Hearing Dogs for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Hearing Dogs are trained to alert people to sounds around the house or out in public. These dogs are usually Labradors or Golden Retrievers because of their high training capability, but many other dog breeds qualify as well.

Around the house, they are trained to make physical contact with their lead person whenever hearing a sound. Out in public, the most important thing a Hearing Dog offers a person is increased awareness of their environment. Although the dog isn’t specifically trained to alert to sounds of a honking horn or siren, the lead person will begin to pay attention to whatever the dog is reacting to. The dog will turn to look at something and the person will turn to see what is happening too.

A Hearing Dog’s training usually consists of about 4-6 months of temperament evaluation, socialization, sound training, and obedience training. The dogs are rewarded with toys and affection. These intelligent dogs are normally trained to respond to the following sounds: smoke and fire alarms, oven timer, a baby cry, the telephone, alarm clock, doorbell/door knock, and name call.

The dog and chosen partner are in placement training for 3 to 5 days in length before becoming permanent companions. Once the dog is placed with the deaf/ hard of hearing partner, they easily learn to respond to additional sounds such as a washer/dryer, tea kettle, microwave and any other repetitive sounds.