A group of puppies with Guide Dogs for the Blind found their sea legs on Saturday when they took a boat trip around the Santa Barbara coast as part of their training.

Celebration Cruises’ Lil’ Toot took the guide dog puppies and their trainers on an hour-long cruise to help introduce them to the water and sailing. They met at the Santa Barbara Harbor, in front of the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, around 10:30 a.m.

There were six dogs in total, all either Labrador or Golden retrievers.

Vicki Lyons-Wait, a leader for the Ventura chapter of Guide Dogs for the Blind, said they want the puppies to socialize and experience new environments.   

Guide Dogs for the Blind was founded in 1942. Since then, more than 16,000 guide dog teams — the dog and the person they are assigned to — have graduated from the program.

Lyons-Wait said there are currently 2,000 active teams across the United States and Canada, which means guide dogs can find themselves in drastically different environments.

Introducing them to new experiences helps them get over their fear of the unknown and be better prepared as a guide dog. The puppies’ training lasts about 13 to 15 months.  

“It’s important because the person that they’re going to be matched with is going to be doing all kinds of things, (like) going to the movies (or) going bowling,” Lyons-Wait said. “So, we try to cover all of our bases, including all types of different public transportation.”

Despite some initial hesitation to get on the boat, the puppies quickly settled in for the ride. They saw many different sights and sounds, including a group of barking sea lions huddled together on a buoy.

Ceridwen Baker was on the boat Saturday with her puppy trainee, a yellow Labrador Retriever named Cambria.

Baker, 22, has been a volunteer puppy raiser since she was 14. Cambria has been with her for a little over a year.

Baker said she is proud of how well Cambria handled the boat ride.

Even though Cambria will graduate from the program soon, she will not become a guide dog due to an eye issue. Instead, she will be used in the organization’s buddy program.

Dogs in the buddy program help people who are visually impaired, but not fully blind. Buddy dogs can act as companions and help increase their owners’ confidence.

Even though Cambria will not become a guide dog, Baker is still happy that Cambria will be able to help people.

“My other dogs had some sort of independence. They would go off and lay by themselves,” Baker said. “(Cambria) does not want to do that. She wants to be laying on your feet the whole time. I’m so happy she’s going to work.”

Lyons-Wait said the organization is always looking for more volunteers to help raise the puppies. She encourages anyone interested in volunteering or learning more about the group to visit their website.