I’ve been to another trial lesson with Dawne today.
This time we met at Coombe Hill and it was more of an informal dog walk.
I took my own dog, Dillon with me and there was another new socialiser there with her dog Oscar, so it was a great opportunity for us to meet and have a chat as well as learning a bit more about what we might go on to experience at puppy classes.
Two Medical Detection Dogs were there, Archie and Fudge, as well as Dawne’s own dog, Tilly and a couple of other friends with their dogs – one was a gorgeous Leonberger called Bonnie with her side-kick, a chocolate Lab called Clyde!!
Dawne started the walk by explaining what we were going to do, and advising that we would be asked to put our dogs back on leads if there was any inappropriate behaviour – especially as she’d never met my dog Dillon or Oscar before…
Dillon and Oscar had already been checked as part of the home visit to make sure that they have the right temperament to be able to support the training and socialisation of a puppy, but it was sensible not to take it for granted.
As it turned out of course there was no need to worry at all.
Dawne was watching how the Medical Detection Dogs interacted with the other dogs as well as how well they responded to their handlers in this more relaxed environment. It was lovely to see how well all the dogs behaved whilst they enjoyed themselves romping through the woods together – great socialisation for the dogs, and very nice for the handlers too, although it would have been even nicer if it hadn’t started to rain on the way back!
I’m very excited now that I will soon have my own Medical Detection Dog puppy to bring on these walks too.