Kai out and about

Hello again! Time for more Kai!

Kai is still available to see on Hearing Dogs TV! So, if you want to see more of Kai's life, just click here.

Still here? In which case, let's take a look at the two leading men in the Kai HDTV story:

Peter was Kai's Volunteer Puppy Trainer at the time of filming. Together with his wife Sharon, he looked after Kai incredibly well. As you'll soon find out when you watch the HDTV videos and the exclusive extracts below, he's extremely gentle and encouraging with Kai. This is why Kai is doing so well. It's all great preparation for helping a deaf person to reconnect with life.

When Kai is partnered with a deaf person, he'll need to be very well behaved around places such as supermarkets. He will be allowed to go into them because he'll be an assistance dog, able to accompany his deaf partner everywhere. However, it's very important that Kai knows how to stay focused on the person he's with, and isn't any bother to anyone.

Of course, Kai is great! With gentle encouragement, he's happy just to go with the flow - and very happy to receive a nice tasty treat! All of this reinforces in Kai's mind the association between doing the 'right' thing, just taking it easy, and a reward.

It's also important that Kai is wearing his 'I'm learning to be a hearing dog' burgundy coat. When he graduates, this will become a full Hearing Dogs jacket which Kai will wear proudly. It will tell other people that the person he's with cannot hear them. In particular, busy places like supermarkets can be difficult for deaf people. We have plenty of stories of other people thinking they're rude because they didn't move when asked. We also have many stories of people's attitudes completely changing, as soon as they seen the Hearing Dogs coat. So, Kai is happy to wear the coat, and this makes everyone's lives very much easier.

Here's a photo of Kai looking particularly handsome in his coat!

He looks as if he's contemplating his future, helping a deaf person to leave loneliness behind.

Even during 'downtime', Kai needs to be well behaved. The beach can be such a stimulating place for puppies, with lots of interesting sights, sounds and smells. However, we don't want them to get over-excited, start pulling at the lead or, worse still, simply run away and disappear, leaving their deaf partner stranded and alone.

So, again, Kai has learned that if he just walks nicely on his lead, takes an interest in what's around him but doesn't struggle, he'll be rewarded - again, with a tasty treat, lots of praise and, in this case, being allowed to fully explore the bit, wibbly-wobbly wet thing in front of him!

Did we say downtime?

This is downtime...

That's right: Kai deserves a bit of time after a hard day on the beach, to play with some bits of streamer, chew some cardboard, and have a snooze alongside his toy sausage dog.

Don't forget, you can see more of Kai in Hearing Dogs TV.

But, while you're still here, before you hop over there... thank you so much for sponsoring him!