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!

Guide Dogs - Running Free

Happy birthday Quip! Well another month has been and gone and on August 13th Quip turned six months old. I know it's not a traditional birthday like turning one or two, but Quip has come so far in such a short space of time that I couldn't resist. Doesn't he look happy? 

This time, my uncle, Richard, brought Quip to a park right near me and we spent a few hours letting him run around off the lead. 

This exercise is really good at reinforcing the training that Richard has carried out with Quip so far and gives him the chance to have a bit of fun too. It was so lovely to see Quip run as each time that we have seen him we've been inside. 

What was even more amazing was that Quip has never visited us before and the park was unfamiliar to him. This didn't put him off though and he happily ran around investigating all there was to be seen, and he still came back when he was called too. Richard made him sit quite a few times during our trips around the park and wait in a spot until he was called. 

Just after the six months old marker, Quip will go for a bronze assessment to check in on his progress with my uncle. He'll then have two more (silver and gold) while he is with Richard before he has a big assessment and then moves up to the next stage in his training. It'll be nice to see how he gets on with this Quip has been on the bus a few more times this month and also took his first trip to the beach at Clacton! He was really good during the car journey up there and as you can see below, he really enjoyed himself. 

They are both still going puppy training regularly and Quip has settled down quite a lot, although he is probably still the loudest in the class! He likes his training, which is the main thing, and Richard hopes to take him to the zoo soon so he can experience another environment that is full of people and some very unusual looking animals...

Richard is also going away for a couple of weeks in September, but Quip will stay with another volunteer puppy walker in the meantime to ensure he is still receiving the training that he needs and can still be monitored by the Guide Dog Team. I'll still catch up with them next month though, so that I can find out what both Quip and Richard got up to on their separate holidays!

Guide Dogs - Quip's First Coat

When I saw Quip in his very first Guide Dog coat, it must have been a proud moment for my uncle Richard. He's been working hard with his partner Julie to train Quip and it's clearly paying off.

Now 18 weeks old, Quip has been very busy this month and even took a short trip on the train, with the help of a Guide Dog supervisor called Jo. He was really good during his two hour outing and seemed to enjoy the ride into the town centre. While they were there, Richard took Quip into some of the shops and mixed with the customers. It can be quite difficult to get anywhere as a lot of people try to stroke him, but Quip took it all in his stride.

While Jo bought items, Quip made it clear to Richard that he needed to go to the toilet, so Richard took him outside so he could perform. This is an important aspect of owning a Guide Dog as blind or visually impaired people will be able to ask a dog to go to the toilet on command.

Quip was then taken into Debenhams and they used the lifts to navigate between floors. In another shop, Quip was shown the escalators which he found very interesting, although he is not allowed to use them, and he seemed surprised at the top of the escalators when he saw people coming out of the ground towards him.

When Richard and Quip went into the restaurant, Richard was a bit concerned because it was very busy. However, Jo was not phased and gave Quip a toy to keep him occupied. It was a great day out for all of them and the shops and railway line were very accommodating to both Quip and Richard.

Richard is really pleased with how Quip has been progressing and it's great that he has so much character. A lot of the Guide Dog puppies become too attached to their puppy walkers, which can be a problem when they are accessed because they won't go for a walk with the Guide Dog supervisor. However, Quip is happy to be taken out with anyone, which is a good sign.

Quip has been wearing a special collar to stop him from pulling, barking or jumping up at anyone. It's only used when needed and is a short term solution. When Quip barks or pulls, he has a tiny bit of water squirted at him. It makes him think about what he is doing and now he's very good and doesn't need  it barely at all.

He's now able to run off the lead, but is very happy to come back to Richard when he uses the whistle. He's been off half a dozen times and is really good and happily plays with other dogs.

