How we train dogs

The principles of training dogs for any given task are straightforward: break the task down into easily achievable steps and encourage the dog to make gradual progress, rewarding him or her when he gets it right. All hearing dogs are trained by forming positive associations with sounds, using food, praise or toys as rewards. These are sounds that hearing people often take for granted such as: alarm clock, cooker timer, doorbell, telephone & baby cry.

Example 1

Samba sleeps next to her owner Lisa.

Samba wakes Lisa when the alarm clock goes off.

Example 2

Samba tells Lisa that the telephone is ringing by gently touching with her paw.

Lisa asks ‘What is it?’ and Samba leads Lisa to the telephone.

On hearing any of these sounds, a hearing dog will seek out his deaf recipient and touch them with a paw. When the recipient asks "What is it?" the hearing dog will lead them to the source of the sound.

A hearing dog is also trained to alert to danger sounds such as: smoke alarm, fire alarm, carbon monoxide alarm & burglar alarm

Example 3

Samba listens to the smoke alarm and realises that she needs to alert Lisa.

Samba alerts Lisa to a danger sound by dropping to the floor.

A hearing dog will alert his recipient to these danger/emergency sounds by touching
with his paw, and then lying down in a special 'alert signal' to indicate danger. The recipient instantly knows that there is danger and can take the necessary action to ensure their own safety and that of their dog.

For more details on how we train dogs, please read on…

The three stages of training
In order to qualify as a hearing dog, each candidate must pass through three stages of training:
1) Socialisation training
2) Advanced soundwork training
3) Home placement training

1) The first stage takes place in a volunteer puppy socialiser’s home under the supervision of one of the Charity’s trainers, to ensure that the recently selected puppy or dog becomes familiar with a whole range of situations including traffic, crowds of people, and loud noises.
The puppy socialiser also attends puppy training classes at one of the Charity’s training centres to ensure that early obedience lessons start off well.

2) All dogs that pass through socialisation training then commence advanced soundwork training, which takes four months to complete. It is during this intensive training course that each dog is taught to respond to specific sounds. The dog learns to alert his handler by touching with a paw and then leading back to the source of the sound. Every dog is individually trained for his chosen deaf recipient’s needs.

3) The final stage of training involves training the hearing dog and their new deaf owner (a new “partnership”) together. This training takes place initially at one of the Charity’s training centres followed by a tailor-made course in the deaf recipient’s own home. This course takes three months to complete, with one of the Charity’s mobile instructors working for periods of time not only in the hearing dog’s new home, but also in their local shops and on their normal walks.

So how is it done?

All hearing dogs are trained using a method of training which involves linking their soundwork with something that the particular dog really likes. This is known as ‘conditioning’ – mainly operant conditioning, but with an element of classical conditioning too. The dog looks forward to his soundwork in the same way as he looks forward to his dinner or his walk. Think of the excitement when the dog’s food dish comes out of the cupboard - this is a result of the dog having learned to associate the bowl with food and therefore anticipate the imminent arrival of a nice meal. Similarly, many dogs will get really excited at the sight of the overcoat and wellies coming out of the cupboard. By the time the lead is produced a dog may be at fever-pitch - and all because he has built up an association between these objects and walks. So you can see the power of association, which can turn an everyday object into a signal of great importance.

Sounds fun

For a hearing dog it is the sounds themselves - alarm clocks, doorbells, cooker timers, phones, smoke alarms etc - which are the signals heralding the imminent arrival of a treat. Not only does this make for a dog that works well and with enthusiasm, it also makes training fun and exciting for both dog and trainer. The hearing dog can’t wait to leap into action and tell his deaf owner about the sounds, because he knows that a really nice treat, or game will be the result. (Remember, we select dogs that, generally speaking, do like to be in their owner’s good books and enjoy being praised.) Indeed, many dogs teach themselves more sounds after being placed, so much do they enjoy the game.

The finished product

After all the fun and games that go into the training we end up with something really special – a dog working in partnership with a deaf recipient.

We provide lifelong aftercare for all our hearing dogs by means of visits and checks from our trainers. Not only do the dogs help by alerting to sounds, but also by providing companionship. Many people, deaf or hearing, may find it easier or less stressful to communicate with their dog than with other human beings, and recipients of hearing dogs commonly feel less anxiety and depression after having their hearing dogs placed with them. Not only that, but the hearing dog helps to identify the nature of his handler’s invisible disability, because he wears a distinctive burgundy coat advertising that he is accompanying a deaf person. Members of the public then take time to communicate more carefully, having understood that the recipient is deaf.