Jan 2010 -Elliott's Training
Elliott and his puppy walker Mary. Elliott is busy learning lots of new things; he is being taught to walk properly on his lead and learning basic commands. He is also visiting many different environments with Mary, so that he can feel confident in all situations.
Elliott is progressing at a good steady rate with his training and is always eager to please. However, as Elliott is a very sociable dog, he tends to lose concentration on his training if someone does not ignore him. This is being overcome now.
Moving on with Elliott. Elliott has moved into training and kennels. Already he has been introduced to the harness and has taken to it well. Elliott is aware of wearing the harness when it is first put on him but as soon as he is given guiding tasks, it takes his mind off it.
Elliott starts advanced training. Elliott's level of training has now started to increase and he is being encouraged to start making decisions himself. Furthermore, he needs to learn that even if the instruction asks him to go forward when it is not safe to do so, he should disobey the command if the situation is dangerous.
As Elliott is a very confident dog who needs to be kept motivated and stimulated, his trainer thinks that he will be best suited to someone who has an active lifestyle.
Final stages... Tony, Elliott's trainer has been giving Elliott lots of responsibility to think for himself while out on training walks. This gives Tony the opportunity to find out what Elliot is good at and what needs to be worked on. The main focus they have at the moment is 'right shoulder work' and obstacle avoidance. Right shoulder work is when Elliot has to be mindful and consider his handler as an extension of himself, to ensure that he allows enough space on his handler's right hand side to prevent them from colliding into obstacles.
Tony will soon do blindfold walks with Elliott, where they go out and Tony wears a blindfold. This gives Elliott a chance to really show off his training as he has to think entirely for himself. Another member of the team will follow behind so that they do not get into any danger.
Sept 2009 - A new puppy
We are now sponsoring a puppy called Elliott. Our original puppy was Crumble, but as she did so well in her training the charity decided that they would like to breed from her. Our sponsorship then swapped over to Dana. Dana unfortunately died peacefully in her sleep in earlier this year. As a result we changed again, this time to Elliott.
Visit to the Guide Dogs Training Centre - December 2008
Heidi had a fascinating day out visiting the Guide Dogs Training Centre. She saw how our current pup Dana receives its lessons, brought in by its Puppy Walkers.
When a guide dog puppy has completed its puppy walking at 12-14 months old, it moves on to the next stage of training, and is assigned to a guide dog trainer. They introduce the dog to wearing a harness, teach it basic obedience commands and how to guide - walking in a straight line, stopping at kerbs and avoiding obstacles.
Every year 1,000 guide dog puppies are bred in the UK. At any one time, Guide Dogs for the Blind, are supporting around 4,600 guide dog partnerships in the UK.
If you are interested adding your support Guide Dogs for the Blind, go to their webpage on www.guidedogs.org.uk
Pupdate (groan!)
Dana is still progressing well with her training. She is past the puppy walker stage now and beginning the full training. Like most labradors, she is good natured and willing, but somewhat excitable and needs to be restrained from racing off after passing rabbits.
All work and no play….
We do get out from time to time and this page is where we tell you about our team’s interests, our days out and, of course, our Guide Dog puppy.
Have a look at our bookshelf, too.
