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Frequently Asked Questions

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About the Center

The Israel Guide Dog Center is a facility located in Israel that breeds, raises, trains, and partners specially trained dogs with Israelis in need. The Center’s mission is to improve the quality of life of Israelis with blindness, PTSD, and other special needs through the faithful assistance of specially trained dogs that are acclimated to the unique conditions in Israel.

The Israel Guide Dog Center is the only internationally accredited Guide Dog school in Israel and in the entire Middle East, and serves as the country’s leading program for training and partnering Guide Dogs for individuals who are blind or visually impaired.

In 1986, Noach Braun of Israel and Norman Leventhal of the US teamed up to embark on the dream of opening a Guide Dog Center in Israel. After extensive training in Ohio and the United Kingdom, Noach returned to Israel and trained his first partnership for the Israel Guide Dog Center in 1991. Learn more about our history here.

The Center provides Guide Dogs to restore independence and safety for blind and visually impaired Israelis; PTSD Service Dogs to alleviate symptoms of PTSD and bring stability to IDF veterans; and Emotional Support Dogs to offer comfort for families and children with special needs or who have suffered trauma. Learn more about our dogs here.

All clients of the Center are Israeli citizens with diverse age, geographic, religious, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Of the Center’s blind clients, one in five have complete vision loss; 28% lost their vision due to trauma, most often during IDF service.

Clients with PTSD have all been formally diagnosed and have had further evaluations by the Center’s psychologist to determine if a dog could mitigate their symptoms and if the person is capable of caring for a dog.

Emotional support families have at least one child with an evaluated special need or have been suffering because of the war. The Center’s team carefully screens each family to ensure a dog is the appropriate solution for their lives and then creates a perfect match.

The Center campus is in Beit Oved, Israel (20 minutes south of Tel Aviv and 10 minutes west of Rehovot). The campus houses a breeding center, veterinary clinic, training kennels, agility courses, student center, and administrative complex. See more here.

The Center is committed to the highest standards of excellence and is accredited by the International Federation of Guide Dog Schools and Assistance Dogs International. The International Federation of Guide Dog Schools supports its members in their efforts to encourage and advance the provision of guide dogs as a safe means of independent mobility for people who are blind or have low vision. Assistance Dogs International fosters a collaborative global community dedicated to the highest standards of excellence for human-dog partnerships.

The Center is constantly creating new partnerships. At the end of 2025, the Center reported placing 854 Guide Dogs, 58 PTSD Service Dogs, and 515 Emotional Support Dogs since its founding.

The Center is funded by 4 independent Friends organizations in 4 countries: Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Each group fundraises from individuals, foundations, community organizations, and other entities. Philanthropic support is essential, because the Center’s dogs are provided to those in need at no cost.

About The Center’s Dogs

The vast majority of the Center’s puppies are bred and born at the Center in Israel.

Labrador and Golden Retrievers (and first-crosses) have proven to be best suited to be guide dogs because they are highly trainable, responsive, intelligent, not easily distracted, and have calm temperaments.

The puppies live at the Center for their first eight weeks, receiving nurturing care, early enrichment, and coordination training in Puppy Kindergarten. The puppies then live with volunteer puppy raisers, mostly university students, who nurture each puppy for a year with socialization, training, and real-world experiences, guided by monthly check-ins from Puppy Managers. At approximately 16 months of age, each dog returns to the Center for a career assessment, at which time it is determined if the dog will become a breeder, enter advanced training as a Guide Dog or PTSD Service Dog, or receive advanced obedience training to become an Emotional Support Dog.

All of the dogs bred and raised by the Center assist someone in need. About half become Guide Dogs. Those that don’t meet our high standards have other career paths open to them — as Emotional Support dogs for families and children with special needs or who have suffered trauma, or as PTSD Service Dogs for IDF veterans living with PTSD. And still other dogs, due to health or other reasons, may be placed with loving families as Ambassador Dogs who help raise the visibility of the Center’s program.

