Tyson has a new volunteer family

Tyson has moved on! To help him through his next training steps, he's living with a new volunteer family. Sarah and Peter, and their daughters Polly and Tabitha, are going to look after Tyson, like all our volunteers do, with lots of love, plenty of puppy-cuddles, and a ton of training.

Photos are good, but videos are great! So, let's jump straight in with a video showing Tyson getting to know Sarah. This is an important step in helping them to bond, and is very similar to the kind of activities Tyson will get up to when meeting his eventual deaf partner. Looks like fun!

Let's meet the rest of the family.

Here's dad Peter with daughter Tabitha.

See what we mean? A lovely, loving home for Tyson. It's exactly what our puppies need, and deserve. With our volunteers' help, they grow up to be happy, healthy, well-behaved, calm, lovely and overall amazing hearing dogs. Tyson's well on the way!

Here's Polly. Tyson is already learning who has the most comfortable lap...

They've already made sure Tyson has his favourite tennis ball to hand (or paw) at all times.

Both of them.

They've also made sure he has fun tearing a cardboard box to little pieces.

They also introduced him to some ducks. OK, just one duck, but you never know what could be behind that wall. It's probably safe to say there are more ducks nearby.

As well as help Tyson become acquainted with his new humans, Sarah, Peter and family have also been continuing his training, all within government guidelines. How's this for settling at the local vets?

Settling is very important. It's how our dogs learn just to sit or lie down and keep themselves to themselves. The last thing a deaf person needs is a pest who won't shut up and keeps moving around. So, by making sure Tyson gets a reward and a fuss whenever he settles, he's learned that settling is a 'good thing'. The photo above shows a perfect example. Also notice how his focus is on the person he's with. His eventual deaf partner will really love how they'll be the centre of his attention, always listening out for them.

Visiting vets is another skill Tyson is being taught. He has regular check-ups, and has been taught that they're nothing to worry about. So, after that photo, he'll have been called in by the vet, and there will have been no problem getting him on the table, where he'll have just waited patiently while the humans make funny noises until he gets down again.

Clever Tyson!

Some more training below, this time with one of our trainers.

Again, he's being such a well-behaved chap, focus in the right place, happy to walk alongside, not bothered by anything going on around him.

He also looks really smart in his burgundy 'I'm learning to be a hearing dog' coat. This is also really important. When he graduates, his coat will signal that the person he's with is deaf. It makes other people become very helpful, often going that extra mile to help his deaf partner, for example at the supermarket or in a restaurant. So, Tyson is already comfortable in his coat, it would seem.

Tyson has even had a go at driving the car...

Well, not quite. Although we suspect he probably really would like to be in driver's seat!

We'll leave you now with a lovely shot of Sarah and Tyson going for a nice, bracing country walk together. This is Tyson's life currently: walkies, cuddles, and becoming brilliant through training.

We hope you enjoyed this latest Pupdate. Tyson certainly enjoyed posing for it! As always, thank you so much for sponsoring Tyson, and see you again soon!