Arya wins by a nose!

Welcome to more Arya! It's time to see what she's been up to in your latest Puppy Pen Pupdate.

Let's first admire what a cute little dog she's become...

Do you remember when she was a really little puppy? All that fur?

And how it was all clipped off, revealing a different dog underneath?

Well, she may look different nowadays, but she's still adorable!

She's also extremely well behaved. Here's Barry having finished what looks like a slap-up meal, while Arya doesn't cause a fuss at all.

This is because she's been so well trained by Barry and Liz. Here you can see how they're continuing to train her to recognise sounds. The key to everything she does is the 'nose nudge'. This is how she tells a deaf person 'I can hear something you should know about'. To practise this, Barry and Liz use a squeaker. As soon as Arya hears the squeak, she knows it's her cue to nudge Liz on the knee with her nose.

Isn't that clever? It's so instant, and positive. And Arya knows that, if she gets it right, she'll get a lot of 'Good girl' and 'Well done', and a bit of a cuddle and a treat. Wonderful.

The nose nudge is so very important. As you'll see below, it's also how Arya will tell her eventual deaf partner that there's danger around.

Did you see how she lay down straight away? This is the 'danger alert', and it's what Arya does when she's not going to lead a deaf person into danger. A lot of deaf people tell us they are terrified of not hearing a fire siren or smoke alarm, especially at night. They also recount stories of having been left alone after a building or a supermarket has been vacated, completely unaware that there was anything wrong. It can come as quite a shock to feel a hand on your shoulder, turn around, and it's a firefighter urging you to leave. So, through being so clever and helpful, Arya might save a deaf person's life one day.

Now for a more relaxing clip - Liz saying 'What is it?' to Arya.

Again, this is the nuts and bolts of how Arya will help her deaf partner. Whether it's the doorbell, cooker timer, mobile text alert, baby monitor, or any of a myriad of personalised alerts for that deaf person, Arya will nudge with her nose, the deaf partner will say 'What is it?' and hold their hands out, and Arya will lead them to it. It's so clever.

Oh, and by the way, that wasn't actually Arya barking, it was another dog they happened to have in the house at the time. Which makes Arya's quiet excellence even more clever!

And after all that activity, let's finish how a lot of our Pupdates finish... with a cute, happy little dog, taking a well-earned snooze in a favourite bed.

Sweet dreams, Arya!

One day, she'll change a deaf person's life. She will help them to leave lonelines behind and reconnect with family, with friends, with their community... with life. This will be through your support, and it's wonderful that you're helping Arya. That's all for the future however. Right now, from all of us, it's a massive thank you for sponsoring Arya!