Just wondering if anyone knows whether guide dogs get the puppies spayed or neutered before they go to their puppy walkers?

Although I dont know for sure I would have imagined so- otherwise bitches would not be able to go out during their season making them useless to their owners ?

All guide dogs are neutered but I am not sure if they are done before they go out to their puppy walkers at 6 weeks.......................?

As they go to puppy walkers at 6 weeks I would hope not :(

Smudgely would know for certain, but I'm pretty sure guide dog puppies are neutered during their first year, before they start training. They certainly aren't before they go to their walkers at about 6 weeks! I seem to remember hearing that bitches always have their first season.

I was just wondering because OH's aunt is a puppy walker and she also has one bitch who is two who failed and so she is now their pet. We go and see them quite a lot but havent been since we've had Leo and was just thinking about when hes older being around two bitches - Although i have never heard them mention anything about their bitches being in season.

As I say, Smudgly will know for sure because she works at the GDBA breeding kennels! When I visited a few months ago they had a few bitches in from their walkers because they were in season and it was easier for the walkers. I know several puppy walkers, and the pups they have certainly aren't neutered when tiny.

As they have their own stud dogs & brood bitchs if they neutered them all at six weeks that would mean they had to buy in after the bitches have had all the litters they require from them

A friend of mine used to have a guide dog brood bitch(GSD)a long time ago, they used to breed her to their own dogs & then my friend would whelp the bitch & the GD people would collect the puppies at 6 weeks to assess them & allocate to their puppy walkers. I think they keep them all in kennels nowadays. They also used to breed back to back as well & take more than 6 litters, but it was a long time ago

JG is right, all GD stock (except breeding stock) are neutered, before going in for training.
All rejected / adopted dogs are also neutered, breeding stock are neutered upon retirement.
moonmaiden, not sure who your friend is or how long ago you're talking, but we would NEVER take 6 litters from a bitch or indeed more than 6 as you suggested & we would NEVER breed back to back either. :)
How long ago was your friend involved with the breeding programme?

greatbritgirl. I have sent you a PM about your OH's aunts dogs  :)

We are talking of the 60's 70's when breeding a bitch more often was the norm for most breeders let alone GD's

I know when I have spoken to my vet about my own goldie he personally thinks the Guide Dog breeding programmes of the 60's and 70's have a lot to answer for when it comes to current problems with HD.

Timhere, not sure why you're vet would think that, I can't really comment on the programme back then as I wasn't around.
However, I can say that we now only breed from dogs who are temperamentally sound & health tested (eyes, hips, shoulders, elbows & heart tested) and our average hip score is lower than the breed average. ;)

In the 60's 70's there was a lot of problems with the guide dog GSDs having HD mainly because little was known about HD then few people X rayed in the UK I know the bitches my friend had did produce some HD cases. There was also some temperament problems with the Golden x Labs they bred, we had a reject come to our training club that was basically dangerous, it had failed at the puppy walking stage & ended up being PTS as he was so unreliable

There is a lot more emphasis put on health & character now thank god, I bear the scars on my hand were I was bitten by a GD in the 60's it was a second generation from the 1st GR x Labs having been bred back to a black lab, all the GD people said was that it was my fault !

Having said that I know a blind lady who has the most gorgeous black lab guide dogs that even by BC who has bitten by a black lab as a puppy likes. She has also had a yellow lab that had to be retired early as she just did not want to be a guide dog at all. Her daughter has her & she is a lovely pet, but has no working drive at all

Sounds like we're going in the right direction then, both temperamentally & health wise.  :)

before my time then (wasn't even born)  :-D

well certainly nowadays we wouldn't be doing that. :)

moonmaiden, forgot to mention in my other post, but just to answer your point about GD's being bred in kennels now ~ all our broods & studs live in family homes within an hours drive of the Breeding Centre & only come in for boarding / mating / in season. Most of the litters are born in the home where they live, with full support & supervision from GD staff (that's what I do) We do have facilities on site to whelp & rear pups, but this is only done if the carers of the brood have other commitments during the time they'd have the litter (holiday/moving house/ building work on house etc) it's a very small percentage that are reared in kennels.  :)