Guide Dogs: Quip's Next Chapter... and some exciting news

I bet you're thinking that the Easter bunny looks a bit different this year? In fact, it's Quip enjoying the spring on a walk with my uncle! Doesn't he look handsome.

So much has happened over this past year and although there's been a few downs, there's been plenty of ups too. I've seen Richard and Julie take on a huge, daunting challenge as they had trained a Guide Dog puppy before and I've also seen Quip grow into the amazing dog that he is today.

Quip has drastically continued to improve over the past month and the change in him is staggering! He continues to mature, bear in mind he's still pretty young, but he has done so well with his training and is so much better in the group sessions as he doesn't get distracted as much by the other puppies.

It's funny as Richard said when they have visitors, Quip will sometimes wander up the stairs and give himself a short time out. I know dogs are smart, but Quip takes it to a whole new level. I think Quip is much better in social situations too as his friend Carter has come over a few more times since their last meeting. This gives Quip the opportunity to badger him for attention as much as he likes!

Quip is still doing well on the train and as you can see he enjoyed a trip to Southend this month. It looks a bit cold for me, but Quip doesn't seem to mind. Once he has his coat on, he has a job to do and he'll see whatever task he has been given through to the end.

When Richard told me last month that Quip was going on to his next stage of training, I have to admit I did cry. I've seen Quip change both in appearance and during his training and do feel sad that I probably won't see him again. I can't imagine what it was like for Richard and Julie when they took him up to the Guide Dogs HQ.

But, at the end of the day, my feelings don't come into it. Quip has a job to do and I'll be so proud of him whatever the outcome. It'll be interesting to see how he does during these next 20 weeks of training - of course, if I hear an update, I'll let you know - and after then, if all is well, Quip will be paired to his blind user.

Richard let me and my sister Jodie take Quip put for one last time. It was lovely to take him out on his own and Quip was very good on the lead - as always!

Before Quip went on Tuesday, the Guide Dog co-ordinator spoke to Richard and Julie on the phone so they could give them an update on his daily routines. Quip will be leaving in kennels at the Guide Dogs HQ, but he'll be sharing with another dog so they won't be lonely, With the information that Richard provided, the supervisor can determine which dog will share his kennel. Quip's brother Quinn will be going to the HQ within the next week, so who knows they could end up together!

The working life that Quip will spend as a Guide Dog is between eight to 10 years, and after this he will be offered to the blind person that he guided. If for any reason, the blind person cannot have their old Guide Dog, then there is a long list of people willing to adopt. Quip will cost the Guide Dog Association £50,000 over his lifetime and bear in mind a young blind person could have four Guide Dogs during their life! Any Guide Dogs that are sold - either because they have reached retirement or sadly didn't get through all of the training - are monitored by the organisation on a regular basis.

With a tender heart, I left Quip knowing that he had so much to offer a blind user. I hope the rest of his training goes well and he makes his new partner in crime very happy. He is one of the loveliest dogs I have ever been lucky enough to meet.

Before I leave you, I have some more exciting news. Richard has already been given a second Guide Dog puppy to train! She's exactly the same as Quip - a black labrador/retriever - but she's female (obviously) and is called Rosie. She's seven weeks old and I can't wait to meet her in May. Everyone, meet Rosie...

An exciting time for Quip!

So much has happened since my last post in February - including Quip turning one! His birthday was on February 16 (just after my February update) so I thought I'd share this picture with you. Quip did enjoy his birthday sausage, but had to look in the other direction so he wouldn't snaffle it while everyone sang 'Happy Birthday'! I gave him a little present as well, so he had plenty to keep him occupied.

Late last month, Richard and another puppy walker Bob took Quip and a Guide Dog puppy Nicholas to London to see how they both got on with the journey and tubes. Both behaved beautifully and Richard was really pleased with how Quip coped.

Sadly, I later found out Nicholas was taken out of training. This was because on another occasion Nicholas got chewing gum caught up in his fur around his back end and became defensive over this area once the gum was removed. He growled at his walker once, and this had to be reported to the supervisors because of the job the Guide Dogs are required to do. Unfortunately, he then growled a second time and so was unsuited to carrying on his training.

