From soundwork to heelwork, Gwen's got it all

It's Gwen time again! Let's start this one with a really brilliant bit of soundwork.

So, did you follow all that?

What happened was that Volunteer Puppy Trainer Sandy pressed the button to activate the dummy doorbell, which we use for training. Gwen reacted to it immediately - she walked to it, had a look to make sure, then came back and gave Sandy a nose nudge to tell her about it. Sandy said 'What is it?', and Gwen took her back to the sound.

Not only that, Sandy then asked Gwen to go and sit on her mat, which she duly did. No bother, no running around or barking, just a very well-behaved, good girl. This means Sandy can open the door and greet the visitor (which she pretends to do!), and then, when everything's done and dusted, Gwen gets a fuss.

It's so clever. It means that, whoever Gwen is eventually matched with, will have a nice, gentle friend who helps them about the house, day in, day out.

More training coming up, called heelwork.

Again, Gwen is brilliant. The lead isn't too slack or too tight. She's not looking about or getting excited, or stopping to sniff every few steps. Instead, she's happy walking alongside Sandy, looking to make sure she's alongside her, not too far ahead or behind. What a companion Gwen will be!

And if that's not enough, she can even do it for Victoria, Sandy's granddaughter, who is besotted with Gwen and vice versa.

Again, everything you see is part of training. Gwen might very well need to be able to walk alongside children as well as adults, with their different stride patterns. She shows she can do it all.

Even in the shops, she's a superstar. 

Sandy explains: "These were taken during a visit to our local Pets at Home store.

"Gwen practises her 'sit and browse', showing how well she can just be patient while I'm shopping. She's also hoping that, if she’s really good, there’ll be something in the basket for her!"

Sandy continues: "She can also do the ‘down & browse’, which is similar but might work better when I'm browsing for longer, and is like settling in a cafe. Here, Gwen is trying to let me know that she really, really loves Kong toys!"

What's the phrase: butter wouldn't melt...?

Sandy continues: "Below, you can see how Gwen accompanied me for a socially distanced drink outside the Ferry Boat Inn, in Dittisham in Devon."

Not only that, Sandy was colour coordinated with the pub! Gwen's burgundy coat clashes a bit however. Cheers!

More downtime: Victoria and Gwen having a cuddle. "These two can never get enough of each other!", says Sandy. "Gwen doesn’t mind how old you are (0-100), she’s still eager to have a cuddle."

So, after a bit of light relief, back to the training...!

Here's Gwen showing her 'danger alert'.

This is what she does if she hears the smoke or fire alarm. Instead of leading Sandy to the sound, she gives her a nose nudge and then lies down. This has saved deaf people's lives in the past. Look at Gwen's face: you know she means business.

Even waiting before getting in the car is all part of Gwen's training. "This was following a lovely walk along the Titchfield Canal including a paddle in the canal," Sandy tells us. Look how patient she is again.

Hang about though, this isn't training!

Back to Sandy: "While we were on holiday at my brother’s house in Devon, his dog Billy decided Gwen’s bed was far more comfortable than his own & would sneak into it at any opportunity. Gwen was very generous about letting him borrow it."

Awwwww! Cute!

Sandy adds: "You can see Panda is still around. Gwen brings Panda to me every morning when she wakes up - and to everybody else who visits our house!"

Awwwww! Cute! Again!

Did we mention how calm and patient Gwen is...?

When Sandy's grandchildren three-year-old Alexander and baby Juliana visited again recently, Gwen was overjoyed because they all fell in love with each other a few months ago during their last visit. Lots of tummy-tickles ensued, with Gwen showing off her 'chicken legs'.

Sandy is at great pains to tell us that no Hearing Dogs were harmed in the making of that video! They're just little baby pats really. What this does show is how relaxed Gwen is around children, which is wonderful to see.

And finally, let's round this one off with a look at what a lovely, happy dog she is - and how sandy coloured, which is appropriate really given that her volunteer is actually called Sandy!

And that just about wraps up this Puppy Pen pupdate.

As you can see, Gwen is doing really well in all aspects of her training. She's a really lovely soul, and we hope we've been able to show you that. 

One day she'll change a deaf person's life, and that will be because of your kindness. So, until then, thank you so much for sponsoring Gwen.