Rabbsfarm Primary School

Marley has grown a lot bigger in the past few months.  He's a really nice dog to raise and has been lovely to have around.  People tend to think that guide dogs are all perfect dogs, but just like humans, each have their own quirks and personality.  Marley's quirk is that he is a chewer!  He loves to chew on things!  Most of his fleece blankets now have holes in them!

Marley loves playing with my pet dog, Grace.  He loves to play tug with her when they wake up in the mornings.  Marley loves his food and has a toy that is stuffed with food, called a Kong.  This encourages to spend time and to be patient getting his food out.

Marley has now reached a place in his training where he automatically does things, which is great to see.  When Marley approaches the steps, he automatically sits at the top of the3 step without being asked.   

Due to lockdown, Marley has been taking the same walking routes around the village, but is very intuituve and has started to hesitate when we go different way to usual.  You can tell he's starting to think for himself about things.

Whenever I take Marley anywhere, he's always well behaved.  I am looking forward to taking Marley to the village cafe when restrictions allow and will also take him to church.

Marley is a lovely, sociable pup who does really well around new people and animals.  He was able to meet a retired racehourse called Archie when we were out and about on one of our walks.  He now loves to walk that way to say hello. 

Marley travels really well in the car and anticipates when he needs to jump in to the car.  He's now learning to wait to be invited in and out of the boot.  This is important for future guide dogs, as they will need to respond to their owner when getting out of the car.  Although we haven't been able to travel on public transport, I am looking forward to introducing Marley to this when it is safe to do so.

I am going to continue to train Marley on being better when passing other dogs, as he can be a bit distracted and want to say hello - especially if the other dog has a waggy tail!   I have no doubt that Marley will continue to do well in his training. 

I will give you his next update in October.

Linda  - Puppy Trainer

Marley is a brilliant boy.  He's so easy to handle and is excellent on a lead and confident in new environments.  I can't wait to see what's in store for him!

Home Life - Marley hasn't just been good in his training, he's great to have at home too.  We recently got a little kitten called Line and she is quite energetic compared to Marley, who is a very chilled out dog.  Despite how much larger he is, Luna and Marley play together so gently, even when she is jumping on his tail! 
The have become best friends.  It's great for Marley to be able to get used to another pet in the house.  They snooze together in his bed and it's lovely to see how wonderful he is both in and out of training.

Advancing his skills - Over the last few months, Marley has been progressing brilliantly.  His 'sit' and 'wait' cues are great and I have taught him to wait to get in and out of the boot of the car.   We have walked around a few National Trust gardens, and Marley really enjoyed visiting these places and lying down in different areas.  Especially, when practising skills outside.  I have a little square blanket that I carry with me when I'm out.  I used to train Marley with this when he was younger, as a 'target' for him to practice with.  The moment that I place it on the floor, Marley lies on it instantly. 

I have been refreshing his recall skills when running free too.   Marley's taken back to it like a duck to water and as soon as I call him, he'll come racing back.  Even if there's another person in the park, he has no trouble listening to me.  I'm pleased to say that he’s improved leaps and bounds when meeting other dogs when we are out on our walks.  Previously. he got a little bit distracted when saying 'hello' but he's improved a lot and now stays focused on what we're doing together.  Marley is so calm and I am very proud of how well he is doing.

Future Plans - In our last few months together.  I', planning on strengthening the skills he's learned already, such as making sure that Marley’s completely confident with getting out of the car when parked alongside a busy road.  He’s so intelligent and picks up new skills quickly, so I know he will do well when he moves on to training school.

I've been a Puppy Raiser for over 30 years, and Marley has been one of the best dogs I have had for how well he picks up new skills.  As I’ve been teaching him the essential guiding skills from such a young age, he's learnt early on how to behave in different environments, and I have no doubt at all about his ability.  He's been a gold-star pup and I've loved every minute of having his calm, solid personality by my side. 

I look forward to giving an update in the New Year.

Linda - Marley's Puppy Trainer