A blind dog has made her owner very proud by passing a rigorous training assessment.

Misty, a six-year-old rescue dog, who is completely blind, has passed her Kennel Club Good Citizen  gold assessment with flying colours.

Lisa Tyson, from Egremont, rescued Misty from Lily's Border Collie Lifeline in Wales when she was only five-months-old. 

Misty was born with only one eye and lost complete vision at around 12-months-old.

Lisa began taking Misty for training at Pawsome Dog Training with Melanie Sharing shortly after adopting her. She went on to pass her bronze and silver awards.

Melanie said: “We weren’t sure if she would get to gold with her being completely blind. We were working towards the gold. We had to do a few things slightly differently.

“One of the exercises for gold is to send them to their bed or mat from about 10 paces away. Obviously she can’t see it. We had to teach her to go in a straight line.

“She had previously done scent work so we decided to change the concept. We tried scenting it but then we just realised she’d be able to find it because it smelt of her.

“It helped build her confidence then she was able to do the exercise. It was one of the biggest stumbling blocks.”

Melanie said the assessment went “really well”.

She said: “Lisa gets nervous at tests but I think because it was an achievement just to be attempting it, she wasn’t as nervous as she was with some of her other dogs.

“She did everything and she was really good. She was really, really excited when she passed. You work towards it for a long time to build their confidence.”

Lisa said: “I was over the moon when Misty passed gold. I have to admit there were a few tears as I was very proud of my special girl.”

Lisa used to help Melanie as a puppy class assistant and now takes her own class  at West Lakeland Dog  Training Club in Egremont. 

Melanie has been running Pawsome Dog Training for nine years. She was previously based at Leconfield industrial estate in Cleator Moor, which is where Lisa and Misty trained.

Melanie now offers one-to-one home visits throughout Copeland and has various venues for classes  from Cleator moor to Seaton.

She has helped many dog owners gain their Kennel Club Good Citizen Gold award. The youngest dog was just over two-years-old.