This shows just how perfect these Guide Dogs have to be. As well as learning all the different skills they need to know in order to progress, they also have to be willing to be examined when necessary and be calm and happy to walk with other people when required. Thankfully, Quip is happy to do all these things, which is why I think he would make such a wonderful Guide Dog.

In my last update, I mentioned that Quip was getting quite distracted by other dogs and was having an assessment to see if he could go on to his next stage of training, I'm so pleased to announce that he passed with flying colours! Two supervisors brought a fully trained Guide Dog with him and told Richard that they would meet them at some point along the walk.

All three walked up the road towards Richard and Quip to see how he would react to a dog walking right up to them and Quip completely ignored them! They then walked back the other way a bit further down and both dogs had to pass each other side by side. They both just looked at each other and then carried on. Next they walked round the block and the fully trained Guide Dog was very close behind them. This dog then passed Quip and walked in front of him and when he got round the corner, waited for Quip to catch them up. The supervisors were both really positive about Quip and thought that he was doing really well.

As you can see Quip loves a fuss judging by his face! Quip also had another Guide Dog puppy come to stay this month - this time a 10 month old labrador called Bertie. Richard looked after him for a week and both puppies had a great time together. I think this was another reason for why Quip passed his assessment - socialising with the other puppies for longer than the group training sessions has helped him to calm down and mature. 

Bear in mind he is now 13 months old so he's entitled to still be quite puppyish in his antics. However, he loves learning with Richard and you can tell that he takes his job seriously when the Guide Dog coat comes on. 

There's also been a great improvement with Quip walking on the lead and Richard has stopped using the canny collar. Quip is really pleased about this because he wasn't keen on the lead, but it was essential in his training because a Guide Dog cannot pull his/her blind user along. In a bid to help him get better at recall, Richard has bought a 50ft rope and attached it to his collar so Quip can run far in advance and practise the recall. He's perfectly fine doing this off lead, but gets a bit distracted by children and other dogs as he just wants to say hello. 

Recently I found out that the Guide Dogs want to take Quip onto his next stage of training. I was devastated when I heard the news that he would be leaving Richard on April 28 because I've seen him develop, mature and grow into the wonderful dog that he is today. I have to admit a few tears were shed and I can't imagine how Richard feels. 

However, I know that ultimately Quip never belonged to Richard - he belonged to the Guide Dogs and Richard was simply helping bring him on until he could progress onto different training. I feel so proud of Quip and hope that he gets through his 20 weeks of training after April so he can then be paired with a blind user and support and guide them through this chapter of his life.

My next blog post will be my last update on Quip. Prepare for more tears!

Into The New Year – Quip meets Carter

2015 is flying by so fast (I can't believe it's already February) and it seems like ages ago since I last gave you an update on Quip. I thought I'd combine my January and February posts and as you can see Quip has become firm friends with Carter - another puppy who is learning to be a Guide Dog.

My uncle, Richard, has been looking after Carter, who is four and a half months old, for a couple of weeks while his puppy walkers are on holiday, which means that Quip has had a friend to play and cause mischief with. Richard also had another dog come to stay for a few days when a family friend went away, but Quip wasn't as impressed as this dog was older and didn't want to play!

In January, I was able to get a glimpse at the different commands that Quip has learnt first hand when Richard showed me how to do this. It is quite hard to master first time and I think Quip was waiting patiently for me to give him the correct commands! These included: sit, lay down, up stand, up sit, leave and stay. It's a lot for a young dog to take in, and I don't know many dogs that would leave food on the floor which is right in front of them and not touch it. Richard told me it's important that I picked up the piece of food that was on the floor and then asked Quip to come to me, as the Guide Dogs do not want the puppies to learn to pick things up off of the floor.

Here's some of these commands in action:

I was also lucky enough to actually go on a walk with Quip, Richard and Carter for the first time. It was fantastic to see them both in action and Richard even went into his local Waitrose so I could see how the two boys needed to behave when going round a shop. Before you ask, no sausages were stolen! Both were very well behaved on their walk and they looked happy to wear their Guide Dogs coats. 

