Month 9 with Usher

We have been back to work properly this month now Usher has fully recovered from being neutered. However as this stage of Usher's training we seem to be just going over and over all his existing training, I am trying to make it as interesting as possible for Usher but I am beginning to see signs that he needs more. We are doing lead walks in town and in supermarkets and shops, we have been on buses and trains for short trips, we have walked in and around our local church, we have continued to practice steps and enjoy our free runs.  Usher is very happy to be in a shop, he walks along in a straight line, does not mind sitting and waiting whilst I look at something and does not try and take things from the shelves. When I have been for coffee with my puppy walking supervisor after she has been out to see us working, Usher is more than happy to lay quietly under the table (mind you clearing the floor of the odd crumb first might have to looked at, oops). He is used to lifts and has even been through revolving and automatic doors without a fuss. His recall is really good and has learnt that he should come back every time even though there are other dogs to play with.

Even though I make him sound like the perfect dog, he does still have a mischievous side after all he is still a puppy really, albeit a big one. I have discovered the tea towel that I left on the work surface in his bed a couple of times and for some reason he took a liking to my loose sink plug which was 'Usher-ed'. I took some advice from my Supervisor and a couple of booby-trapped tea towels (attached to baking trays) seems to have sorted that one out!  My Supervisor said at her last visit that it its possible he might go into further training at eleven months old, which would in theory mean that we only have eight weeks left together.  I really do not want to think about that (head in sand, fingers in ears, la-la-la) although I must start to prepare the children for him going.

Usher has been on a week's holiday this month and stayed with a lovely boarder who's own guide dog pup had just gone to be assessed for breeding stock. She had an 'alternative career' dog of her own called Baron who is just the same size as Usher and apparently they had a whale of a time.  It is good for them to stay with other people occasionally, Usher is very attached to me and although I wished that I could have taken him on holiday with us, he had just as much fun and enjoyed his week off too.

Whilst we were away on holiday at the seaside, we decided that when we came home we would take the dogs to a dog friendly beach nearby. I wanted Usher could have the experience of the waves and the sand and after all, he might go there with his guide dog owner someday. Usher ran around like a lunatic, considering that this pup is wary of water, he zoomed in and out of the waves, running after the frisbee with Maple like he had been going to the beach every day. He decided that seaweed was extremely tasty and kept trying to eat it (bleurgh) and bringing me pieces to throw for him to fetch. He ran through some large pools of water as the tide had just gone out and it did not bother him whatsoever, however Maple went through first, so perhaps he didn't want to lose face in front of a girl ha ha. He made huge footprints through the soft wet sand and Maple decided that it would be good fun to dig out his footprints, Usher decided that digging was beyond him and that watching the seagulls was better.  However playing with the frisbee was even better fun as you can see from the photographs.  The only downside to him eating so much seaweed on the beach was the fact we needed the windows wide open on the way home.......

Usher and I have also been in the newspaper this month as we are going to be doing something very special. Guide Dogs are holding 'gowalkies' sponsored dog walk events throughout the country to raise funds to create more guide dog and owner partnerships. www.gowalkies.org.uk Any dog can take part and the sponsored walk is very special as it is the dog that gets sponsored and not the walker! Usher and I are going to be at the 'gowalkies' event at the Guide Dog Training Centre in Atherton, near Manchester on Sunday 5th September. They are planning on having a massive fun day with tours round the training centre as well. We decided that we would like to enter and we have set up our own JustGiving page where you can sponsor us and donate directly to Guide Dogs online: www.justgiving.org.uk/Janice-Hope-and-Usher Please come along to Atherton and say hello, or attend another 'gowalkies' event near you, or even sponsor us, every little helps! We will be doing a special diary entry soon just about the gowalkies event with lots of photographs to let you know how we got on.