Toby, meet world. World, meet Toby.

Welcome to your new Toby Puppy Pen!

Let's start this one with Toby showing off how well he's been trained to ignore the hoover...

That's right - it really is training, because Toby needs to know that hoovers aren't toys to be played with, nor are they monsters to be scared of. They're just rather noisy inconveniences that mean a puppy can't snooze for a while. His Volunteer Puppy Trainer Nicola has done a great job here, rewarding him for just not bothering with the hoover, so now he knows he's being a 'good boy' simply by not reacting.

It's all part of the life he'll eventually lead with his deaf partner. As well as visiting all sorts of places like train stations and supermarkets, they'll also be in each other's company 24/7, meaning plenty of time together indoors. So, Toby's learning to be a good 'indoor' dog as well as outdoors.

But don't worry, he gets plenty of sleepy-time too...

Here's some more training - learning to settle.

This is something Toby will need to perfect if he's to become a hearing dog. In a café or library, on a train or a bus, he needs to learn that just sitting down and being no bother to anyone is what's needed. We also want to make sure he's happy doing this! As you can see, Toby's doing really well. Actually, that look on his face tells us there might have been a treat coming his way as a reward immediately after this photo was taken.

So, what's Toby been up to in the world? All ready to go Toby?

That's a yes! Well what are we waiting for, let's go!

So, he's visited the New Forest with Nicola, where he enjoyed sniffing around lots of interesting smells.

He even managed to get a bit of posing in, as if to say "Aren't I handsome?"

He is getting quite handsome isn't he? As with all Labradors, Toby is definitely growing quickly, and there comes a point when they're more handsome than cute (but they're always cute, obviously).

Then they visited the beach, where he enjoyed even more interesting smells.

And this time decided the 'cool guy' pose was more appropriate.

Then, back at home, any pretensions at being cool just popped, much as the bubbles did as Toby tried to eat them.

See what we mean? Still a puppy really, who loves puppy cuddles with Nicola's grand-daughter.

Oh, and he met his mum, called Brandy! Here they are, looking so very happy together again. They're almost carbon copies of each other!

And after all that activity, and excitement, did we mention... cute puppy snoozes?

As you can see, Toby's journey has well and truly started. He's learning so much about the world thanks to Nicola - and thanks to you for supporting this. He's cute, and handsome, and adorable and cuddly, all mixed into one. We're so pleased with his progress, and we hope you are too, so until next time, thank you for sponsoring Toby!