The next thing that Richard has been doing is making Quip stand and stroking his back once he has done this. Richard puts a slight bit of pressure on Quip's back when he does this as this where the handle will go when Quip becomes a fully fledged guide dog. When they go out walking and they are about to turn a corner, Richard will say "find left" to Quip when they turn left and "find right" when they turn right.

Quip is coming along so fast now and I can't wait to find out what else he has learned next month!

Guide Dogs - Another Month Down For Quip

Sorry this latest post is a bit late, but Quip is just getting bigger and bigger! When I visited my uncle this month, Quip was coming up to 16 weeks old. It's amazing how different he looks in the space of a month, although he looks like he still needs to grow into his paws!

Having Quip has certainly been a learning curve for my uncle Richard. This is because although he's had plenty of dogs before (and some of them from a puppy too), Quip is not Richard's dog. He belongs to the Guide Dog Association and after caring for him and teaching him some of the basics, Quip will leave after 12-14 months for an assessment and go on to have more training in order to become a fully fledged guide dog.

Quip has to get used to having his mouth, ears and claws inspected to ensure he is in the best possible health. Richard routinely checks him every day, as well as brushing and combing him to keep Quip's coat glossy and clean. 

They have both been on the bus together and Quip has also visited the train station too. He hasn't been on a train yet, but this visit enables him to get used to the noise of the train and it doesn't seem to faze him so far. Quip is still quite excitable in the classes with other the other trainee puppies, but he's only a puppy himself so it is to be expected until he begins to calm down.

Hopefully next month, we'll get to find out how much more Quip has improved. He's such a friendly dog and as you can see, I had to get a couple of cuddles with him before we left! 

Guide Dogs - Quip's First Steps

Looking at this little bundle of fluff, all I can think about is how tiny he is and his beautiful big eyes. However, Quip a Golden Retriever x Labrador is no ordinary puppy. One day, he will hopefully take the big step of becoming someone's eyes. Yes, Quip is training to become a guide dog.

When my uncle, Richard, first told he was puppy walking for the Guide Dog Association, I couldn't contain my excitement. Here was my chance to document the first 14 months of training a guide dog and ultimately give both myself and others a glimpse into the life of this very special puppy.

Born on the 13th February 2014, Quip's litter can all identified because their names begin with the letter 'Q'. One of seven, he was the second puppy to be born and as Richard was told, he was the only noisy one out of the litter.

He came to live with Richard at just six weeks old in order to start his early training. Puppy walking is certainly a lot of commitment, but you can tell both Quip and Richard are really enjoying themselves and they have already become firm friends. During this time, it was also important that he did not go on grass verges or grass in parks because he had not had all of his injections. However, Richard was allowed to carry him around as much as possible so that he could experience the great outdoors.

When I visited them on May 11, Quip was about 12 weeks old and had already grown quite a lot. (What made me smile is that his legs and paws still look that bit too big for his little body and he was having lots of fun investigating me, my mum and dad. Just look at those brindle coloured paws!)

When Richard decided to become a puppy walker, he had to apply to the Guide Dog Association and they would decide if he was suitable to take on such an vital task.

Someone from the Association came to his house and went through the various aspects of puppy walking, as well as assessing the house and car. Here, they stress the fact that this puppy is not yours to keep as ultimately he/she will return to the Association to continue the next stage in their training. In Richard's case, the fact that he had owned dogs before really helped and it wasn't long before Quip came into his life.

Quip is such a clever puppy and he has already learnt such a lot considering his age. He can sit and wait, sit, lay down and Richard can tell him to wait, walk away and then call him over. To make sure he doesn't jump up at him when he is called, Richard gets Quip to come round him and then sit on his left hand side. As a rule guide dogs only work on the left and never on the right.

Once a fortnight Richard takes him to a meeting, which all the puppy walkers attend with their puppies. Here they teach the youngsters a number of different commands such as sit, come, leave and walk them on the lead. To test the puppies, hula hoops are placed on the floor and they have to walk over to see if they are relaxed. This is an important part of their training because the puppies must be correctly socialised. They must also be able to walk straight at another dog and pass them with no problems.

