This month in training: May 2025

Nina, Nelson and Lexie have had their first puppy training class, Shadow has been shopping, Gus shows off his super sound alerts, and much more.

1. Meet Nina, Nelson and Lexie

Our new recruits have been doing a super job in their puppy classes.

Miniature poodles Nina and Nelson, and cocker spaniel Lexie, have been working on their basic cues like 'Sit' and 'Wait', perfecting those perfect puppy dog eyes and having lots of fun posing for the camera.

A big well done to the pups and their teams.

2. Congratulations to magical Merlin.

Our clever cockapoo has passed the first stage of his hearing dog training - the Puppy 1 Star!

Next up for this little wizard will be working on his recall and starting to explore dog friendly public places.

3. Shadow is heading out and about

In the final stages of his hearing dog training, our clever Labrador went to town to build on his experiences in public places.

Shadow did a super job on the train journey in and wasn't fazed by any of the unusual sounds.

Then it was off to the busy shops where he showed fantastic focus on his volunteer, before calling in at the pet shop for a well deserved treat!

4. All aboard

Orla has been off to the train station as she continues to explore the different types of public transport she might use with her future deaf partner.

She did a great job and wasn't fazed by any of the new sounds or smells, or any of those unusual train movements.

5. Gus' super soundwork

The very clever Gus has recently passed his assessment to be a hearing dog and we thought you might like to see some of his super sound alerts during training.

You'll watch Gus alerting to a doorbell and an alarm clock, and there's definitely no pressing the snooze button when he's around!

You'll also watch Gus alerting to a fire siren. This alert is different as he immediately lies down to indicate that it's a danger sound.

Great job, Gus.

6. Cat testing with Frank

We have a great team of trainers that we work with, and Frank has a rather special role to play.

Frank takes his job very seriously as he meets and greets hearing dogs in training and helps us to learn whether our hearing dogs would be happy around cats.

We joined him on a recent testing day to see how Tommy got on with our feline friend.