Harvey is so patient

Welcome to Harvey's Puppy Pen once more!

First question: do you think Harvey has a boopable nose?

We do. We think it's very boopable. We're sure that, were someone to boop it, it would go boop.

Second question: how proud did Harvey look when he got his Puppy Three Star award?

We think 'very'! Very proud, especially as he's showing it off while sitting on the cushion that exactly matches his colouring. 

The pride didn't last long though, as he needed a snooze to recover from the excitement of it all.

Harvey has done so well!

Here he is showing how he can do 'the carrot challenge'. In this, dogs are presented with some tasty carrots, which they adore. The idea is that they wait until they're given the cue to eat them - not before.

As you can see, all the dogs are doing really well! We call this 'impulse control'. It's how our dogs learn that they shouldn't really just go with their first reaction all the time. It's fine if they're off lead and having a run-around, but when they're 'working', the last thing their deaf partner will need is a dog that lurches off to the meat counter or runs after other friendly-looking dogs. So, Harvey has been taught that all good things come to dogs who wait - including crunchy carrots.

Here he is showing how patient he is again - waiting for public transport.

He also looks very smart in his burgundy Hearing Dogs coat, as well as very happy!

Again, this is important: Harvey will very likely need to take public transport with his eventual deaf partner, whether bus, train or even plane (we've even had dogs that travelled in helicopters). So, we want him not just to tolerate this, but actively to enjoy it, as if it were all a jolly jape. He's been so well trained, as you can see, he's just loving every moment of it, even if the bus would appear to be late!

He can even show how well-behaved he is in the shops.

This was taken at the shop at our Southern Training Centre, so there would very likely have been other people and dogs around, as well as all the interesting sights and smells of the objects on display. This makes Harvey extra good! His focus is right on the person he's with. What a clever boy.

Here again, with trainer Sally, he shows how he can just wait until it's time to move on. When his deaf partner needs to get into the car or out of it, they'll know that Harvey won't be jumping around excitedly or running into the path of other cars.

Harvey can even be cool, calm and collected with all his pals! Here we have 'Harvey's Gang': from left to right, volunteer trainer Angela's own pet dog Phoebe, then Hearing Dogs mum Tammy, then Harvey, then another pet dog Florence. They're all different sizes, shapes and colours, but all the very best of friends.

And finally, Harvey could be the crock of gold at the end of this particular rainbow...

We all adore Harvey, and we hope you do too! He's such a good boy and has come such a long way, thanks to your kindness. So, until next time, once again, thank you so very much for sponsoring Harvey!