple months of that.
When my puppies are born they are helpless and I have to do everything for them. Thankfully, I get help from the ICAN people. They check every puppy every day to make sure they are gaining weight and looking healthy. I have such big litters that they also help out providing extra milk just to make sure everyone get as much to eat as they need. I don't mind when the ICAN people pick up my puppies but I keep track to make sure I get them all back.

When the puppies get bigger and get teeth (ouch ouch), I look forward to the ICAN people giving them kibble. That is when we move to the Indiana Women's Prison. There the puppies really start running around and getting into mischief. The ladies there help me keep them from getting hurt or causing too much trouble. I still give the pups milk for a little longer but pretty soon I am ready to let someone else feed and chase those stinkers around.

That's when I go back home to my other favorite job. Getting belly rubs from my family and playing with my momma. That's right. I'm a momma's girl. We still live together. Mom is done having puppies and gets to relax full-time now. We hang out together, chew on toys, and let our family love on us until it's puppy time for me again.