Up Up and Away

Flo is now about eight months old and she and her brothers and sisters  have all been assessed to see how they are getting on.
The pups were put through a series of tests to see how they are  developing as future police dogs. Sadly little Flo didn't quite make the  grade and trainers at Essex Police's dog unit have decided she doesn't  have all of the qualities needed to become a successful police dog.
Flo won't be taking part in the puppy programme any more and has gone to  live with a lovely couple as a family pet.
She is a bright, healthy and very intelligent little dog who I've loved  looking after. The family and I are going to miss her lots but I'm  really pleased she is going to be well looked after by a lady called Fay  Edwards who is a police officer with the Essex Police helicopter. Flo's brothers and sisters all did well in the assessment and will  continue training to become police dogs.
Being a puppy walker has been a challenge I've enjoyed every minute of  and keeping this blog has been a part of that. Unfortunately I won't be  able to keep this blog any longer but I hope one day I'll be able to  puppy walk another Essex Police puppy.

Flo has discovered that she can get on the trampoline which she seems to love doing especially if she has taken my dog Skyla's ball!

Flo faced one of her fears - helicopters! And in the process my son got the biggest treat ever.

Flo takes a well earned rest after playing fetch with her favourite ball in the long grass.

This is Flo at her last puppy class with her sister Saffy. Saffy was from the same litter as Flo but was sold to a private owner.  Gorgeous girls!

This is Flo demonstrating her "what me?" look! We took her to the fields to play hide and seek in the long grass. She loved it and had great fun sniffing the humans out.

A trip to Lakeside

It's not always sunshine and roses puppy walking! Flo has had some ups and downs recently.

She is still a little nervous of loud sounds and cars but with the slowly patient approach she is learning to overcome these things.

Flo has also finally learned that trying to dive into another dog's food bowl while they're eating will eventually come back to bite you! Literally! She was chastised by my male dog who is normally so tolerant of her with a nip to the nose. No major damage was done and Flo no longer tries to get in his bowl - lesson learned the hard way!

But now for the ups. We recently took a trip to Lakeside Shopping Centre with her sisters and brother. Flo fully enjoyed the trip and took it all in her stride. She thoroughly enjoyed the attention from the toddlers and everyone that she met was bowled over by how cute and how gentle she is. I have to say that also goes for all the other puppies that were there. We created quite a sight but they were all so well behaved.

Having a splashing time

First venture into water deeper than a stream, think she might just like it!

Trip to Chelmsford

We took Flo to Chelmsford yesterday to help the super fit police officers who are running the London Marathon with their fundraising efforts. Not sure how much she helped with the fundraising but she sure did pull in a crowd. I have to say she was a real star and lapped up all the attention - she wasn't fazed by anything; pushchairs, wheelchairs or people coming at her from all angles. She took it all in her stride - what a girl! By the time we came home all she wanted to do was fall asleep with my dog Jacob!

First football match

Longing to go and play

A chance to play at last!

On Sunday we took Flo to her first football match, getting the crowd control issues in early. She enjoyed watching the boys but by the end of the 80minutes she needed a cuddle. It's hard work watching all those boys running around and not being able to chase at least one of them!

Watching the world go by

Took Flo to her first coffee shop so that she could watch the world go by from a nice safe distance which turned out to be under our seat! But when everyone came to say hello she soon began to forget about all the cars and buses passing by and just lapped up all the attention!

First day at school

Today was Flo's first puppy class and the first time since she was 8 weeks old that she has seen her sisters. As you can see there was a lot of fun and play fighting! But she did master the 'sit', the 'down' (sort of) and her 'recall' was excellent. With the first class over it was back home for a well earned sleep.

It's a dog's life

Crashed in front of the fireplace

It's a dog's life after all! Flo has been out and about today for a short walk to the post box to check out those great big things on wheels that move. She is also learning how to dig holes in the garden - she can clearly tell my gardening skills are not up to much!

To top the day off she helped clean the dishes by licking the plates as they went into the dishwasher and then crashed in front of the fireplace! Arhhh

Introducing Flo - Essex Police Puppy

Flo and Skyla relax in their basket

Flo is just over 9 weeks and growing so fast and learning new skills all the time. At the moment she is still enjoying shooting in and out of the cat flap, a feat that will all too soon stop as she is getting bigger and fatter!

She lives with my 2 other dogs, Jacob a collie cross, who allows her to jump all over him hang off his tail and generally have as much fun as is possible. Skyla is a Hungarian Vizsla who is a total princess and puts up with NO nonsense. Then there is my cat Taz who is fair game to Flo seeing as they are on the same level but Flo has discovered her so-called play mate has sharp teeth and claws that catch her unawares!

Over to you Julie

Like all young dogs, puppies destined to become police dogs rely on people to feed and care for them.

In January Essex Police became the proud owners of nine German Shepherd puppies. Seven of the playful pups will begin training to become general purpose police dogs in January 2012 but until then they'll be cared for by volunteers known as puppy walkers.

Puppy Flo will be cared for by puppy walker Julie Boxer from Billericay.

She'll be using this blog to keep residents of Essex up to date with Flo's progress.

Over to you Julie!