Daisy during lockdown – training and entertaining!

Difficult times these may be, but Daisy and her Volunteer Puppy Trainers Peter and Hazel are working together as a fabulous team.

It's very important that Daisy's training continues even during lockdown, because her mental and physical development continues no matter what's going on in the outside world. If she were to miss a stage of training, it might be difficult to go back to it when she's older.

It's also crucial that Daisy is kept stimulated. Dogs, like children (or even adults!) can get frustrated if they don't exercise mentally and physically. Fortunately, Peter and Hazel have some tricks for doing this, as you'll see below. They're also getting really good at putting nice little videos together!

In short, Peter and Hazel have worked with trainer Darcy to ensure she meets all her targets, and has fun while doing so! Watch on...

Firstly, recall - that is, coming back when called - is so important. Daiy's eventual deaf partner will need to know that she won't just disappear and never come back. Hazel demonstrates how well she can do this!

More important training below, this time covering the 'wait' cue.

This is used in lots of situations, for example when getting out of a car or on a train station platform. Well-behaved dogs will just sit and wait patiently rather than getting excited. And how does Hazel 'persuade' Daisy to do this? By giving her a well-deserved treat! It's how we train all our dogs, with 'reward-based' training. They do the right thing, they get a treat and a fuss. It's a wonderful life!

What about distractions? When Daisy becomes a fully-qualified hearing dog, she'll need to focus on her deaf partner, and not be put off by other dogs, people, cars, or any number of interesting, exciting, or sometimes possibly scary things happening around her.

So, a brilliant innovation by Peter and Hazel: the sound of fireworks, thanks to Alexa! See how it just doesn't bother Daisy at all. She's so confident and relaxed.

It's not all work, work, work though. Daisy has plenty of downtime too - or in the case below, up- and down-time!

We honestly don't know where they got inspiration for that one, but we suspect our very own Puppy Training Instructor Darcy might have had something to do with it. Our trainers have plenty of tricks up their sleeves to keep dogs happy and healthy!

So let's finish this Pupdate off as we seem to do most times - with a picture of a pooped pooch, happy and relaxed in a loving home.

It's hard to tell where the rug ends and Daisy begins!

So there you have Daisy. She's in such safe hands, and continuing to do really well. This is all because you have supported her. We hope you're as proud of her as we are! Until next time, thank you for sponsoring Daisy.