Josie training - uptime and downtime

It's Josie time again!

First of all, many apologies to those of you who opened your emails only to find the wrong puppy in your inbox. We can only apologise - we got our puppies mixed up. So many puppies, so little time...

So, just to confirm, Josie is the lovely little Blue Roan Cocker Spaniel you've sponsored, and here she is showing off how brilliant she is at soundwork already - thanks to your kindness in sponsoring her.

Everything about that sequence is great. She reacts immediately to the cooker timer, and doesn't get excited. She's cool, calm and collected, and leads Ailsa, the trainer, to the source of the sound. What an amazing puppy.

As with all her training, Ailsa introduced Josie to starting to recognise sounds very gently, and at her own pace. It's how we train all our puppies, so that they grow in confidence. It also covers things you might not even think about, such as learning to wear a burgundy coat.

"It's a coat Josie, and you'll look very smart in it."

And the next thing you know...

Today, Josie's wearing an 'I'm learning to be a hearing dog' coat, but one day, it'll be a full 'Hearing Dogs' version. This will be a very powerful signal to people that the person she's with is deaf. It can completely change a situation: instead of people being frustrated or rude because they don't realise, they become very understanding and accommodating. It's a practical way in which Josie will make a deaf person's life easier, every day.

More out and about now, with Volunteer Puppy Trainer Susan. They had a lovely day out at Blenheim Palace, a splendid stately home with plenty of open spaces for an energetic puppy to run around in.

Josie did run around, we promise. But she also had some kisses...

... looked dramatic...

... did a bit of posing, frankly...

... spent a bit of downtime pondering a pond...

.. and perhaps just dreaming of the day when she'll become a hearing dog and change a deaf person's life.

Josie has also visited another interesting place - Avebury in Wiltshire.

She did her side-on shot in front of one of the stones...

... and, once again, did a bit of posing (which is fine, she is very pretty after all).

But it's not all work, work, work. Here's a video we think sums up the fantastic life our puppies all have, but Josie in particular. It's just... fun! Josie looks very happy.

Finally, did we say dramatic...?

We love that shot. It sums her up: lovely, adorable, full of energy and life, a dog that anyone would be proud of.

Finally finally, did we say full of energy? Well, maybe not always. Puppies deserve downtime too...

We hope you're proud of her too because it's through your help that she's doing so well, and having such a lovely life. So, until next time, thank you again for sponsoring Josie!