Luna: One Star, Two Stars, Superstar!

Let's meet Luna again! Yay!

Before we continue, just 'paws' for a moment to admire what a good-looking dog she's becoming, especially resplendent in her burgundy 'I'm learning to be a hearing dog' coat.

Very dramatic! And even quite noble. Who'd have thought such a cute little puppy could strike such a pose?

She's been doing plenty of training, because of the perseverance, attention, care and love given her by Debbie, her Volunteer Puppy Trainer. She's done a fantastic job of keeping Luna moving forward along her journey, all the while adhering to government guidelines regarding lockdowns and social distancing.

In fact, she's done so well, that Luna now officially has her Puppy One Star award!

Well done Luna! Doesn't she look proud?

The One Star tells us that she's happy around new faces and places, plays nicely with people and other puppies, and knows her basic cues. Clever Luna!

So, now she's got a great foundation, it's time for Luna to learn more of the skills she'll need to become a fully qualified hearing dog.

Here's Luna getting used to trains...

Notice how her full attention is on Debbie? This is just brilliant focus. Right now, the station isn't particularly busy, but when Luna is partnered with a deaf person, she'll need to be happy in quite bustling places such as train stations, shopping centres, high streets and the like. She'll also need to focus and not be distracted by interesting sights, sounds and smells. So it's great that she's already showing how well she can do this.

And here's a big, smelly, scary, loud train - but it's not bother to Luna!

She knows that she's safe with Debbie around. She's been brought up from day one to be confident in her surroundings, and it shows.

More training here:

Again, this is all part of helping Luna to get used to being in public places, which has been quite a challenge during the pandemic, but one which Debbie has very carefully negotiated within the guidelines. 

Above, you can see how well Luna 'settles'. This is how Debbie has taught Luna just to take life easy and let her browse shelves in the garden centre. It's another aspect of how Luna will slot into her deaf partner's life: by being patient, no fuss, just settling down while keeping an eye on her partner. This will be a particularly useful skill in cafes and restaurants for example. 

You can also see how Luna is also putting on a bit of a growth spurt at the moment. Every photo that comes in, she looks that big bigger! She's also darkening a little, from that snow-white puppy (awwww!) into a magnificent gold.

Anyway, not content with a Puppy One Star award, here's Luna with her Two Star!

This tells us that Luna can walk nicely on her lead, will come back when called, and, as we described above, can settle. Is she proud? Or is that a teenage 'meh'?

Finally, no Puppy Pen would be complete without photos of snoozing pooches. Fortunately, Debbie has provided plenty!

Luna's done so well, she deserves a bit of a kip.

She's done so well because of your support. From settling, to focusing, to being an all-round super dog, she's come this far because of your kindness. So, until next time... thank you for sponsoring Luna!