VetTech announces sponsorship of Dexter for 2023

Meet Dexter Here’s Dexter our sponsor for 2023 at the Guide Dogs National Breeding Centre. He is a loveable golden retriever cross who loves lots of belly rubs. Pupdate One Dexter’s Journey has begun Dexter is a great learner Dexter is a very intelligent boy. He’s made great progress on learning some of his basic skills such as ‘sit’ and ‘down’. He’s very eager to please and his tail is always wagging when we’re training! He’s mastered toileting on cue; he’s got a penned off area in the garden that he uses for toileting, and he knows not to go anywhere else. Dexter’s quite fidgety so I’m working on helping him to settle himself calmly. He’s got a hollow toy that I fill with soaked kibble to help keep him entertained and this works well. Pupdate Two Dexter’s Making Progress Out and About Since our last Pupdate, Dexter and his puppy raiser Sheelagh, have been visiting a variety of different environments to build up a ‘bank’ of positive experiences. This will help to ensure that when he visits new places in the future, he will be calm and confident. He’s excellent at settling in a café environment. He’ll happily lie by my feet with a tasty chew – and he loves the admiring looks he gets from passers-by! Pupdate Three New skills Dexter has only recently arrived at training school with his trainer Sam, so it is early days for him. However, he is already tackling many new skills. He’s a very affectionate dog and prefers rewards through strokes and cuddles over food. However, a tasty snack still goes down a treat! Dexter is currently working on loose-lead walking in different environments. He can get distracted by birds and dogs, but this is normal, and he is making progress. Dexter’s working on coming in and out of his pen nicely, waiting for the ‘release’ cue. He’s also practising this skill coming in and out of my van, which he is fantastic at. The change from his Puppy Raiser’s car to my van didn’t faze him at all – he takes everything in his stride! Being comfortable with travelling is a fantastic quality for a guide or buddy dog (a companion for a child with a vision impairment). Pupdate Four Dexter’s progress Hello, it’s Sam here, Dexter’s trainer. Dexter is progressing well at training school. We have a great relationship, and our bond has really developed. He’s a very sweet dog and is always up for a cuddle. Usually, I train up to four dogs at once, but at the moment Dexter is the only one, so we spend a lot of time together. He loves to bond with the people around him as he’s such an affectionate dog.