Hearing assistant dogs help people with hearing impairments by alerting them to certain sounds. Various breeds serve as hearing dogs. The size of the animal is unimportant in this type of assistance training. Friendly dogs that bond closely with people usually make the best assistants, as well as intelligent, manageable breeds with the ability to follow commands. Training should include all sounds the dog needs to recognize to alert his owner, including the doorbell, fire alarm, oven timer, a telephone or a crying baby.
Things You'll Need
- Young dog
- Treats
- Sound generator
Instructions
Training a Puppy for the Hearing Impaired
Choose a young dog from a breed with relatively long life expectancies to provide the lengthiest period of assistance. Hunting dogs, including golden and Labrador retrievers, setters and spaniel breeds, make outstanding companions for the hearing impaired.
Compile a list of sounds you will need to teach the puppy and determine which one you will teach him first.
Place a treat near where the sound will occur and trigger that sound. As the dog hears it, call him. Give him his treat after he paws at you or performs the needed behavior. Barking won't work here.
Start teaching the puppy to lead the person to the source of the sound, once you've conditioned him to recognize the sound. When the puppy alerts the hearing-impaired person, she should go to the source of the sound and then give the puppy a treat.
Continue the training exercise with the single sound until the puppy consistently responds to the sound and leads the person to it within 15 seconds.
Repeat the steps for each sound the puppy needs to recognize until you've completed the list.
Reiterate the earlier sounds occasionally so the puppy does not forget his previous training.
Prepare to invest a considerable amount of time and effort. Training may take up to a year.