Caring for the dogs and making sure they are healthy is not just important, it is critical to the Center’s work. The on-site veterinary clinic provides inoculations, medical procedures, and routine care to more than 500 puppies and dogs, including: puppies at the Center and during their first 18 months of life; dogs in training; breeder dogs during mating, pregnancy, and whelping; working Guide Dogs and PTSD Service Dogs; and retired dogs.

Puppy Raising & Volunteering

At the moment, we only have long-term volunteer opportunities at the Center’s campus in Israel. You must speak Hebrew and be able to provide your own transportation. If you are interested, please contact us at info@igdcb.org

If you live in Israel and want to become a puppy raiser, please email info@igdcb.org

The Center’s puppy raisers live in various areas throughout Israel and are responsible for teaching the puppies to respond to Hebrew commands and to learn a new lesson every month. For example, the puppies always walk on the left on a short leash, they never jump on the furniture, and they only take food from their handler. Another important lesson is being able to train the puppy to relieve itself on command. The puppy raiser will be responsible for caring for and loving the puppy for approximately 10-12 months, before returning the puppy to the Center for career-path evaluation.

If you live outside of Israel and can’t raise a puppy yourself, you can still take part by supporting us in other ways. We will gladly send you a package of information, along with a video that explains what we do to help Israelis in need.

The best way to get involved outside of Israel is to help us raise awareness by hosting events or making presentations in your community. The Center’s team can assist you with invitations and other program materials, including a short video that can be shown as part of the presentation.

Visiting the Center – Tours & Visits

We welcome visitors to the Center. As a working school, we require that you coordinate in advance so we have the appropriate staff available to give a tour. Contact Lisa for more information at: lisa@igdcb.org

During a visit to the Center, you can expect an orientation with information about the dogs, clients, and impact. You will be given a tour of the campus facilities. Unfortunately, because our puppies’ immune systems are not yet fully developed, it would be dangerous for humans to handle them. However, you will have ample opportunity to interact with older dogs on campus.

Organization Educational Programs

Yes! We offer presentations to schools, service organizations (Hadassah, Federation, Rotary, etc.), Men’s Club or Sisterhood meetings, study groups, and many more. If in-person presentations aren’t possible, we can easily arrange a remote presentation.

Yes! Each year, hundreds of people across the world create meaningful mitzvah projects for the Center. Anyone can help the Center’s dogs change lives by creating a meaningful community-oriented project.

  • Bar & Bat Mitzvah students
  • School classes
  • Humans celebrating their dog’s “Bark Mitzvah”
  • Community organizations
  • People celebrating birthdays, weddings, and anniversaries
  • And others…

Click here for ideas and information on how to get started

Yes! We have a package designed for Hebrew School Teachers and Jewish Day School professionals but, of course, parents who are home-schooling their kids will find a lot of valuable information as well. Request more information here.

Media & Communications

Please email Info@israelguidedog.org to request a speaker or interview.

Of course. We have vast photos and videos on our social media pages: Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. If you are looking for something more specific, please feel free to reach out to us.

Our most recent published documents, including our annual report and newsletter, are on our website here.

Supporting from Outside Israel

Yes! You can donate from anywhere. However, if you donate on this site, we are only able to provide a US tax receipt. Donate online here.

It is not a cliché to say that the Israel Guide Dog Center would not exist without the support of friends and donors around the world. At the Center, every life-changing partnership between a person and a dog begins with generosity. While the Center is rooted in Israeli local expertise, culture, and national need — its ability to operate, grow, and change lives depends heavily on philanthropic support from friends around the world. The Center’s donors are not simply supporters from afar, they are essential partners in ensuring independence and support for Israelis who are blind, veterans with PTSD, and families who have a child with special needs. Read more here.

