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Hello, I'm Patrick!
Redwood's Wellbeing Dog!
A little bit about me:
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I am Redwood's Wellbeing Dog and I love it here!
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I was born in Stoke-on-Trent.
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My birthday is on the 20th November 2020.
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My Mum is a Goldendoodle called Willow and my Dad is a standard poodle called Eddie.
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I have two sisters and two brothers.
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I have come from a family of dogs who help people with medical conditions and disabilities
Introduction...
I have been attending school most days since I was nine weeks old. At first I was quite nervous and everything smelt a bit unusual. I didn't understand that I couldn't eat papers and books. I was a bit shy when meeting lots of people but I soon started to love all the children.
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My favorite part of the day is sitting at the entrance, in the mornings, watching all the students climb off their buses or get out of their cars. They all look very excited to be coming into school and they always smile at me, even if I do bark sometimes! It's not just the children that come and talk to me, parents and carers like to say hello too!
I have my very own outdoor space in the sensory garden. I love watching all the students playing and some even come and talk to me.
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I was so excited the first time I ever saw snow! I ran around like mad and all the children thought it was very funny!
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I have been working hard at my weekly training classes at ABC 4 Dogs. I am learning a lot and have even been practicing some of my tricks and commands with some of the staff and students. I will be able to start my Therapy Dog assessments when I am nine months old and then I will start my real work. I can't wait!
Thursday 14th October 2021
Hello Everyone!!!
It's been a while since I updated you on my adventures!
First let me start by saying I'm not a tiny puppy anymore, I've grown a lot! I'm getting used to everyone at Redwood now, everyone's so nice and I'm starting to make some friends. I have started going into classrooms and showing my tricks to all the children and they even give me treats!
I love going out into the woods and to the park, that's right next to school, there's so many smells and sometimes I meet other doggy friends. All I want to do is play with them, although sometimes I do get too excited and go a bit crazy!
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I am in school most days now but on a Wednesday I go to Doggy Day Care, a day where I get to play with my doggy friends! Also, here I get to learn new tricks and then I can show everyone at Redwood.
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The weather has started to change now, it's getting chilly! But I do have my big, fluffy coat to keep me warm! I hope it snows again like last year, I loved playing in it.
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It's my first birthday next month, how exciting!! I will update you all again with what I get up to on that special day!
Saturday 20th November 2021
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Its my 1st Birthday!!!
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This was the best day ever, I'd like to have a birthday more often!
I went on a big long walk and I was running through the fields near my house. I got treated to a new harness, marrow bones from the butchers and two new balls for playing fetch with, with all my friends at school.
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I am now on the waiting list for my therapy dog training, so lets hope I can do that soon and start my real work.
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I have heard some of my friends talking about Christmas, which sounds so exciting and I might even get some more presents! I don't really remember Christmas last year because I was only a tiny puppy but this year I know I will love it!
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I will update you all again very soon, with what I get up to next!
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1st February 2022
I really enjoyed celebrating my birthday with all the students and staff at school. It was so much fun having my birthday just as all the classes were preparing tasty treats for the Christmas fair. I got to taste plenty! My favourites were the dog biscuits made out of porridge oats and beef stock. They were delicious! I also managed to get a sneaky hot dog sausage when Mrs Walsh wasn't looking!
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After the Christmas holidays, things started to get serious with my training programme. Now I am bigger, I have to listen and concentrate a lot more. I used to really like watching and playing with all the children and love kissing their hands. Now I have to listen to commands and watch out for hand signals. I am learning some sign along signs, such as "sit", "down" and "finished" because some children and young people use their hands to communicate with me, as well as or instead of their voices.
I have been in training since I was a few months old, but most of the time this was outside in the park or at the dog training school. Brad from ABC 4 Dogs is now coming into school to help me learn. He is also teaching some of the staff how to work with me, so that I can go into more and more classrooms and spend time with all the students I enjoy seeing.
Last week I was working in the Experiential Base, next week I will be in the Engage Base and Main Student Body and then week after I will be in SFI. I would really like to visit our other sites again soon, but my trainer said that I need to learn to walk before I can run! I think I am very good at running already!
17th March 2022 - St Patrick's Day and an Update!
Happy St Patrick's Day!
I thought this day would be all about me, but unfortunately not!
I got dressed up with a green bow tie, and my owner wanted to take
a picture of me, so I posed for the camera and here is the result! I
think I look every smart.
I have been going into more classes now and I am really loving it! All of the students here are very good with me and play with me so nicely, so lets hope I keep up the good work and not let my cheekiness take over!
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I attended SFI's Care lesson on mindful exercises yesterday. This term, students have been practicing different exercises on mental health self-care. My visit to the lesson enabled students to interact with me as a therapy for relaxation. Even students who are a little apprehensive with dogs loved being with me!
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I have also been the park with Mr. Ashworth's class! I joined in with them doing their daily mile walk in Denehurst Park. Each student had a go with holding me on the lead, so I made sure I behaved really well for them. Unfortunately Mr. Ashworth didn't get any pictures of me behaving, next time we go out I will make sure he does!
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Thanks for reading my blog and I will update you all next time I am working with classes!
