Jilly has kindly provided the captions for this photo story.
Our day begins between 6.30am and 7am depending on the age of the pup. We take them into the garden to toilet them (training them to the 'hurry up' command) and then they are fed. We train them to sit and wait for their food. They are then put back to bed while we shower and dress.
While we have our breakfast, we train the pups to settle near us and behave nicely – well, that’s the theory but sometimes they just want to have a bit of a play together.
After breakfast, it’s time for grooming and practising a health check. This involves looking in their ears, eyes, checking their teeth and mouth, checking their paws and then brushing them all over. It’s a great time to bond with your puppy.
It’s then time for their morning walk. It’s important that they enjoy car travel. Sunny and Eden jump in happily, looking forward to their walk.
We take them to the local parks, or fields and woodland to get them used to different places.
It’s a good opportunity to practise the hand signals that we’ve taught them. They have to be introduced to other dogs, learning to play nicely, and then learning reliable recall. We also introduce them to livestock and birds (on a lead of course!).
Once a fortnight, we take the pups to puppy class at The Grange (the Charity's headquarters) where our socialising trainer puts us and the puppies through our paces. Hearing Dogs for Deaf People have recently introduced their own award system. Eden has passed his One Star Award and Sunny has passed his Two Star Award and can now wear a puppy training jacket in town.
After their morning walk, they usually have a rest. Depending on the age of the pup, around midday it’s time for another feed.
After lunch we do other parts of their training, which might include going to town where they meet lots of people and children. We love chatting to the public, promoting the Charity and trying to recruit more volunteers. On other days we go to the local shops, take them on public transport, or maybe go to a friend’s house for a cup of tea. All of the time, we try to make the pups socially acceptable. Alternatively, we take them for another shorter walk in the afternoon to get rid of a bit more energy!
At 5pm it’s feed time again. After this, the pups usually have a short play and then crash out for the evening, or maybe watch a little TV - Sunny and Eden love 'Frozen Planet'!
At about 10pm it’s time for bed so after a final 'hurry up' they are ready to settle in their beds for the night.
Being a puppy socialiser is a very sociable and rewarding thing to do. We all want our puppies to succeed so it’s worth putting in consistent training in the hope that our pups go on to change the life of a deaf person.
It’s a fantastic feeling to know that we’ve played a very important part in the training of a hearing dog. Many people say they couldn’t do what we do because they wouldn’t be able to give the puppy back, but we just say read some of the stories about the life-changing partnerships we help to create and see the difference a hearing dog can make. It’s a small price to pay – and anyway, we get another squidgy little puppy and start all over again!
David and Jilly.
If you'd like to learn how to become a puppy socialiser please click here.
Both Eden and Sunny are too old for you to start sponsoring via the Puppy Sponsorship scheme, but we do have two new adorable pups who you can support through their training.
Sponsor Harper
Meet Harper, a beautiful Cocker Spaniel who’d love you to sponsor her through her training.
Harper is a lively, inquisitive puppy who loves to be involved in everything that’s going on. She’s progressing well with her training and loves to show off what she’s learnt.
This little bundle of fluff is Farley, one of the hearing dog trainees available to sponsor today.
Farley is a sociable pup and loves playing in the park with other dogs, and with his favourite toy, a teddy. Farley enjoys his training and loves learning new commands, especially when he’s rewarded with a tasty treat.
