Chrissie's world expands

Chrissie's world expands as she grows up. Under the close watch (and loving care) of her Volunteer Puppy Trainer Bridget, she's growing into a fine figure of a Labrador!

See what we mean?

And notice how she's wearing a rosette! Actually, two!

Bridget explains: "Chrissie did well at a local dog show, winning a couple of rosettes. She was narrowly beaten into second place in the 'Best Labrador' class."

Second place? We demand a recount! Chrissie should come top of everything, every time! Still, she looks very proud of herself, and so she should. 

Of course, what's below the skin is the important thing about our amazing dogs. We're thrilled to tell you that Chrissie is doing really well with her training.

Below, you can see her 'settle'. This is actually a very important skill for our dogs to learn. When their deaf partners go to public places like supermarkets, they need just to keep to themselves, obviously looking after their 'human' but not bothering anyone else.

Bridget has done so well with Chrissie's settle. "Chrissie has been to Milton Keynes shopping centre including lots of shops, department stores and supermarkets," she tells us. "She has also settled well in local cafés."

In fact, Chrissie has been showing so much promise that she's starting very basic soundwork. Can you guess what's going on below?

The plastic item on the floor is a cooker timer, which Bridget can set and then place wherever she likes - easily located on a table top or on the floor perhaps, or maybe hidden behind a door or under a pillow. The idea is that, when Chrissie hears the sound, she goes to investigate, and when she finds it she comes back to Bridget and tells her about it. She does this with a nose-nudge, which means 'I can hear something that you should know about.'

When she gets this right, Bridget gives her a big fuss and a treat. If not, she just doesn't get a reward - no chastising, no negativity at all. We call this 'reward-based training' and it's all fun and positive, making a fantastic experience all round, for dogs, volunteers and trainers alike. Ultimately Chrissie's deaf partner will benefit by having a happy dog that thinks life is a wonderful game full of treats!

It's not all work, work, work though. When we said Chrissie's world is expanding, this means meeting and making new friends, as well as exploring the sights and sounds.

Here's an absolutely fabulous photo of three black Lab pals:

Bridget takes us through the roll call: "On the left is Jess who is 6, then our matriarch Leila aged 14, then Chrissie who can't sit still! The chicken house is in the background but unfortunately Bluebell the chicken didn't join in.

"Here they are in the same order, in a shadier part of the garden, but again Chrissie looks as if she is about to go exploring!"

Yes, Bridget did well to keep our wandering Chrissie in the frame it would seem! She says: "Easier said than done to get them all together and looking attentive!"

Let us now, for no reason whatsoever, jump to a photo of Chrissie with her elephant:

She's loved that elephant since she was a young puppy, as we showed you previously. It's lovely that, even as she grows up, she retains her puppyish charm.

Back in the open, and here's another Chrissie companion, called Maisy.

And back to Bridget: "Chrissie regularly goes out with her best friend Maisy. They always have a run and chase together, sometimes a quick swim in the river if it's not running too fast. Maisy is a friend's pet, and has been a best friend to four of my hearing dog puppies over the last four years.

"Maisy is a real character, and her favourite occupation is jumping into the water for a ball, closely followed by Chrissie of course!"

To add to her watery, riverside experiences, Chrissie has also experienced swans.

You can tell Chrissie is fascinated, just by the way she's holding her head and ears. But she's not scared, because she's being brought up learning that new experiences can be interesting, not threatening.

And finally a set of photos we just had to have some fun with. They were taken by another volunteer whom Chrissie stayed with while she was on holiday. The Cocker Spaniel is another hearing dog called Gina.

The volunteer sent us a photo of them looking straight ahead...

... and another of them looking to the right...

... so we couldn't resist animating them:

Best pals looking out for each other! In the same way Chrissie will look - and listen - out for her eventual deaf partner, being their constant canine companion. She's such a fun dog to be around, she will certainly change a deaf person's life for the better. This is thanks to you for your kindness. We hope you enjoyed this latest Pupdate. Until next time, thank you for sponsoring Chrissie!