Paws For Hearing

Harley has passed all his tests!

10/17/2014

Harley has done very well in training and passed all his tests, he is now ready to go out and work and will be joining his recipient next week. Harley is a super dog, everyone who meets him loves him including his recipient when they first met a few weeks ago. He wanted to keep him there and then, but at that stage there was a little more training to be done.
Well done to Harley, he will make a fantastic Hearing Dog for his lucky recipient.
by Fiona Daniels

Harley update Aug 2014

8/16/2014

We have had a little update on Harley from Fiona Daniels:
"Just to let you know that Harley is doing well in training, he's a bit of a plodder, doesn't do anything in a hurry, but he gets there! I had the pleasure of doing a settle for half an hour with him last week outside the restaurant. That just involves sitting drinking a cup of tea while he behaves perfectly and lies quietly on the ground, which he did as you can see in the photo. I also took a photo of him at the entrance to the restaurant, where we would have been sitting inside if the weather hadn't been so nice. And also one of him outside Training House 2 which is where he learns to do all his soundwork."

Here is a lovely picture of Harley taken by Paul Wilkinson. He is looking very grown up and handsome here:

Farewell Harley

6/30/2014

Harley update July 2014

I don’t know where the last 12 months have gone, but it’s time for Harley to move on to the next stage in his journey to becoming a Hearing Dog so this will be my last update.
He goes back to the Grange on Friday and will be living with a
B & B socialiser whilst he’s in full time training. We will miss him; he’s a very special dog and his recipient is a very lucky person.

I’m very pleased to let you know he has just passed his 3 star award. Clever boy!

We went to Wallingford last week to do some bus training and it turned out to be the afternoon that R.A.F. Benson were marching through the town, complete with band. Harley took it all in his stride, the band, the marching airmen and children waving flags. Here he is trying out the helicopter. The trouble with being a black dog is that you can’t see him clearly but if you look to the left of the pilot you may just be able to make him out!

Also last week we returned to a school where we had given a talk last November to collect a cheque for the money they have raised throughout the year ... nearly £3,000. His friend, Fudge, came along too.
By Christine Ellis

Harley celebrates being a year old

5/23/2014

Harley May 2014

Harley has been on holiday with Sue again since the last update and was a very well behaved guest.Their back garden adjoins a field which currently has cows and their calves grazing. Harley was, apparently, fascinated by them and would sit watching them for ages. One day he actually touched noses with a calf, then they both bolted in opposite directions! I was so happy to have him home again it made me realise just how hard it’s going to be when he leaves us for good, but we’ve got him for another couple of months yet.

There was much excitement on Sunday when Harley had his friends round for his 1st birthday party. I made them some cheese biscuits and a carrot and peanut butter cake, both of which went down extremely well. The guests were Lola,(a wire haired dachshund), Amber ( a spaniel puppy) and Dylan, (a normal size cockapoo). Here are some pics of his big day.

We were blessed with magnificent weather and they all played brilliantly together. The birthday boy got some lovely cards and presents: a new toy, a big bone, some chews and some dental sticks.

Harley passed his two star assessment last week. His biggest challenge was a doing a one minute wait with me standing 10 paces away, with all the distractions of being outside AND having Beau the spaniel in the same field, but he did it!!! So proud of my boy.

Yesterday we went to Oxford City College to do some awareness raising with Guide Dogs. Two other socialisers came with me with their puppies, Fudge and Kelsey. They hadn’t met each other before so they were very excited. We spent about three hours there talking about Hearing Dogs and answering questions from the students. They’d baked cakes, sales of which raised £66.00 which was divided between HD and Guide Dogs. Here’s Harley withFudge. He stole a hide bone from Julie’s bag and was hoping to eat it all himself, but Fudge had other ideas. She grabbed hold of the other end so Harley was holding it whilst Fudge chewed it!

When the event ended we decided to take them for a walk where they could run free together so we crossed the city to Christchurch meadows which run down to the river. They had a whale of a time chasing each other but then spotted a couple of ducks...they took off after the ducks which flew off into the river, hotly pursued by Harley and Fudge who also took off and landed in the river, to the astonishment of the people in the punts. Silly pups had no idea how deep the water was or how steep the bank was. They couldn’t get out on their own so Julie and I had to kneel down and haul them out by their harnesses. We then had two soaking wet, rather smelly dogs and two socialisers with very muddy jeans!

Harley has now been matched with a recipient which means he’ll be leaving us to go into full time training early in July. There WILL be tears, but he is going to be a great hearing dog and will change the life of his recipient for the better without a doubt. We’ve had a wonderful year with him and will miss him enormously!

By Christine Ellis

Harley Gets his KC Bronze Award

4/2/2014

Harley gets his certificate and rosette for passing his KC Good Citizens Bronze test.

