I thought you would be interested to hear about Hector, Guide Dog puppy, born on 6th. April 2008. 
He's a Poodle x Labrador, Labradoodle, (or, has also been described as a poolab!!)  He is our fifth G.D. puppy and, as all our previous pups had been Lab. x GR, we were pathetically excited to have the first Labradoodle pup in South Wales!
 
Hector's mother, Quasia, is a lovely     yellow lab, whom we were lucky enough to meet at G.D.`s Gala Day last July, along with her holders Ruth and Ivor. Hector's father was Paddy, a handsome black  standard poodle, who was sadly  killed last summer in an accident.
 
When Hector arrived with us on May 21^st, he looked a bit like, a somewhat whiskery lab pup. His coat was quite soft but a   little bit rougher than a lab. My husband thought Mel (our lovely supervisor) had brought us a lamb!  Hector settled really quickly, no upset tummy or much crying at night. We all thought he was adorable. Not so our pet dog Selene. 
                                                                                                                       
Selene, a small black lab bitch, had been a G.D. puppy, walked by a friend of ours, Beth Bullimore in Pontypool. Selene was withdrawn from training half way through, due to high stress levels which, unfortunately, resulted in her being a bit grumbly with just some other dogs, when she was on the lead/in harness. Beth at that time, was not in a position to have

Selene back and, as we had recently lost Ben, our old pet Collie x Spaniel, Selene came to us.  As we'd known her since she was a little girl, we were pleased that she remained,  the most affectionate dog with humans that we've ever met. I really don't think she would care if she never saw another dog. 
 
When Hector arrived, we were just a   little anxious about Selene's reaction to his presence. We had no need to worry, she completely ignored him!  It really was as though he was invisible. If he went up to her she just moved away. One evening about two weeks after his arrival, Hector was giving me a hilarious display of his skills (or totally skill less!) jumping up and down the backdoor step, when I realised that Selene was watching him. I'm quite sure she had a job to keep a straight face at his antics !  The next day I found her playing with him. Since then they've gotten on really well. In fact, Hector can be a bit over enthusiastic, as puppies can be, in play and Selene, who is so tolerant with him, could really do to put him in his place.
 
We have 4 cats, 4 hens, rabbits and  guinea pigs, all of whom were totally