They both wear canny collars, which helps them to learn not to pull. This clips onto the lead behind their head, rather than under their chin, so that it doesn't ride up into their eyes or pull their head to one side. They can still breathe freely and open their mouths, so it doesn't stop Quip or Carter from enjoying their walks. However, if you want these for your own dog make sure these are fitted properly and ask for help if necessary. 

Recently, Quip has been distracted by other dogs during training and when he is out for walks. I think it's because he's so happy and just wants to be everyone's friend. Unfortunately, as a Guide Dog he can't be rushing over to greet other dogs when leading his chosen handler or not come back when he's free running. It's a shame as he's perfect in every other way, but guide dogs have to meet certain requirements so they can go on to their next stage of training in the required time frame. Even those dogs who do everything perfectly sometimes don't make it because they won't go with another person when asked. It's a fine line between being over friendly or too passive. 

As a result, Quip will be having an assessment in a few week's time to see if he needs to have further training with a professional or won't make it as a Guide Dog. It's a tough call to make, but Richard is hoping that Quip will make progress in the meantime. 

Whatever the outcome of Quip's assessment, I think he's learnt so much over the past year and I'm so proud of him. He'd make such a fantastic guide dog or companion and someone would be lucky to have him in their life.

2014 is nearly over...

Happy New Year everyone! I can't believe that 2015 is just around the corner! I've had a great time in 2014 - I met my uncle's guide dog Quip for the first time, went to the amazing land of Australia for a wedding and saw some lovely people (and exotic animals too), saw some of my favourite horses on a break to Suffolk and Simba, my rabbit, turned 4 years old. I haven't written about all my adventures of 2014 yet, but as soon as I get some time I will update my blog.

It's amazing to see how much Quip has changed over the past year, and here he is posing in front of the Xmas tree for his first Christmas! He's now 10 months old and is still on course with the Guide Dogs to get through his first year of training. My uncle, Richard, has also been told that he will be keeping Quip for a bit longer until June, so I'm glad that I can see him for a bit longer. They will also get updates about Quip as he continues his training elsewhere, so I'll make sure that I get all the details when he leaves us.

They also had a lovely time at the Guide Dogs Christmas meet up - 15 puppies training to be Guide Dogs all in one cafe was certainly a sight to see!

Quip's now got another new Guide Dog coat and he loves showing it off to everyone! It may look a bit small on him, but it was the biggest one they had! Quip always looks so proud when Richard puts his coat on and knows that he's got a job to do.

It's not just us who get Christmas presents, I had to buy Quip some too! As Quip is a working dog, I checked with Richard to see if there was anything I could give Quip that the Guide Dogs would approve on and he suggested some rawhide bones. They are better than normal treats for Quip and gives him something to chew on - and enjoy!

He's now on 17oz of food everyday, which is a lot more than the 2 x 4oz he was on when Richard first started to look after him! At 10 months old, Quip is a teenager, but still has some puppy in him. We know this because he goes off to sleep at 10pm and doesn't get up again until 7am. He really likes his sleep.

Quip is such a gentle giant and it's been lovely to see him grow over this past year. He's really good when he's out training and even with Richard's step-grandchild Elsa who is two years old. She comes round the house often and will wander around quite happily with Quip there. If he gets in the way, she just pushes his nose away!

I'm sure I'll have plenty more updates on Quip to tell you all in 2015, so I'll leave you with this collage. It's made up of a photo of Quip every month so far. Happy New Year!

Guide Dogs - The Latest Catch Up

It's been a hectic couple of months at work, so unfortunately I haven't had much time to get on my blog. However, I managed to pop to my uncle Richard's house yesterday, so I thought it would be the perfect time to combine my October/November updates on Quip (just in time for December)!

As you can see, Quip is getting so big now, I think it's safe to say he's not going to be an ordinary Guide Dog! Everyone thinks he's not just a cross between a labrador and a golden retriever, and you can see why. His personality is still shining through and Richard told me that the supervisor who monitors Quip's performance thinks he's still coming on leaps and bounds.