Harley at 10 months old

3/23/2014

Harley Update March 2014
10 months old already!!!
Well, the poor little man has had a really tough time since our last update. He went to be castrated but, as he had only one descended testicle, the vet had to open his abdomen to search for the retained one. It proved to be rather elusive, playing hide and seek with him which resulted in a long scar and a very sore tummy for Mr. Harley. To add to his problems he also got a clipper rash where they shaved him. So, to cut a long story short, after four trips to the vets, three courses of antibiotics and anti-inflamatories, he is almost back to normal. One more trip to the HD vet on Thursday, so fingers crossed!
He has certainly regained his bounce and his appetite; it’s good to see him racing around like a loon again!

" Don't like having a lampshade on my head! :-( "

Great news to report … he passed his Good Citizens Bronze Award on Wednesday! Harley and Pebbles (a black lab) passed, but Beau (a spaniel) and his sister Izzy didn’t. I was so proud of him because we hadn’t been able to go to puppy class whilst he was poorly.

We’ve been for a long walk through Little Wittenham woods this morning and Harley was sooooooo excited to go there again he rolled in poo and lay down in a muddy puddle so, before we could put him back in the car, we had to go down to the river for a rinse off. When we got home he had a bath (much to his disgust) and his collar, harness and lead are currently in the washing machine! He makes so much fuss about having a bath that Stuart and I get an extra shower.

We had a trip to the railway station yesterday and sat on the platform watching the trains come and go. He was a bit scared but did jump on and off the train three times so I was very happy with that. I was also happy the train didn’t set off with us still on it because we didn’t have a ticket!! . Next time we’ll go to Reading.

He’s now decided he really doesn’t like shopping and after 2 to 3 minutes starts to howl like a banshee because he’s bored and wants to go back out on to the street where there are more interesting smells. He’s going to have to get over it though because I do like shopping!

He’s also started howling when he sees another dog but can’t go and greet them because he’s on the lead. Of course I just ignore the noise but people give me those looks which say “why doesn’t she shut him up?”
What they don’t realise is that if I give him any kind of attention he’ll do it more than ever, so I pretend to be deaf !!!

Harley accompanied me to a talk on Monday which I gave to the Bicester Garrison Guides. He was extremely well behaved and the girls loved him.

By Christine Ellis.

Harley at 9 months old.

2/14/2014

Harley is now coming upto 9 months old and still growing! However, I think he may be slowing down now as he’s leaving some of his food. He’s just the BEST companion in the house but outside he’s getting a bit “teenage” and forgetting his manners.
If he sees another dog he just wants to go and greet them, with no thought to me being dragged along behind him. If I stand my ground he stands up on his hind legs and howls!!! Not acceptable behaviour for a Hearing Dog! So his trainer, Elin, came for a home visit this week and brought a harness with her. So I got training in how to use it – very important I get it right because it will be part of his “uniform” once qualified. He’s just so sociable and loves dogs, children and anyone who’ll make a fuss of him.

So, apart from the lapse in his manners, Elin is very pleased with him, she thinks he’ll make a great little Hearing Dog. He’ll be taking his Bronze Good Citizen test very soon now. And, whilst on the subject of training, we have now started work with the cooker timer. He got the hang of that straight away so we’re practising every day. He’s a very intelligent chap.

We have just returned from a 4-week holiday for the 1st time ever! So Harley’s been on his holidays too. He went to a family living close to The Grange and they loved him. They didn’t want to give him back and encouraged us to go away again soon.

Harley also has a new little friend. A neighbour of ours was so impressed with him they decided to buy a cockapoo puppy so, as they don’t have a computer I passed them the details of one I saw on the internet. They went to see her and it was love at first sight. Her name is Amber but she looks more like a spaniel than a cockapoo at present. They walk together every morning but Harley is so big he tends to flatten poor little Amber. Just as well we’re having to keep them on leads at present as the meadows we usually walk them round are under water.

By Christine Ellis.....Harley's Socialiser.

Harley is bigger than his mum!

1/13/2014

Hearing Dog pup Harley at 7.5 months showing how much bigger he is than mum Ginny!

Harley at 7 months old

12/17/2013

Update From Christine Ellis:

Harley is doing well in puppy class and is as good as gold in the house. His only issue when we're out and about is other dogs. He pulls like a train to go and say hello to every dog we see (even in the distance). He had his first bus ride last week and didn't like it very much so I'm going to have to find some stationary ones so he can just get used to getting on them before they start rattling along.
He's also been to the dentist with me where the receptionist made a fuss of him whilst I was in the chair and made it a good experience for him.

He is now 7 months old ( 18/12/13) and now weighs 16 kilos. People are always asking me if he's a labradoodle! He's had his first haircut and they tell me he was very well behaved. Looking very handsome now! ( see Harley's First Haircut )

We are working towards his 2-star assessment now when he'll have to do a 1 minute wait with me 10 steps away. Once he passes that he'll get his little burgundy jacket.

I'm going away in January so Harley will be going to another socialiser who does holiday cover but he's so laid back I don't think he'll be worried.