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Jay's Blog
The Thin Blue Paw
May 2019

Hello All,
I am now eight months old and am becoming a powerful pup. Since my last canine column my training has become more serious, this will help me with the basic skills I will need before attending my initial Police dog training in January 2020.

I am still doing long tracks, and I am still wearing the harness. Tracking now doesn’t involve following a food track – in my case I like liver cooked with garlic granules. Stew also uses them as a training treat. Now when I track a toy is used. The canine development officer teases me with the toy, he then makes a track by scuffing his feet along the grass, he them places the toy in the grass and covers it over with more grass to hide it, he then walks back along the track he has just made pretending to hide the toy in several places. On Stew’s command ‘seek track’ I start to work, I find the toy easily then Stew and I play with it. I am good at tracking.


I had my first go on the ‘bite sleeve’, the instructor said it was a ‘good take’ for a first attempt, I don’t let go of the sleeve! Likewise, I am learning to bark when finding someone, the instructor again teases me with a toy as he is trying to make me bark, all the while Stew has got hold of me. In the next stage in the game the instructor again teases me with the toy, he then runs away and hides – he doesn’t go too far – when I find him I have to bark. When this happens, and as a reward, the instructor gives me the toy and Stew and I play with it. Here I am having some downtime after a training session.



At the moment I have more of a squeak than a bark, the instructor said not to worry as I will soon pick it up. Stew and Alison can’t understand this as I have a very deep bark, especially when I bark at next door’s dog!

Stew and Alison took me to the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. Alison met up with other bereaved military mums. It is the first time I have stayed in an hotel, and without my cage, I settled in very well. I met lots of nice people and had lots of attention.

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Here I am having a shower before going out.

At the NMA Stew and Alison laid a wreath at the Royal Corps of Signals memorial in memory of their son, and my name sake, Jamie, here we are with another bereaved mum. At the main memorial Stew laid some flowers in memory of his fallen friends.



This is a difficult time for Stew and Alison, they lost their son Jamie in April. I will do my best to help them through it.

On a brighter note, Stew and I have had an invite to the Devon County Show in May, Alison is also attending. Myself and some of the other pups on the programme will be doing a small demonstration using ramps and other apparatus and of course meeting lots of people. We will do our demonstration before the Devon and Cornwall Police dog section exhibition. I am looking forward to that.

I have to close now as I have to find my bucket, spade and beach towel as Stew and Alison are taking me to the beach – I love the beach.

So, until next time - bye for now,

Jay