I know he probably shouldn't be sitting on me, but this is one of my favourite photos of me and Quip - he looks huge! This was taken in October when he was just over eight months. At this stage it's all about reinforcement working, and Quip seems to have really got the hang of 'stay'. Richard will tell Quip to stay and keep walking away and Quip is as good as gold and will stay where he is until Richard gives him the command to come. If Quip is also running towards him, Richard will call out wait and Quip will stop in his tracks and wait until he's allowed to continue making his way to Richard. It amazes me how well trained he is at such a young age - although by the look of him, you would think Quip was five or six years old!

Richard also took him to the High Street to get him used to lots of people and Quip didn't bat an eyelid at them - or the pigeons. He's still getting used to looking at escaltors, but Richard won't tackle this with him, this will be looked at during the next stage of training when Quip is trained by someone else. Hopefully, the months won't go by too quickly and we'll get to spend some more time with him before he goes.

Look at the smile on his face!

Here's Quip when I visited him yesterday during November. He's now nine months old and the pressure's on to keep his performance on track. He's still quite lively, so this time when we visited we had to ignore Quip and not stroke him until he calmed down. It's very important that Quip doesn't jump up or get too out of hand when meeting new people or when people are visiting as he's so big that he could easily knock someone over. He settled down really well after we ignored him, and we made sure to give him a bit of a fuss when we were able to. 

When we saw Quip in October, Richard said that they were having a few problems with Quip going on the train. This happened just after Richard came back from holiday, and so the supervisor told him to leave it a month and then they'd try him again with a slightly older Guide dog for moral support. I was so pleased when Richard said they'd now managed to go on the train a coouple of times and Quip had no worries about this. They tried just walking Quip on and off the train a few times before the train started up and also took him to a different station - Quip went straight on! Once they got to the next stop, they got off, walked over the bridge to the other side of the platform and then got back on the train going in the opposite direction. It's a great step in the right direction and Quip loves wearing his Guide Dogs training coat. 

Richard told me that when stands next to a blind or partially sighted person, he should always be on their left. As a result, when they go to their nearest town and go up stairs, Richard takes him up the left hand side of the stairs so that he is against the wall on his left side. This gets Quip used to walking this way and prevents any accidents should someone come down the stairs and Richard was walking up on the right hand side with Quip in the middle of the stairs. There's certainly a lot to remember!

While I was there, Richard also gave me a run through of some commands that he has to reinforce with Quip all the time. I was lucky enough to be able to try a few, and was privileged when Quip sat, laid down, sat up, stood up, stayed and then came when I called him. It's important that Quip is willing to follow commands from pretty much anyone, and not just stick to the one person. Otherwise, how would he fare when he went on to the next trainer and possible new owner?

Hopefully for my December post, I'll manage to get a picture of Quip getting into the festive spirit!

It's World Animal Day!

We all love days like 'Father's Day', 'Mother's Day' and even 'Grandparent's Day', but it was great to see on the calendar that today is World Animal Day.

Starting in 1931 at a convention of ecologists in Florence, they decided that this day would highlight the plight of endangered animals. October 4 was then chosen to mark World Animal Day because it is the feast day of St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.

Everyone knows I am mad about animals, so I thought that today of all days would be an ideal time to mention two species that have had an impact on me.

The great grey owl is one of my favourite birds of prey. These beautiful birds can be found in northern Europe, Asia and Alaska through to Canada. They are approximately 61-69cm long and the wing span of males can reach 1.3-1.5ft in length, while the females wing span is 1.4-1.6ft. Remember although the male and female in smaller species are roughly the same size, with larger birds of prey such as the great grey, the females are bigger. Some say this is to help them protect their nests from aggressive males. 

When I was younger, my grandad used to breed owls and one of his favourites was a great grey called Smoky. We all thought that Smoky was a boy (it's difficult to sex owls), but then he laid an egg on my grandad's birthday! So that was a big surprise!

As you can see above, the facial disc has dark symmetrical lines and the blackish patch underneath the bill looks like a black 'beard.' In fact, the German name for the great grey is 'Bartkauz' which means bearded owl. They tend to move around and breed in areas where there is plenty to eat. In the wild they live to about seven, but can reach the age of 27 in captivity.

I've grown up with owls for most of my life, so they always hold a special place in my heart. I do miss seeing them when I go to visit my grandma, and can always remember helping to hand-rear the youngsters when spring came around. This isn't a picture of a great grey, but me and my sister with a baby barn owl is still pretty cool!

