General Chat

Monday last week we had to say goodbye to the 14 month old Labrador/Golden Retriever cross that we have been puppy parenting since he was seven weeks old for Canine Partners as we took him off to "Big School" for assessment to see if he is good enough to progress to advanced training and eventual partnering with a disabled person, usually a wheelchair user.

Next Thursday we take delivery of a new seven week old to start the whole process again.

It can be upsetting at times but very worthwhile. Canine Partners are always in need of more puppy parents so if anyone or someone you know loves dogs and has free time and a car do encourage them to look at the Canine Partners website and see what an amazing transformation they could make to someone's life.
Food and vet bills are met by Canine Partners and puppy parents attend classes, normally once a week, to assist with the training. You can make human friends as well as doggy ones!

And there are plenty of ways to help the charity short of actually having a puppy.

Well done, BrianW.... l'm sure your puppy will make you proud and will make such a difference to someone's life <3

I can only imagine how hard it was to say "Goodbye " to your puppy, but what a wonderful start you will have given in a family setting before he moves on to further training to enrich someone's life.

How great to hear that you will soon have a new pup to help in the same way.

Well done !

I applaud you Brian :-) you are doing an amazing thing...such a lovely
Thing to do <3

Brian you must be very proud of the work you do with puppies & its a very rewarding job. .You & your Pups are worth their weight in gold as they help people have a companion & purpose in life . <3 Barbra

Most of the credit for the training part is due to my OH. She has worked hard on decent walking, the commands, and so on.

We also give talks to clubs, societies and other organisations around Essex to raise awareness and funds as CP gets no government funding in spite of saving them millions in carers' fees.

I wish I could do what you do Brian. I would be a total wreck having to let a puupy go Great thing you and your OH are doing :-D :-D

Having had a dumped pup walk into our house almost 2 years ago I know how hard it is to give them up (she's still here :-D). I know it must hurt to let them go but you must have great pride in the job you do and the knowledge that someone is going to have a new life because of their new dog.

:-)

Going over to class today when we might find out what's coming tomorrow.
We know it's either a full Labrador or a Lab/Goldie cross.
Mum had three boys and five girls, three black and five yellow, and that's about all we know at the moment.
From recent pictures on Facebook they all look quite chunky but we would like ours to be slimmer if there is one, but we don't get a choice.

Hello how have you gone on at your class did you get a little lady or dog yellow or black? .come on tell us & keep us up to date :-)

My mistake, there wasn't a class yesterday.
Will post details once "it" arrives.

Yellow female Labrador named Bianca.
Quite a cutie.
Has had a play and some supper and is now fast asleep in her crate.
Poor thing has spent the day travelling in three vehicles from somewhere near Hull to Leicestershire then to Surrey then on to Essex but settled well in the cars so has slept on the journey.

She slept right through last night so tonight might just try setting up a baby alarm to hear if she wakes up.

We have to have a specific toilet area in the garden for her and a couple of times she has taken herself in when she wanted to "go". Not bad at under eight weeks old!

Update: Sunday pm, took her to Sainsbury's restaurant where we had a cup of tea and she alternated between settling in the shopping trolley we use as a dog cart and getting strokes from customers.

Sounds like she is going to be one intelligent dog :-D

She sounds like she's settled in well!! :-D :-D

do you have a "puppy in training" jacket or sign for her at this stage???

I only ask because all dogs except service dogs and dogs in training are forbidden in most stores over here, and in all eating places.

Yes, we have a flash on her lead, she'll get a jacket when she's bigger.
Canine Partners come under the Assistance Dogs Act so we can take her practically anywhere so long as she has either a flash or Jacket. We have ID as well.

The only refusal we had was by a taxi driver which was on cultural/religious grounds, a lot of taxi drivers are ethnic minority, but that was invalid as the only reason a taxi can refuse is if the driver has a medical condition and has a badge in the cab window. This one didn't. We complained to the licensing authority who ducked out of a prosecution because our puppy was in training. We checked and confirmed that trainees and qualified should be treated equally. Next time we'll hold our ground and call the police if necessary.

I thought you (edit!) would have ID and a sign!!

There has been the same problem with some ethnic taxi drivers over here .......... one even refused to take a blind person with a white cane in addition to the service dog wearing harness.

Like you, this is forbidden ............ the drivers can lose their jobs unless they realise that the culture is different.

Brian, that's interesting, your not being able to take Bianca in a taxi, due to cultural/religious grounds.
A few years ago, my daughter, who (as an aside) has an Arabic name, her dog and I were in town.
We missed the bus, and I decided to take a taxi home.
Daughter said she would walk the dog home, as the taxi driver was Arabic.
Taxi driver said daughter and dog could get into the taxi!!
Daughter insisted she would walk - I had a VERY unhappy taxi driver!!

I'm aware that many Arabs/Moslems regard dogs (apart from Saluki's) as 'dirty', but then, women in 'boob tubes', blokes who've drunk too much, aren't considered particularly 'wholesome', and I know which I would prefer in my taxi!!!

I remember a TV programme some time back where a blind Muslim boy was offered a Guide Dog. After a lot of discussion it was allowed, and the boy was thrilled and took to having a dog with no problem. His mother was very wary to start with, but came round in the end.

The best bit was the elders at the local Mosque, where a special bed was organised for the dog, just outside the main entrance, so that the boy could attend prayers like everyone else. Those who objected were firmly told by the Imam that this was a special case. :-) :-)