Dear Ken Weinling,

We are delighted to let you know that Ada, the guide dog puppy named in memory of Bob and Betty Hutchinson, has entered the next stage of her guide dog training.  We’re sure you’ll join us in wishing her the very best of luck as she moves a step closer to potentially becoming a life-changing guide. 

We will soon be sending you a photograph of Ada in her training harness. Please be aware that this can take several weeks to reach you; it’s vital that Ada is settled into her new environment and is completely comfortable in the harness before we take her picture, so please bear with us. 

This photograph will be the final update from us on Ada’s progress. We hope you’ve enjoyed following her throughout this all-important first year. 

Yours sincerely,

 Director of Fundraising and Marketing

As our previous pup Ada had to be withdrawn from training, Guide Dogs have now given us a new pup Ada to sponsor.  She is a golden retriever, on 20th November 2020 and is one of a litter of nine.  Below is a video about her from Guide Dogs, followed by her pupdates - she's doing really well!

Ada has been living with her Puppy Raisers, Jackie and Andy, for a little while now, so we caught up with them to find out how things are going.

Many Puppy Raisers have a few sleepless nights when their pup first arrives, as puppies can sometimes be a little unsettled in a new environment. However, Jackie and Andy told us that they had no such issues, as Ada has slept soundly every night since she moved in! This is probably because she feels so comfortable in the cosy puppy crate she sleeps in, but also, she seems to be a very calm pup in general.

One of the first things pups need to master when they move to their new home is toilet training. They are encouraged to respond to the ‘busy’ toileting prompt, which is taught to all guide dog pups and is designed to encourage ‘spending’ in appropriate areas. It can take a while for some pups to get the hang of this, but we are pleased to report that Ada is making excellent progress and has only had a few accidents here and there.

Jackie and Andy have begun introducing Ada to some basic obedience commands, such as ‘sit’, ‘down’ and ‘stay’, and Ada is picking things up really quickly, especially when there is a food treat as a reward!

An important aspect of a guide dog pup’s early training is to familiarise them with a variety of different modes of transport, so that later in life they can confidently go anywhere that their owner might need to. Ada has started with car travel, which she appears to be fine with.

Ada will often stop playing with her toys to watch the television, and particularly likes wildlife documentaries! She also loves the garden, although Jackie and Andy are not too keen on some of her attempts at pruning the plants! We think that Ada sounds like a wonderful, bright little puppy who has got off to a great start with the early stages of her training. We hope you’ve enjoyed reading her first pupdate, and we look forward to getting in touch again soon with a report card from her Puppy Development Advisor.

Since we last wrote to you, Ada has improved further in her training and learnt lots of new things – we’ve spoken to her Puppy Raiser, Jackie, to find out how they’re getting on.

Ada now wears the Guide Dogs puppy jacket while out on training walks. This jacket is useful for showing people that the puppy wearing it is in training and shouldn’t be distracted. It also helps pups get used to the feeling of something on their back in preparation for wearing a harness in the later stages of training.

Recently, Ada has been honing a new skill – her recall, on the free runs she’s been able to enjoy since receiving the last of her vaccinations. Jackie is very pleased with Ada’s excellent recall, and even though she is a sociable girl, who enjoys playing with all her doggy pals, she always comes back when called. Ada often has free runs with her best friend, Fordi, another guide dog pup, and the pair love racing around together and generally being cheeky youngsters!  

At this point in training the pups will try their paws at visiting busy town centres and exploring the big wide world around them, as well as practising walking up and down flights of stairs and going in and out of different style lifts. This is great exposure for the pups as it gets them used to different environments and experiences. Ada has coped well with everything she has been introduced to so far, including visits to busy shops, cafés and restaurants, and is already very good at settling down under the table when they stop off in these places for a meal or coffee. Ada will soon try her paw at travelling on buses and trains, which Jackie is sure she’ll take in her stride.  

Jackie told us that Ada very loving, affectionate girl who is a pleasure to have. We hear Ada is especially gentle with Jackie’s eight-month-old grandson who often visits, and Jackie said it’s lovely to see the two of them interact so well. We think that Ada sounds like an absolute delight; a spirited pup who’s doing well with all her training, and clearly thriving in her loving home. We look forward to sending you Ada’s next report card soon.

As Ada continues to progress through the puppy raising stage, we’ve been in touch with her Puppy Raiser, Jackie, one last time to find out how they’ve been getting on and what they’re doing to help prepare her for the next stage. Jackie told us that Ada ‘loves learning new things’ and has been making lovely progress with her training.

Ada walks nicely on the lead, and she is able to maintain the basic guiding position, which is in front and to the left of Jackie, with light to moderate tension on the lead. On occasion, Ada will pull if she thinks she knows where Jackie might be taking her, so this is something that Jackie is working on along with support from their Puppy Development Advisor.

Off the lead, Ada’s recall to both voice and whistle is very good. She loves to play with her canine friends and fellow guide dog puppies, Fordi and Trent. If Ada is busy playing with them, it can take a little longer for her to return, but she always comes back to Jackie eventually!

Jackie told us that because they live near a reasonably busy town, Ada has been comfortable being around lots of people from a young age and copes well with the hustle and bustle. Ada is also confident using stairs and lifts, and has even been to a Guide Dogs event at Canary Wharf with her guide dog puppy friend, Trent, which involved travelling on two trains, lifts, stairs and meeting people in an office environment and she took it all in her stride. Well done, Ada!

When she’s at home, Ada loves to play with her toys and her favourite is a soft toy that is half rabbit, half carrot! Because it is Ada’s favourite, it has been washed and repaired by Jackie quite a few times!

We hope you have enjoyed Ada’s latest pupdate and following her through the puppy raising stage of her training. We will be in touch again soon to celebrate Ada’s birthday with you, and we’ll also let you know when she’s made the move to ‘big school’.

We have now received Ada's Four Month Pupdate from Guide Dogs

We were delighted to have the opportunity to meet our fourth guide dog pup Ada, who was named after Betty's friend Ada.  We met her puppy walker Linda, who is doing a fabulous job with Ada - she is a very experienced puppy walker, with Ada her 10th pup.  Ada is a lovely, lively and friendly golden retriever, a year old now and due to go into training in January.  Here is a pic of Ken and Jackie meeting Linda and Ada, as well as Vicky from Guide Dogs.  And one of Ada looking very relaxed!