Arya - training and downtime

Arya looks so smart in her burgundy 'I'm learning to be a hearing dog' coat!

She's doing really well, thanks to her Volunteer Puppy Trainers Barry and Liz. They give lots of their time to help raise our puppies, plus they share such fab photos and, as you'll see later, videos - all so that you, her kind sponsor, can see what she's up to.

So, without any further ado... what's Arya been up to then?

Well, there's heelwork for start.

'Heelwork' is the name we give to our puppies' ability just to walk nicely on the lead. As you can see above, Arya is fantastic at it. The lead isn't too tight or slack, because Arya is just happy walking alongside Liz. No bother, no fuss - that's our Arya!

How about a settle?

Sometimes Arya's eventual deaf partner will just want to sit down for a while, and know that her furry friend is happy too, just taking things easy. Again, Arya is great at this. She knows she's doing 'the right thing', and she'll get a treat and a 'good girl' for doing so.

How about some videos now?

So, this is soundwork - the amazing ability our dogs have to recognise sounds and tell deaf people about them. Below, you can see exactly what happens: there's a sound (the doorbell); Arya recognises it and tells Liz about it with a nose-nudge; Liz says 'What is it?' and opens her hands; and Arya takes that as the cue to lead her to the door. It's magic!

OK, so the previous soundwork sequence might not have been entirely convincing. As you could see, Arya wasn't totally confident in leading Liz to the door. But practice makes perfect, and below, you can already see that she's getting the idea. Isn't it fascinating to see how Arya is developing in confidence, right before your eyes?

More soundwork, and this time it's the danger alert. We don't want Arya to lead her deaf partner towards a smoke or fire alarm, so Barry and Liz are training her just to lie down. She does it... and gets a fuss and a treat. So, she knows she did 'the right thing' and will get better and better at it, the more fusses and treats she receives! So, Arya thinks this is all a fun game, when in fact she could save her deaf partner's life one day by doing this. It's not a bad life, is it, being rewarded for playing games all day?

During lockdown and social distancing, Liz and Barry helped Arya stay mentally and physically stimulated. A great way of doing this is hiding some treats in a clear plastic bottle. Arya can see the treats, and smell the treats - but she has to play around with the bottle to get the treats!

And finally, a photo we just couldn't resist including. It's from VE day a while back. As you can see, social distancing is being well observed. We suppose so you could say this is training too. Now she's met one, Arya will be happy around members of the clergy in future!

That's all for now. Until next time, as always, from the botton of our hearts, thank you so much for sponsoring Arya.