Sage's puppy page

Pupdate 3 - a new chapter: training school

Hello, it’s Victoria here, Sage’s trainer.

I’ve been working at Guide Dogs for 11 years. I started in the National Centre, looking after guide dog mums and their litters, and for the last two years, I’ve been working as a guide dog trainer. As a dog lover, I enjoy working with many dogs, helping hone their skills to become personal ‘pawsistants’. Everyone deserves to be independent, and the best part of my job is helping people living with sight loss to do so.

Meeting Sage

Sage is such a sweet girl. She’s only been at training school for a few weeks, so it’s still very early days for her. The first week I spent lots of time building our bond, and it’s developing really nicely. Sage has settled in with her volunteer fosterers well too. I’m also training another dog called Oscar, a golden retriever cross, and Sage gets along with him fantastically. In fact, she’s the boss of their little pack. Anywhere she goes, Oscar follows – it’s funny to watch!

Sage is very clever and has picked up the new skills I’ve begun to teach her quickly. Not only is she really smart, but she’s also got some funny quirks. She likes to lie down in what I can only describe as the shape of a frog – lying on her front, with her back legs stretched out on either side, forming a T shape. It makes me laugh so much!

Introducing skills

I have a few different training sessions with Sage throughout each ‘school’ day, ensuring she gets lots of time to rest, play and have free runs too. This downtime helps embed what she’s learnt in training sessions. I’ve begun work on platforms - this is one of the first skills I teach, as it forms a basis for many other skills. I started by introducing Sage to a low platform. I asked her to walk up to it and stand on it with all four paws – which she picked up really quickly. I brought in another platform and asked Sage to walk from one to the other, ending on the second with all four paws. This skill teaches her to walk in a straight line and to wait when there’s a step.

I’m introducing Sage to her brown training harness. Initially, I left it on the training room floor and let Sage familiarise herself with it in her own time, using positive reinforcement to help her build a good association with it. Sage is so inquisitive, she was straight over doing a ‘sniff investigation’; eager to learn what it was all about!

Next in training

In the coming months, I’ll be helping Sage to feel comfortable wearing the guiding harness. I’ll move from teaching skills like kerb work and obstacle avoidance in the training room to real-life situations. These skills are essential to indicate changes in terrain to someone living with sight loss, and help to keep them safe whilst out and about.

Thank you for sponsoring Sage! I look forward to training her through the next part of her journey. Find out how she’s progressing in your next Pupdate in February.

Woman in the countryside wearing a sweatshirt with sponsored pup Sage design.

Exclusive range!

Check out our brand-new Sage merchandise! We’ve partnered with Teemill to produce sustainable and fun designs for our wonderful sponsors. T-shirts, hoodies, mugs and notebooks – there’s something for everyone.

Shop now

Follow Sage on Facebook

See real-time updates, photos and videos of Sage by joining her exclusive Facebook group!

Please note, by requesting to join your puppy’s Facebook group you consent to Guide Dogs storing your Facebook ID on our database. This information will be used only for the purpose of administering your access to this group and, if you choose to sponsor another puppy in future, any similar groups. If you choose to cancel your sponsorship, or if your sponsorship comes to an end, we will remove your Facebook ID details from our records.