Exclusive Leo HDTV footage

Welcome to your latest Leo Pupdate!

In your previous update, we told you that Leo was something of an HDTV superstar. That's right - Hearing Dogs TV featured your sponsor puppy because he's such a photogenic character, and doing so well with his training.

He's continuing with his training during lockdown, but we thought you might like to see the kind of thing he got up to just before these difficult times. So, here is some never-before-seen footage of Leo, commissioned especially for HDTV but served up exclusively for you!

First up, here's a fab video of Leo on a train journey. Watch the video below, and then read all about it.

Notice how excited he is! Even though trains and platforms can be intimidating, especially at dog height, Leo is not fazed at all. He's loving it!

Also, don't you think he looks great in his burgundy 'I'm learning to be a hearing dog' coat? Even this is part of his training: his willingness to wear the coat, and allow it to be put on him no fuss. It's important because the coat is a strong signal to people that this dog is special. When he eventually wears his full Hearing Dogs coat, it will tell people that his partner is deaf. This can totally transform attitudes, from ignorance and even annoyance, to being helpful and understanding.

On the train, see how calm he is. He'll be like this with his deaf partner too - no bother to anyone, just happy in himself.

And finally, a bit about the lady with him. She's called Fiona, and she's also something of a Hearing Dogs superstar. She has trained lots of puppies for us, including Hebe, another sponsor puppy who is in fact Leo's mum!

She's even won a Points of Light award. These are for outstanding individual volunteers – people who are making a change in their community. Every week day the Prime Minister recognises an inspirational volunteer with the Daily Point of Light award. It's such an achievement, and one you can read about in our volunteer newsletter. Maybe you could follow in Fiona's footsteps and become a volunteer too...?

Next up, more training, and this time it's the real deal: Leo learning his soundwork, again in Fiona's capable hands.

It's a tale (or tail?) of three parts.

Firstly, Fiona is using the cooker timer. It's a very useful way to train a dog to recognise a specific sound, because it's quickly reset and can even be hidden (and cooker timers also help deaf people avoid burned dinners!)

As soon as Leo hears the timer go off, he goes to Fiona and gives her a nudge with his nose. She asks him 'What is it?' by holding her palms out, and he trots happily back to the timer. 

In the second 'act', Fiona trains him to wake her up to the sound of the alarm clock. Deaf people can sometimes have difficulty with waking, because even the loudest alarm clock might not work, even if it's placed under the pillow and vibrates as well. Being woken up by a happy dog is, we've been told, a much more certain way to be woken up, as well as more fun! Fiona is always encouraging Leo, telling him he's a good boy.

Finally, Leo is learning about the doorbell. A lot of deaf people tell us these can be very frustrating. They either miss people altogether, or if they know someone's due, they hover near the window constantly checking. Some doorbells have lights too, but even they can be missed. Again, Leo makes sure Fiona knows about it, and gets a treat and fuss as a result - just the way it should be! He really loves playing this game in which he gets treats, and because he's so good at it, he gets even more!

But it's not all work. Leo has plenty of time for play. If you like seeing happy dogs running around together, you'll love this...

Our southern training centre is in the heart of the picturesque Chilterns, full of beautiful, wide open spaces for Leo and his chums (and his mum!) to run around in to their hearts' content. In the above video you also see Chilli and Ginny, who also live with Fiona!

Cockapoo Chilli is an Applicant Assessment and Demo Dog, which means he helps deaf applicants get used to being with dogs, and shows off his amazing skills at events. Ginny is his Cocker Spaniel mum (yes, another Hearing Dogs mum), who, having retired from breeding, also now enjoys being a Demo Dog. 

Fiona, Chilli, Ginny, Hebe and Leo are one big happy Hearing Dogs family. This is another reason Leo's doing so well: his playmates are helping him learn how to play nicely and relax. They all certainly look happy and relaxed in each other's company!

That's all for now. We hope you enjoyed this exclusive look into Leo's life. From all of us, thank you so much for sponsoring Leo.