I've loved horses for as long as I can remember - my dad blames those expensive horse riding lessons on my mum as she had a horse before I was born and that's why I've always wanted one of my own. And although I can't ride this one, I do think the tiny seahorse is a enchanting fish. It's a member of the pipfish family and can usually be found in shallow water near seagrass beds. Their dorsal fins move at roughly 35 beats a second - amazing! - and there are 35 species from the 2.5cm pygmy to the 35cm Eastern Pacific seahorse. 

Most can be found hanging on to coral and near a fast water channel which supplies them with their main food, plankton. They can do this because their tail has adapted to be able to grasp or hold objects - in other words it is prehensile. 

What's interesting about these little creatures is: 1. Their eyes move independently so they can look out at the rest of the ocean without giving their presence away. 2. The male takes on the pregnancy! This happens when the female releases the eggs into a special pouch in the male's abdomen. The male then fertilises the eggs when they embed into the tissue of the pouch wall and he creates a fluid that will nourish the youngsters, before they are released into the sea. I wish that happened with humans!

I'll leave you with this photo of me and koala when I visited Australia in August - I'll write a post all about this amazing trip soon! 

Guide Dogs – Quip's Growing Up

I just couldn't resist showing everyone this photo, doesn't Quip look happy?! It was really nice to see Quip this month as I was away for most of August in Australia and my uncle, Richard, also went away to Canada for two weeks early on in September.

Now you might think, "Well, what about Quip?" but he had plenty of fun staying at another puppy walker's house, although he still had to carry on with his training. Puppy walkers do need a break sometimes, and we all love going away, so Guide Dogs have other walkers, or those who can't commit to looking after a puppy full time but are able to do so occasionally, on hand to take over when they are needed.

FLASHBACK! It's amazing to see how much Quip has grown during his stay with Richard, just look at the above photos. The one on the left was taken when I first met Quip in May and the one on the right was when I saw him in September. Within just a few short months, Quip has certainly come along leaps and bounds! 

Quip's now seven and a half months old and he's just getting bigger and bigger. He was due for his bronze assessment after reaching the six month old marker, but he hasn't done this yet because Richard was away. Hopefully, I'll have plenty to tell you about this when I visit Quip and Richard next month.

In the meantime, Quip has been doing really well with his training on the bus and now both of them get on together, rather than Quip enthusiastically pulling Richard on! Once Richard has bought a ticket, he tells Quip to find a seat and Quip will lead him towards an empty one and put his head on the seat. He'll then wait until Richard is able to sit down on the bus.

He can certainly walk for miles and Richard has been taking him on a two mile walk every day. What's great to hear is that you wouldn't know Quip was even on the lead as he walks so well and doesn't pull at all.

Quip's now moved up to the adult training class when he goes for his sessions with the other Guide Dog puppies and it looks as though he's the biggest in the class. He's still lively, but he's quietened down as one of the exercises involves walking through two rows of the other puppies and sitting at the other end of the hall. He would have been too excited to do this just a few months ago.

Richard continues to enforce Quip's training at home and as you can see from the above photo, his stay is impeccable. He even sat for me when I asked him!

An important part of Quip's training is ensuring he will be comfortable with the harness that all Guide Dogs are required to wear when they have completed their training. Some dogs just never get comfortable with the harness and so they fail their training. Richard has been draping Quip's lead across his back so that he gets used to a bit of weight on his back, but Quip's taking it in his stride and it doesn't seem to faze him at all. He loves his coat still and wants to wear it all the time.

Richard is still taking him on the train to the local high street with his partner Julie and it seems as though Quip is still enjoying this part of training. Richard tries to use both the train and bus so Quip can continue to get better at tackling these and he's perfectly happy going into the shops or waiting outside for Richard or Julie.

He's very relaxed about his training, so much so that Richard is going to meet another puppy walker who is also training a Guide Dog so they can both free run. The hope is that the other puppy will follow Quip's lead because he's so good at this and not be distracted from everything that is going on in the park. Richard is also looking after a much younger puppy for one day, so it'll be interesting to hear how they all got along next time I pay a visit!