In addition, someone from the Association will come round Richard's house and check that Quip is the right weight, is happy and is learning everything correctly. Another important part is to say "busy" when they are going to the toilet. This is so when the the puppies are older, they will go to the toilet on command.

Richard has also taken Quip to Leigh Station so that he can experience getting into the lift and stand on the platform. He is not allowed to take Quip up to the platform when a train is going straight through the station, but Quip took all of this in his stride.

Quip and Richard's story will continue next month, but for more information about Guide Dogs, visit: www.guidedogs.org.uk

National Pet Month - The Little Hamster

They're cute, they're fluffy and and they're small. Yes, I'm talking about the shy and solitary hamster. To round off the end to National Pet Month 2014, I thought the hamster would be the ideal pet to mention.

Their name comes from the German word 'to hoard' which reflects the way that they collect food in their cheek pouches and store it, before they come back to it later on. In the wild it would be too dangerous to stop and eat in the open, which is why they wait until the safety of their home before they eat a treasured treat. What's amazing is that they can store up to half their body weight in these pouches!

There are 24 different species, but five members of this group are kept as pets. All fairly small in size, these include the Syrian, striped dwarf Russian, white dwarf Russian, Roborovski's dwarf hamster and the Chinese hamster.

My friend Gina's hamster Elwood was a Syrian hamster and was roughly two years old. Sometimes we looked after him when she went away and it was always fun to put him in his ball and let him run around the floor. He was pretty quick so we would often have to put cushions near the walls and doors to stop him running into them! 

The Syrian breed was one of the first species of hamster to become a pet and they come in a range of colours, such as black, cinnamon and white, as well as their native golden. They are 6-7 inches high and only weigh 5-7oz. This breed tends to live longer than the other types of domesticated hamster and can live for 2-5 years. 

Unlike the dwarf hamster, it is advisable to keep the Syrian breed alone. They will fight among themselves and shouldn't be kept with other hamsters past five weeks old. Dwarf hamsters can be kept in same sex pairs, but only if they are introduced when they are really young. 

It's also important to take your time and let your hamster get to know you before handling them too much. Younger hamsters will bite when startled and remember they are prey animals. They are always on the lookout for predators, such as owls, that will swoop down and grab them. Therefore, when you start to handle your hamster, always scoop them up from underneath and let them sniff your hands first. This is especially significant if you have dwarf types because they move so quickly. Cup them between your hands too and that way, they will feel more secure.

Hamsters are largely nocturnal and will snooze during the day before becoming more active at night. However, their sleeping patterns has altered due to our daily lives and artificial light, so they will wake up and then settle back down to sleep several times a day. Make sure their exercise wheel doesn't squeak or you'll be in for plenty of sleepless nights, because when they wake up they like to do some vigorous exercise. Even though they only have little legs, they can run up to five miles every night!

They also don't have very good eyesight, but what they lack in sight, they make up for with their ears and nose. Hamsters have great hearing to alert them to danger in the dark and an excellent sense of smell, which enables them to forage for plenty of food. 

As they are rodents, they have very strong front teeth that are perfect for opening nut shells and seed cases. They love to gnaw on anything hard, but make sure you keep an eye on their teeth because these teeth never stop growing. A vet can trim these down, but it means putting them under anesthetic which puts stress on their tiny hearts. Why not put a wooden chew block or provide them with plenty of seeds and nuts to trim these down instead?

Hamsters enjoy eating raw vegetables, but make sure you keep the portions small because too much will give them stomach upsets. They shouldn't be given too many treats as these contain fat and sugar. Food such as chocolate, grapes, oranges, apple seeds and rhubarb are poisonous and will make them ill.

If you're looking for a hamster because you can't commit to looking after another animal, such as a cat or a dog, why not try your local rescue centre? There are plenty of unwanted animals in the world that just want a home and all they need is a second chance.