daysoft is now the proud sponsor of a puppy to be trained by Guide Dogs for the Blind, we've named her daysie...

Over the coming months we'll be keeping you up to date on her progress with "pupdates" on this webpage.

If you would like to find out more or give your support to Guide Dogs, please visit www.guidedogs.org.uk.

Thanks!

Ron Hamilton

pupdate 4 - 18/06/2010

We recently caught up with daysie's puppy walker to find out how she is getting on and what sort of things she has been up to over the past few weeks.

daysie is making excellent progress with her training and is polishing the skills that she will need when she moves to the Dog School to continue her training. Over the past few weeks daysie has been working on her pavement training; learning to wait at the pavement edges and being encouraging to do this even without being prompted. At the moment daysie can be a little hesitant, but with practice she will gain confidence. Her basic commands, such as 'stay' and 'sit' are excellent.

Public transport is not a problem for daysie - she has had plenty of practice on buses and trains and is well-behaved when her puppy walker is at church or out for lunch. daysie also really enjoys free running - and her recall is excellent. She also behaves really well around other dogs that are out on their walks.

daysie recently had her first season without any complications, although her spending has become less controlled since then. This is hopefully a temporary problem that will soon settle.

We look forward to contacting you again soon to celebrate daysie's first birthday!

daysie is now 6 months old and her Puppy Walker Doreen thinks that daysie will be a fantastic guide dog one day, she has become much more confident in the past few weeks and has learnt plenty of new skills. She has become quite a character; daysie lives with two cats and often copies them by washing her face or crossing her legs when she sits down.

daysie has improved most areas including her toilet training (spending routine) she is now clean on 8 out of 10 of her walks. Her recall is very good both inside and outside and she is not distracted by food, this is fantastic for a dog of her age. She is also now confident with other dogs and doesn't show any signs of fear when approached by larger dogs.

Places that daysie has visited include restaurants, cafes and even church to watch a concert, she is always well behaved and sits down and goes to sleep. daysie has also been on some buses, public transport may become and important part of her life as a guide dog so she must be familiar with the sights and sounds that she finds there.

Something that Doreen will be working on with daysie is her pace when walking on the lead; she has so much energy and can sometimes pull. Doreen and daysie will be visiting puppy classes with their Puppy Walking Supervisor soon to address her trouble in this area.

Soon daysie will be receiving her blue puppy jacket; this jacket is designed to assist Puppy Walkers when gaining access to public places, so is important when socialising and habituating a young dog. She still has lots to explore and we are looking forward to writing about her development soon.

An email received from a friend of Daysoft and Guide Dogs for the blind:

What fabulous news! Well done daysoft!

I am also a puppy walker and it is always good to hear of the 'new kid on the block' - attached, a pic (aged 7 weeks also - with his duck) of our last puppy, a very loving labrador, Woody, who went in for harness training in Feb.

I don't really need any lenses just yet but I am so pleased that you are sponsoring a pup that I shall away and do it now anyway.

Once again, a hearty congratulations and thanks for your sponsorship, especially in these tough economic times.

 M

daysie has now joined her new family to begin her training as a guide dog. We will keep you updated over the coming months on how she is progressing during her puppy walking.

about Guide Dogs for the Blind

The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association consists of stakeholders, including our customers, volunteers, donors, employees and trustees. We work as a team to deliver mobility and access services that meet the needs and aspirations of blind and partially-sighted people in the United Kingdom.

Guide Dogs was founded in 1931, and is a charity that receives no government funding for the guide dogs service.  The guide dog service is entirely dependent on voluntary donations.  The guide dog service costs the guide dog owner a nominal fee of just 50 pence to ensure equality for all in the UK. We are a world leader in breeding and training guide dogs and are a co-founder of the International Guide Dog Federation.

The charity employs 1000 professional staff in the UK supported by 10,000 volunteers, including puppy walkers, brood-stock holders, dog boarders and thousands of local fundraisers.