Working with the Israel Guide Dog Center gives schools and synagogues a unique opportunity to engage members, strengthen connections to Israel, teach Jewish values, and make a difference in the lives of Israelis in need. These partnerships help:

  • Bring Israel to life through a powerful human story
  • Offer unique educational opportunities
  • Create meaningful Israel engagement
  • Create memorable community events
  • Teach Jewish values in action: Tikkun Olam (repairing the world), Chesed (kindness), Kavod HaBriyot (human dignity), Areyvut (responsibility for one another)
  • Strengthen intergenerational connections
  • Engage all ages
  • Demonstrate inclusion and accessibility
  • Inspire philanthropy and service
  • Become part of a life-changing journey

Guide Dog Program

All clients are Israeli citizens of diverse age, geographic, religious, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. One in five have complete vision loss; 28% lost their vision due to trauma, most often during IDF service. Each client must be physically and emotionally capable of caring for a dog and must be able to provide a safe and loving environment.

There are no costs to Israel Guide Dog Center clients to partner with a Guide Dog, which is why philanthropic support is essential. It costs $36,000 to cover the direct costs of creating a partnership, which includes the breeding, puppy raising, career assessment, dog training, and partnership training.

On average, the wait time for a blind or visually impaired Israeli to receive one of the Center’s dogs is 12 months.

The majority of the Center’s dogs are Labrador and Golden Retrievers (and first-crosses) because they are highly trainable, responsive, intelligent, not easily distracted, and have calm temperaments. Occasionally, the Center trains German Shepherds and has also provided Standard Poodles to clients with allergies.

Every dog is trained in Hebrew to ensure that they are comfortable navigating Israel’s unique environment. They learn 40 different Hebrew Commands.

Professional trainers at the Center evaluate each dog and each applicant. Dogs are assessed for their size, strength, and temperament. They are then carefully matched to suit each client according to his or her physical strength, pace, and lifestyle.

It takes about 7 months of consistent training with the Center’s Guide Dog Mobility Instructors to train these dogs to think independently, avoid danger, and protect their partner, even when that means refusing a command to keep their partner safe.

The Center’s dogs work for approximately 8 years before they embark on a well-earned retirement as a beloved pet in their golden years.

When the Center’s dogs turn ten years old, it is time for their well-earned retirement. It is up to the client to decide where the retired dog will go. They can keep the retired dog and the new guide dog in their home, give the retired dog to a friend or relative, or return the retired dog to the Center for placement with their original puppy raiser. The Center also has a long list of people who want a retired dog as a pet. The bottom line: all of the Center’s dogs go to loving homes where they live out their lives in peace and comfort.

After the partnership between a blind or visually impaired client and Guide Dog is created, they are not sent into the world without support. The new partners then train together, under the supervision of our instructors, for three weeks at the Center and an additional week of instruction in their home. We provide ongoing check-ins and support as needed.

PTSD Service Dog Program

All clients are Israeli citizens and have served in the IDF. Each client has been assessed by the Israeli government as having PTSD. They have also had a second evaluation by the Center’s psychologist to determine if a dog could mitigate their symptoms and if the person is capable of caring for a dog.

Service Dogs are trained to perform specific tasks that mitigate a person’s PTSD—interrupting panic attacks, grounding during moments of distress, creating physical space in public settings, and providing reassurance during nightmares or flashbacks. The impact is profound on the Center’s clients’ quality of life, enabling them to leave the house, return to work, and rebuild relationships.

The Center’s Service Dogs are trained to recognize when their partner is having a panic attack or a nightmare and to disrupt or shorten those episodes. They can create a sensory experience, such as laying on top of their partner – like a weighted blanket. They create physical space between their partner and others in a social situation, can help co-regulate the nervous system, and they are grounding and comforting to those who have a hard time being alone.

Under Israeli law, PTSD Service Dogs are allowed to accompany their partners into restaurants, shops, hospitals, and other public places.

