Clever Clay has passed his HDA!

Well I do like a good rhyme!

Mr Clay had his Hearing Dog Assessment (HDA) last week and passed!

During the HDA, Clay was tested on all of his soundwork and obedience; for example, alerting his trainer to the doorbell and also being able to settle nicely in a coffee shop. Part of the test is conducted in a training house, and for Clay, this means at Hearing Dogs’ Centre, The Grange, and part of it is done in a local town.

Now that Clay has passed, his meet with his intended recipient is being arranged. He will go and spend a night at their house to see how they get on and if all is well, a date for their pre-placement week will be arranged.

We are so so proud of this gorgeous little fluff ball! He definitely is a clever little sausage and has picked up his soundwork so quickly. We have been practicing some of his sounds at home, such as the cooker timer and he is soooo enthusiastic to let you know and then bounces off to show you where the sound is coming from. He absolutely loves it!

Another love of Clay’s is snow! And we’ve had rather a lot of it recently. He loves bouncing around and playing in the snow and is rather reluctant to come back inside when asked, even though he’s starting to shiver! It’s lovely to watch him playing, although it does make the ‘bedtime wee’ routine a lot longer!

We met up for a walk with Gary, Louise & Baby Zita, although I’m not sure how much longer I can keep calling her that. The two of them had great fun zooming around in the snow and Clay ended up with icicles from his beard and snowballs in his feet!

 

We were also very honoured to be able to attend Crufts again this year as volunteers on the Hearing Dogs stand. I love talking to people about the charity and seeing their reaction whilst they watch the Hearing Dog demos. It makes me feel so proud to be there representing the HD Family! Crufts really is great fun and although we knew what to expect after last year, I still can’t get over the shear size of it! I discovered an extra ‘hall’ this year and I still think there may be another one I’m yet to find! I love seeing all the different breeds of dog and wandering around all of the many, many stalls. It’s crazy-dog-lady heaven!

 

Obviously we couldn’t leave without a present for Clay! I think I was quite restrained this year with my shopping…

 

Whilst we were enjoying Crufts, Clay went for a mini holiday to his Puppy Socialisers, Ron & Sue. He had a great time and settled straight back in playing with his old friends Amber and Bella (Ron and Sue’s permanent pups). He even showed off some of his new skills by alerting Sue to the alarm clock in the morning. Definitely a surprise to have a big fluffy teddy bear jumping on you first thing in the morning if you’re not expecting it!

I mentioned in a previous post that Clay has been sponsored by a lovely lady called Maggie. He was named after her first Hearing Dog, Clay #1, who was also a black cockapoo. This week we attended a very special lunch with Maggie, along with all of the people who have been involved in Clay’s journey to become a clever Hearing Dog! Clay was so excited to be surrounded by all of the people he loves the most (after biscuits and squirrels); his Puppy Socialisers – Sue & Ron, his trainers – Fiona & Jessie and the wonderful Maggie who not only raised a lot of money to sponsor him, but continues to raise money for the charity and spread awareness of the wonderful things they do.

Cuddle time for Maggie with her Hearing Dog, Jamie and Puppy Clay!

After lunch, Clay took centre stage and gave us all a demo of his soundwork. He did so well, showing off his new skills and we were all delighted to see how he alerted to all of the sounds with such enthusiasm! It really was a special day and a perfect opportunity for Clay to say a big thank you to all his favourite people!

 

If you are interested in volunteering for this amazing charity there is a Volunteer Fair on Saturday 14th April, 11am – 1pm at The Grange in Buckinghamshire, where you can be one of the first to see the new Welcome Centre (I had a sneak peek this week and it is INCREDIBLE!) and find out more about the opportunities available. There will also be talks and demos! *Cute Pup Alert!* Full details here.

It’s not long until Easter now and we’re looking forward to having lots of fun over the long weekend, especially as it finally looks like Spring has arrived! Until then, I shall leave you with this super cute photo of a very happy Claymondo!