WYSIWYG

What You See Is What You Get. This is a journal blog, an explore-blog, a bit of this and that blog. Sharing where the mood takes me. Perhaps it will take you too.

MenoSundays; Live Lived Lovingly

Whilst away from the Hutch, the first official Pupdate on the new sponsor pup at Guide Dogs UK came through... so here is the news of/from IRVINE.

Hello and welcome to Irvine’s first Pupdate. I’m Abigail and Irvine lives with me in Chelmsford.
First steps - I’ll be looking after Irvine for the next 12 months, teaching him all the basic skills he’ll need in order to become a guide dog. He’s the first puppy I’ve walked and in all honesty, I couldn’t have asked for a better dog.

Growing up fast - He’s got such a playful, sweet, cuddly and loving nature and he’s grown so much already. He used to trip over Big Ted, his favourite toy, when he carried it around with him. Now he’s bigger than Ted! He still likes to cuddle up with him at night though.

Irvine loves company - I love Irvine to bits; he’s so loyal and loves people. So much so that he’s always following me around the house, and when I’m upstairs, he whines because he doesn’t like being on his own. I’m working on teaching him that it’s ok for him to be by himself, because while loyalty is a fantastic trait, if he is to become a guide dog, it’s important he’s happy and confident in his own company too.

Learning new skills - Irvine loves being out and about and enjoys going to his puppy classes. We’ve been on a bus and a train and he sat very nicely, even when the other pups were misbehaving! He’s getting more confident with all the loud noises too. I’m working on his lead work at the moment as he does pull quite a lot; he’ll need to learn to keep a steady pace for his future owner. It must be hard for him though because he’s still getting used to all the new sights and smells in the environment.

High hopes - The best way to train Irvine is with food. He’s easily bribed and will do pretty much anything for a treat! I’ve got high hopes for Irvine as he’s very intelligent and loves to learn. In his next Pupdate in October, I can’t wait to tell you all about the new skills he’s been learning and about all the fun he’s been having along the way.





7 comments:

  1. Very timely post YaYa. I just learned last week that one of my favorite TV anchors is a foster mom to puppies who will eventually enter this very program. SHe had a segment on the news last week going to the airport to pick up her little precious cargo. What a doll baby it was a blond lab pup too
    Hugs HiC

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  2. Irvine is a lovely guy who sounds like is going to make a great service dog.

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  3. I look forward to hearing more about Irvine. I think he is going to do a great job.

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  4. Hello, what a great update on Irvine! I think he will be a great service dog.
    Kudos to the trainer. Have a great day and week ahead.

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  5. What a great pupdate! And a lovely dog as well. Hope he will continue to learn and be a great guide dog!

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  6. How sweet! You do good things!

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