Made with Xara

Week 1  Let me introduce myself Hello,   my   name   is   Pickle   and   I   am   going   to   take   you   on   a   journey through the first 10 or 11 months of my life.   I   was   born   to   be   a   Guide   Dog   on   17th   of   July   this   year.   My   mum   is called   Inca   and   she   is   a   golden   Labrador   and   my   dad   is   called   Yardley and   he   is   a   Golden   Retriever.   I   don't   know   how   many   brothers   and sisters   I   had   -   I   can't   count   yet   can   I,   silly!   Normally,   our   names   are chosen   as   a   letter   of   the   alphabet   for   the   whole   litter,   but   I   got   a   special name because I am what they call a sponsored dog. Some   kind   person   has   donated   to   pay   for   my   training.   I   expect   I   will   get to   meet   them   while   I   am   with   my   puppy   walker.   Puppy   walkers   look after   us   delinquents   (I   mean   puppies)   until   we   are   mature   enough   to   go in   for   training   to   Leamington   Spa.   They   teach   us   lots   of   things   that   we need   to   know,   and   are   always   sad   when   we   have   to   leave   them.   I   hope   I get   some   nice   puppy   walkers,   I   need   to   make   sure   I   train   them   too! Hopefully   I   will   be   able   to   let   you   know   how   I   get   on,   make   sure   you check back here to follow my progress! Love Pickle X

Week 2  -  Jasper and me My   first   week   with   my   puppy   walkers   was   great   fun....they   had   another   puppy   (a   very   big   one!)   who   was   about   to   go   off for   his   big   school   training.   His   name   was   Jasper   and   he   was   very   gentle   and   let   me   push   him   around   as   much   as   I wanted to! He   has   gone   now   and   I   know   that   my   new   Mum   and   Dad   were   sad,   as   they   were   very   quiet   that   day,   even   though   I   did my   best   to   entertain   them.   They   will   get   updates   on   Jaspers   progress,   so   I   will   make   sure   I   tell   you   if   there   are   any developments.   Jasper   taught   me   loads   of   stuff   while   he   was   here   -   to   sit   for   my   food   (very   hard,   but   I   just   about   manage it!), to come when I am called - Pickle is quite an easy name to have, I think I will keep it. The   best   of   all   though,   because   I   am   sure   Mum   and   Dad   would   not   have   shown   me,   is   how   to   dig   in   the   garden.   It   took me   a   couple   of   tries,   but   I   watched   Jasper   carefully   and   soon   got   the   hang   of   it.   I   will   be   sure   to   keep   up   the   practice,   I know   Jasper   would   have   wanted   me   to.   Jasper,   if   you   are   reading   this,   I   have   nearly   got   the   tree   root   out!   Hope   you   are having a good time at big school! Love Pickle x

Week 3 - Settling in nicely I   was   8   weeks   old   on   Monday,   happy   birthday   to   me,   happy   birthday   to   me...no   presents   yet,   but   I   am   always   hopeful. As   you   can   see   I   am   imprisoned   behind   a   gate...well   not   really,   Mum   and   Dad   are   having   some   building   work   done   at their   house   and   I   keep   getting   in   the   way,   so   for   my   safety   (so   they   say!)   they   have   put   up   a   gate   to   stop   me   just wandering   about.   I   can't   help   it   if   everything   is   just   so   interesting   and   smells   so   nice.   I   have   lots   to   tell   you   that   I   have been doing. Most   important   one   is   that   I   met   my   sponsor   -   remember   I   told   you,   the   person   who   pays   for   my   training.   She   only   lives around   the   corner   from   my   puppy   walkers,   so   I   will   be   able   to   see   her   lots   and   lots.   She   is   very   nice   and   has   a   big   grown up guide dog who is very clever, and who I hope I can match up to one day. I   have   been   going   in   the   car   every   day   -   I   am   not   really   sure   I   like   it   yet,   but   so   far   nothing   awful   has   happened,   so maybe   it   is   alright   after   all.   We   have   been   to   the   vets,   don't   worry   nothing   is   wrong,   I   just   wanted   to   check   him   out   as   he may   be   doing   my   'big'   operation   in   about   9   months   time.   Although   I   can't   go   on   proper   walks   yet   as   I   haven't   had   all   my injections,   I   can   go   on   the   lead,   just   down   the   road   a   little   way.   I   have   done   that   twice   now,   it   is   great   fun.   Also,   mum   is trying   to   teach   me   to   come   to   her   when   she   blows   a   whistle   -   well   once   I   realised   she   had   a   treat   as   a   reward   for   coming to her, there was no stopping me. I like this training lark, you get extra food!    My   supervisor   came   to   see   me   this   week   -   each   one   of   us   has   a   supervisor   who   makes   sure   the   puppy   walkers   are   doing their   job,   ha   ha!   She   asked   me   if   I   like   it   here   and   I   said   that   I   do,   so   I   will   stay   for   a   while.   I   gave   her   one   of   my   gentle nips   with   my   teeth   (well   I   thought   it   was   gentle),   but   she   didn't   seem   to   appreciate   it.   This   is   a   fun   game   to   play   with mum and dad, you nip them then wait for them to say no or to whimper like a puppy....then you do it again! Jasper   never   minded   when   I   nipped   him,   I   don't   know   what   all   their   fuss   is   about.   Oh,   meant   to   tell   you,   I   am   getting   the hang   of   'busy   busy'   -   that   is   what   they   say   when   they   want   you   to   go   to   the   toilet   -   embarrassing   I   know,   but   what   is   a pup to do? Love Pickle x