The Center expertly matches each client with a Service Dog that best suits their personality. Intensive on-campus and in-house training is then provided to help each dog identify the triggers and relieve the episodes of their partners. The Center supports this partnership for life.

Emotional Support Dog Program

Emotional Support Dogs provide therapeutic comfort through their mere presence and companionship rather than through trained tasks.

The Center’s Emotional Support Dogs offer comfort for families and children with special needs or who have suffered trauma. An Emotional Support Dog can provide a steady source of comfort and predictability, helping to reduce anxiety and regulate overwhelming sensory or emotional experiences. The dog’s presence can also support social development, offering a bridge to connection and improving one’s sense of safety, independence, and confidence.

Unlike Guide Dogs and Service Dogs, in Israel, Emotional Support Dogs have no legal standing, meaning they are generally restricted from public spaces where pets are prohibited.

The Center’s team carefully screens each family to ensure a dog will fit well in their lives and then create a perfect match. The dog receives advanced obedience training. Then the family is instructed on how to care for and work with their new, loving family member that brings comfort, connection, and confidence to everyone in the household.

Training Process

Dogs meeting the Center’s high standards begin a four to five month training program to master obstacle navigation, street safety, intelligent disobedience, problem-solving, and focus amidst distractions.

The dogs must learn many commands to assist their new partners and, as the team works together, the handler will add new words to the vocabulary for their specific needs.

The Center’s dogs must learn many commands to assist their new partners and, because they live in Israel, the commands must be in Hebrew.

The term “intelligent disobedience” describes a dog’s ability to make a judgment call that goes against a handler’s direct command when safety is at risk. It is one of the most extraordinary and essential skills that a Guide Dog must master. It’s the difference between a dog that simply follows commands and a dog that thinks — one that evaluates a situation, recognizes danger, and acts decisively to protect its handler. Click here to read a blog post that explains this in greater detail.

All trainers at the Israel Guide Dog Center must be internationally certified through the rigorous Guide Dog Mobility Instructor (GDMI) process. Apprentices progress through a structured 3-year program designed to ensure mastery of both advanced canine training and client-centered mobility instruction.

Donations & Fundraising Support

The direct cost of producing a Guide Dog is $36,000, a PTSD Service Dog is $25,000, and an Emotional Support Dog is $15,000. These numbers represent the cost of breeding, puppy raising, career assessment, and specialized training. For Guide Dogs and PTSD Service Dogs, this includes extensive skills training, personalized client pairing, and expert partnership training. For Emotional Support Dogs, this includes advanced obedience training and careful family matching.

The Israel Guide Dog Center is a US registered 501(c)(3) organization, EIN: 23-2519029. All donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law. A copy of the organization’s official registration and financial information may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State.

Yes! We welcome monthly donations through our TAILS program. Your monthly donation helps us continue our mission to Train dogs and Assist, Inspire, Love and Support Israelis in need through these partnerships with specially trained Guide Dogs, Service Dogs, and Emotional Support Dogs. Click here to learn more.

Yes! We receive donations from 85 separate DAFs to process donor gifts, including: American Endowment Foundation, DAFgiving360, Fidelity, FJC, JP Morgan Charitable Giving Fund, National Philanthropic Trust, Renaissance Charitable Foundation, US Charitable Gift Trust, Vanguard Charitable, and more…

All you need to make the grant recommendation is our name: Israel Guide Dog Center for the Blind and our EIN: 23-2519029. Should you need other information, feel free to contact us at: info@israelguidedog.org

Yes! Many of our friends have chosen to support our mission and vision by making a planned gift to the Israel Guide Dog Center. When you leave a legacy gift from your estate, your generosity will have a lasting impact and we will permanently add your name to the Center’s “Visionaries Wall.” There are many ways to fund your Legacy gift and we’re here to help you get started.

Yes! You can send e-cards or physical cards. If you are sending a donation by mail, please include if you are making a gift in honor or in memory of someone, honoree name, recipient’s email or physical address, and any message you’d like. If donating online, there is a check box on the form to “Dedicate this donation.” You will be prompted to complete the card information.

