Marvellous news, Coffee (who I fund raised to name) has passed all his health tests to become a stud dog. We’ll have baby Coffee’s I really hope I get one to puppy walk. Here he is with Yoro, a GS, the same age as Keir - his puppy walker also had a long crossover but Coffee will soon be off to the breeding centre to be matched with his new family.
This from an online friend of mine. Why it’s worth the heartache of letting a pup go. Remembering this could be any one of us, and she’s only 36 years old. “I had an emotional walk with S into town this morning. A good few weeks ago I was at the eye clinic for my annual review to be told - although I already knew it - that I have very little vision left and what is there, is going fast. My consultant was so upset by my scan results that she said she wanted to contact the genetics team for advice. I already know there is nothing they can do. This morning walking in bright, low level sunshine brought home to me just how poor my sight is now as I was completely blind at many points on the route. But without S I wouldn’t have ventured out the house today. So volunteers and staff of Guide Dogs, when you have moments of cleaning up pee and sick, and nursing pups through operations, and wondering what the heck happening to the leg of your table or your wall or are horrified at the hole in your expensive settee, or are getting soaked fundraising, or are teaching pups their obedience or advanced skills over and over and over again until they are paw perfect, please know it’s not a thankless task. You really are turning someone’s life around and allowing them to do the simplest of things that so many don’t ever stop to think about or be grateful for. Thank you all for giving me the confidence to go to the shops today and enjoy a walk in the sunshine with my precious S. And thank you to my GDMIs who metaphorically walked the route with me this morning giving me the confidence to step into the black and the unknown of the future. Oh, and S, I knew you could do it!”
I wonder if the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association has ever considered raising money by publishing their puppy-raising training pack for the general public? I’m thinking of a book called something like ‘Train your puppy the Guide Dog Way’, not to turn the pup into a guide dog but as a pet training program. Or possibly a DVD along similar lines.
Yes that had occurred to me. The way @Boogie describes what is done at how many weeks, etc sounds really helpful.
They are changing the way they train them at Big School to totally positive reinforcement - but it’s a slow roll out. They have used some aversives in the past. All trainers are going on PR courses at the moment, I believe. All our training at puppy class is positive ‘tho.
Babychinnos are, hopefully, on the way! The lovely Coffee, GR, has passed his health tests to become a stud dog and is on his way to the breeding centre on the 28th of November to be matched with his Stud Dog Holder. I fund raised to name him. I’m going to ask for a Coffee pup to puppy walk
Loved scrolling down the handsome boy......to the feet I do hope you are successful getting one of his pups Mags x
That would be a wonderful circle for you if you could get a Coffee pup! And maybe that could be the one named after your mother?
Which would be great, but it doesn’t work like that, you pick the name and gender, they pick the pup. Ray (the one I will name for my Mum) will be a girl too. I’m going to have all boys in future to puppy walk, as it was touch and go time wise when Zaba was here for three weeks and Mollie came in to season There are two ‘Name a Puppy’ schemes. The first you raise £2,500 and you just get to name a pup and the birth certificate, no meetings etc. The second you raise £5,000 and get updates and a meeting with the pup. I’m so close to £2,500 it’s hard not to just ‘do it’ and hope I meet Ray at puppy class! . .
