come, basic house manners, and how to walk nicely on a leash - pulling ahead on the handler's left side with little distraction. Puppy raisers attend monthly meetings and outings organized by clubs for additional exposure for the puppies. The meetings are required and allow the puppies to interact with other dogs before and after the meeting begins, learn to ignore other dogs while working with their handler, learn to ignore a variety of distractions such as children and noises, and club leaders and experienced raisers can answer questions that the puppy raiser may have. The puppies start out with an official Seeing Eye bandanna that indicates they are a puppy in training. Once the dog turns six months old, they are eligible to receive a vest. To obtain a Seeing Eye vest, the dog must have had adequate exposure to that point and know their basic commands very well. When the puppy is between 12 and 15 months of age, the puppy will then return to The Seeing Eye for formal guide dog training. Formal training Once the dogs return for formal training, they first go through health screenings and then are assigned to an instructor. The formal training may take 4 to 6 months, during which time the puppy raiser will receive a postcard from the instructor with an update on how the dog is doing and towards the end will be invited to attend a town walk. A town walk is when a puppy raising family is allowed to follow the dog and instructor from a block behind to see how the dog is doing, and is accompanied by a host who can explain everything the dog and instructor are doing as they are happening. The family is not allowed to interact with the dog, but can take photos and talk with the instructor at the end. The instructor will begin working with the dog on the campus driveway to get to know the dog and familiarize them with working in a harness. From there, they will move to Morristown, where the dog will learn how to mind up and down curbs, be wary of traffic, obtain spatial awareness, and respond promptly to directional commands. Once the dogs have mastered Morristown, they are brought to New York City to train in a more intense environment. The important aspect of formal training is for the dogs to respond