You can sponsor a puppy’s first year of life for $1,000 which covers food and vaccinations.

Yes! With your gift of $5,000 you can name a puppy in Israel that will one day be a life-changing hero as a Guide Dog, PTSD Service Dog, or Emotional Support Dog. Learn more about naming a puppy here.

Yes! Through Cybergrants and Double the Donation, we accept matching corporate gifts. Some of those companies include: BNY Mellon, Bank of America, Bristol Myers Squibb, CVS Health, Comcast, Disney, JPMorgan Chase, Merck, Qualcomm, UBS, Exelon, and more… Find out more here.

Yes! For security purposes, we do not publish our bank, wiring, or ACH information. Please reach out directly to gail@israelguidedog.org for more information.

Etiquette for Working Dogs

Do not pet or distract a Guide Dog while wearing a harness. They are not pets. If the dog is not “working,” ask permission before you pet them. Don’t pat the dog on the head or pull its ears; stroke the dog gently on the shoulder area.

Distracting a Guide or Service Dog while working can endanger the life of a person with blindness or PTSD.

In Israel, Guide Dogs have full public accessibility rights.

When a working dog is not wearing a harness, it can play like a normal dog.

If a client is denied access to a public place, they immediately reach out to the Israel Guide Dog Center’s community relations department. The team will help them navigate the complex situation at hand and work with the offenders to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

Legacy Giving & Planned Giving

Creating a Legacy plan is a personal and meaningful experience. There are many ways to fund your Legacy gift, and we’re here to help you get started. As always, you should consult with your tax advisor to determine your gift’s impact on your taxes and estate. Learn more about Legacy planning.

We accept many types of planned gifts, but the most common are from wills and trusts, beneficiary designations through IRA Qualified Charitable Distributions, and donations of stock and real estate. Read more here.

Yes! Please first consult with your tax advisor to determine your gift’s impact on your taxes and estate. Feel free to reach out to us for information.

General Questions

We’d love to add you to our mailing or email list to send you periodic information about the Center’s work, clients, puppies, and impacts. Subscribe here.

The best way to contact us is by email.

Traveling to Israel with an assistance dog requires advance preparation in three key areas:

  1. Entry requirements for Israel

All dogs entering Israel must comply with the import requirements established by the Israeli Veterinary Services, including identification by microchip, required vaccinations, veterinary documentation, and any additional health requirements applicable to the country of origin. We strongly recommend reviewing the current entry requirements well before your trip.

  1. Airline travel

Each airline has its own policies regarding the transportation of assistance dogs. You should contact your airline well in advance of your flight to confirm its specific requirements and ensure that all necessary documentation is submitted before travel.

  1. Staying in Israel

Israel has laws and regulations governing the use of assistance dogs and access rights to public places. Recognition of assistance dogs trained outside Israel may be subject to the applicable legal and regulatory framework. Therefore, we recommend confirming any relevant requirements before traveling to ensure a smooth and enjoyable visit.

When travelling by air from one country to another with a service dog, there are three main regulatory areas to be aware of:

  1. Health clearance for entry into the country: This relates to the dog’s veterinary and import requirements.
  2. Airline approval for the dog to fly in the cabin with you: This varies from one airline to another. If you encounter difficulty with a particular airline, it is often worth checking with another.
  3. Access to indoor public spaces in Israel, such as malls and restaurants: There are many places that welcome dogs. Under Israeli law, access to public spaces with a service dog is currently granted only to dogs that have been trained and certified in Israel. This means that, at this stage of the regulatory framework, visitors arriving with a service dog from abroad will generally need to rely on dog friendly venues.

Unfortunately, no. The Center’s clients decide who will care for their retired Guide or Service dogs. Most of the Center’s retired dogs are given to clients’ family members or are reunited with the original puppy-raising families.