Rusty, Janet, and yoga in the garden

We're living in strange times - but it didn't stop Rusty and her Volunteer Puppy Trainer Averil from continuing with his training.

Our training team and volunteers have all pulled together amazingly. They've adopted new ways of doing things - virtual puppy classes, one-to-one video calls - that have worked so well, they'll be part of their training methods even when lockdown and social distancing have ended.

Here are three videos Averil shared, and then an explanation of what's going on below them.

In the top video, it's fairly obvious what's happening - Averil is helping Rusty keep mentally and physically stimulated by playing 'fetch the toy', and he absolutely loves it! It's so important that, as well as training, our puppies are kept entertained. A bored puppy doesn't learn nearly as well as a stimulated, happy chappy.

As for the puzzle, over to Averil for the explanation: "He works out how to get to the food rather than just gobble at it, Spaniel-style. Some toys have spins or sliding lids, but for this one looks he's meant to lift or knock the reels off. It taxes his brains a bit!"

And how did he manage with it? "At first he was a bit wary but thinking and confidence got him over that pretty quickly... and the smell of his favourite treats inside!"

Unfortunately, Averil broke her wrist a while back, and couldn't really look after Rusty, for example holding his lead while taking him for a walk. So, in stepped another volunteer called Janet.

So, how did things go with Rusty? Janet smiles: "He did very well. His recall became excellent, especially in the garden! We continued his soundwork and introduced him to the door bell, which he responded very well to. We took him for walks a couple of hours every day, and he loved playing in the garden with our own pet Labrador Molly. He was such a lovely-natured dog and a pleasure to have."

Here are some photos Janet shared of her time with Rusty. 

Firstly, not only was his recall excellent in the garden, it seems his yoga was too! Here's Janet's daughter with some help from Rusty:

Perhaps that's the Downward Dog? 

As you can see, Rusty also loved his time with Molly. They enjoyed rolling around together on the carpet...

... and just spending a bit of downtime out in the garden.

And here's Rusty just looking, well, incredibly healthy and adorable!

We are very pleased to tell you that Averil's wrist is now better, and Rusty is back with her - and with her own pet Leo, whom Rusty adores as we've shown you previously. So, they're all back to normal...

We hope you enjoyed this latest insight into Rusty's life. Hopefully as things get back to normal again, we'll be able to show you lots more about how he's moving along his training journey with Averil's help, all with the aim of becoming a fantastic hearing dog who helps a deaf person to reconnect with family, friends, community... with life.

In the meantime, thank you so much for sponsoring Rusty!