become parents to future generations of guiding eyes dogs. it takes roughly four months to train a guide dog, with an additional month to train the new owner with the dog. during this time, dogs increase their command vocabulary from the basic "come", "sit", "stay" that they learned with their raiser to more advanced commands such as "find the crossing" and "find the door". the reason for this type of training is for the dog to be able to use his/her initiative instead of direct obedience. guiding eyes does not want dogs that obey no matter what. they want dogs that obey, as long as it keeps both the owner and the dog out of danger. most of the formal training is done in the natural environment like quiet suburb as well as busy streets and rural areas. the only artificial methods of training involve obstacles and traffic work. the dog learns how to travel to the left and to the right of the object with a preference that the unit (dog and handler) travel to the right so that the dog is between the obstacle and the owner. at this point of training, the dog is in a full harness. in addition to working on obstacles, there is also traffic work, which tends to be the most complicated part of the dog's training. one of the main reasons for this is because at this point, the dog needs to learn how to disobey a command if it is unsafe to follow the instructions it is given. first, a dog learns to stop at all intersections. the handler then listens whether it is safe to cross or not before giving the command. however, if a car is coming, the dog will disobey the command and wait for the road to be clear before crossing. to ensure that the training is complete, the handler will often go through the process with the dog with a blindfold on to make sure that the dog is really ready for their new handler. matching a guide dog to a blind person is arguably the most important part of the entire process. any blind person can apply for the course; however, they receive an in-depth home interview and then are evaluated based on their physical abilities and personalities before being matched with a dog. the guide dogs and students then meet and spend 26 days at the yorktown heights training facility learning to work safely with each other. the four-month process the dogs just went through is approximately repeated, but at a faster pace (i.e. 26 days). at the conclusion of this training, a graduation ceremony is held in celebration of the new partnerships and puppy raisers get to see their dogs become full-fledged guide dogs. after graduation, guiding eyes instructors provide follow-up services, as needed, to graduates in order to provide assistance, suggestions and general support as required. the average working life of a dog is 8–10 years. often, the dog will live out his life in the home with the handler, if possible. alternately, guiding eyes makes sure that retired dogs are placed into loving homes. career change dogs not every dog who joins the guiding eyes program goes on to become a guiding dog. even dogs who pass their ifts and go through formal training are sometimes ruled unsuited to become guide dogs. however, some of the personality and temperament traits that make a dog unsuitable for guide dog work are also ideal for detection or patrol work. finances guiding eyes is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, funded via private donations. the school does not charge tuition; rather, the dogs, training, students' room and board for 26 days and a follow-up support are provided at no cost to the student. according to charity navigator, geb had income of $19 million for fiscal year 2009/2010 and assets of $50 million. geb is an accredited bbb organization and has received a 54.57 rating, or three of four possible stars, at charity navigator, not meeting criteria for transparency related to the process of determining compensation of the ceo and not meeting criteria for audited financials. geb's biggest fundraiser is an annual golf tournament which has been hosted for the past six years by eli manning, quarterback for the new york giants. the tournament was founded by former professional golfer and golf broadcaster ken venturi in 1977 and each year awards the corcoran cup, named after fred corcoran. geb's founder, don kauth, had encouraged richard "dick" ryan to start a golf tournament. ryan, an attorney, was geb's board chairman and represented augusta national golf club. ryan agreed, naming the tournament after his business partner, corcoran. the golf tournament, sponsored by entergy, pepsi and others, has raised over $7 million for guiding eyes since its creation in 1977. since 2008, guiding eyes has operated an e-storefront with lands' end via that company's business outfitters division. customers can order clothing embroidered with logos associated with the dog breeds bred and trained by guiding eyes in their work: yellow and black labrador retrievers, golden retrievers and german shepherds. the artwork was produced by a company in norwalk, connecticut, tfi/envision. in 2010, guiding eyes initiated expansion of its canine development center from 16,000 square feet to 30,000sf in a three-phase $7.8 million construction project. the first phase included a whelping kennel and outdoor work area; the second phase, projected for 2013 will include a breeding and puppy socialization kennel; and the third phase will include a 1,500-square foot veterinary hospital. charity watch rates guiding eyes for the blind a "b" grade. guiding eyes in the news "guiding eyes for the blind is sponsoring a walkathon" "for guide dogs, boot camp is tough (no chewing allowed)" "guiding eyes for the blind receives $3 million grant from pepsico foundation"