Feather's life: fun, work, fun, work, fun!

It's Feather time!

Over to volunteer trainer Sylvia for the latest: "Feather has grown quite a lot. She seems to have quite long legs now and her 'feathers' on her nose have almost gone."

We still think she's a fabulous looking little dog. All puppies get a bit 'leggy' as they grow. We're sure she'll grow into them eventually.

Back to Sylvia: "I sit on the floor to blow dry my hair and as soon as she hears the hairdryer she’s upstairs to sit on my lap."

This is actually great training too! Hair dryers can be noisy and scary, so a gentle introduction under Sylvia's close care is the best way for Feather to get used to them. As with all her training, it's about helping her gain confidence in herself, realise that new experiences can be fun, and being a great friend for a deaf person.

Talking of training and new experiences, Sylvia takes Feather with her on local visits to the shops too.

"I take her round our village Co-op at least twice a week and she behaves beautifully." As you can see below! Her heelwork is amazing: she just trots alongside Sylvia, always attentive to her and not bothered about distractions. At the till, she just sits down patiently. No fuss. No bother. What a superstar. This will make her eventual deaf partner's life so much easier when visiting busy places, not least because her burgundy Hearing Dogs coat will 'flag' to people that her partner is deaf. During the pandemic, with facial coverings making life very hard for deaf people to lipread, this has really helped our deaf partners, who tell us that people become very understanding and accommodating as soon as they see their dog's coat.

We did promise that this Pupdate was about work and play. You've seen the work: here's some play.

Sylvia explains what's going on below: "We were lucky enough to have a few days in a friend's cottage when government restrictions were eased. She was brilliant. She adapted really well to new environments, and raced around on the sand on the beach. She even followed a Lab into the sea, but only once!"

Over to Alan now: "She likes to visit some chickens we pass nearby on our walks, and also a horse but I haven’t been able to introduce her to a cat yet."

That's ok Alan. It'll all happen eventually. What is it they say? Birds of a feather...? And dogs too it would seem. This is also training: now Feather knows what a chicken is, and won't be startled by them in future.

And back to Sylvia: "Her most impressive piece of training is her sit and wait. She's also brilliant at impulse control."

This is more 'work' for Feather. Puppies being puppies, they can sometimes just obey their very first impulse - which might not be ideal, for example if getting out of a car, or walking around a busy supermarket.

So, our volunteers take a lot of time and care to help them realise that, if they're good, and wait for a cue, they'll get a treat. What better way than to put treats on their paws? Plus, it makes for a great photo. You can bet that, immediately after this photo, Sylvia would have given Feather the cue to eat the treats, and they would have gone in a flash.

And here's some more play after the work. Feather absolutely loves rolling around in the cool, wet grass. And why not? She deserves it!

She also loves running around the garden, playing with what can only be described as a Big Yellow Thing. We don't think it's a banana. It's certainly not a stick. It's probably some Big Yellow Thing of some kind. Whatever - Feather loves it! There's really only one way to describe her bounding about: joyful.

In summary, how do Alan and Sylvia feel about Feather? "She is a delight to have!"

Finally, we couldn't help but notice how lovely the end of the beach video is. Something about it sums up happiness - paws and boots together.

One day, Feather will run around happily on a beach, helping her deaf partner to love life too.

Until that day, thank you so much for sponsoring Feather!