Otis trains hard, plays hard

Did we tell you Otis has lots of friends?

In case you missed it, the previous Otis Pupdate introduced you to some of them.

Here's another one: Oshi!

Oshi is actually Otis's brother, and is also training to be a hearing dog. That still counts as a 'friend' though. As you can see, they're extremely happy just to be spending some time together.

We name our puppy families after the alphabet, a bit like weather forecasters do with storms. So, Otis's other brother is Otto, and with a bit of luck we'll be able to show you a photo of them together in future. 

Of course, Otis has plenty of human friends too, as you can see!

Front left is Jenny, his Volunteer Dog Trainer, and right is Heather, the Dog Training Instructor who helps Jenny and Otis along the training journey.

Otis looks very smart in his 'I'm learning to be a hearing dog' burgundy coat! When he 'graduates', this will be replaced with a full, official Hearing Dogs jacket. This will enable him to accompany his deaf partner wherever they want to go. It will also be a signal to other people that the person he's with is deaf. This can make life so very much easier for a deaf person in so many ways.

For example, at the supermarket, sometimes people might ask if they can get their trolley past, but a deaf person may not hear them. The assumption can be that they're ignoring them. With a hearing dog, proud in a jacket, there is no confusion - and very often, this completely changes other people's reactions, making them very understanding and helpful.

Talking of supermarkets...

This is a group visit. Leading the way is Nettle, a miniature Poodle, and following up the rear is Jingle, a Cockapoo (Cocker Spaniel and Poodle cross). They're all doing so very well to ignore the food! That's because they know they'll get a treat and a fuss afterwards for being so well behaved.

Here's Otis after the visit:

He seems to be saying "Did I do alright?"

You did more than alright Otis! You were fantastic!

Here's another taste (pun intended) of Otis's training, which we call 'impulse control'.

Otis doesn't pester for food. This is because, as with his supermarket behaviour, he knows that the 'right' behaviour is to take it easy, and for that, he'll get lots of praise and cuddles. There are photos elsewhere on our Dog Blog showing puppies learning impulse control by resisting treats placed on their paws. If only us humans had such restraint!

After 'school' it's playtime! Yaaaaay!

This is back at Ashridge, a local beauty spot. We have Otis catching up (he's the blur in the foreground) with, from left to right, Rupert, Flash, Vesper (another hearing dog in training) and, er, one other black Lab that we're not sure was originally part of the group! It's funny how our puppies 'acquire' friends along the way!

And after playtime?

Snoozes, of course!

There's nothing Otis likes more than a rub behind the ear. You can see it in his eyes: he's in heaven.

He's doing so well, training hard and playing hard. Thank you, once again, for sponsoring Otis!