NINA

A 9wk old Guide Dog Puppy with her Puppy Walker on the first part of her training : socialising.

THE ROLE OF THE PUPPY WALKER: Puppy walkers play a vital role in the early socialisation and education of guide dogs. At about six weeks of age, puppies start their early training, remaining with you until they are around one year old, at which point they are transferred to a training centre to begin their specialised training.

The aim of puppy walking is to produce a puppy that is socially well behaved, friendly and responsive to the handler. It is also important that the puppy is at ease in all environments, including town conditions, is relaxed and confident when using all types of transport and learns an acceptable standard of behaviour on the lead. As each puppy is an individual, our staff will advise on the best way to achieve good results and the most appropriate time to introduce the puppy to these new environments. (Taken from the official Guide Dogs site).

T and I are feeling a bit seized-up this morning after all that 'stripping the willow', 'making baskets' and 'threading the needle' etc at the wonderful wedding reception and Ceilidh we went to last night, and are now absolutely pooped after a full day in the garden, except for a visit to our local Garden Centre and lunch which is where we saw Nina. She looks a bit fed up with all the ooooohs and aaaaaahs coming her way and 50p a pat!!!! Her puppy walker said that just as a joke and you weren't expected to give any money atall but I did part with a fiver for such a good cause.

Oooh the weekend has disappeared very quickly, here's to the next one!