Puppy One Star

Learning how to become a hearing dog starts at an early age. In fact, it officially starts when our puppies are only weeks old!

Close up of Spaniel in a lounge looking up with a certificate next to them that says Gwen successfully passed Puppy 1 Star

All dogs learn at a slightly different speed, so it can take 16 – 24 months to train a hearing dog.

Each dog has milestones they need to complete along the way. We call these ‘Puppy Stars’ – and they are nothing stressful or pressuring for our dogs. It is a way to measure how they are doing with their basic training, behaviour, and social skills. Most of our dogs pass first time, but we give them a few tries to get it right.

All hearing dog puppies are trained by one of our amazing Volunteer Dog Trainers with the support of a Dog Training Instructor. The dogs attend weekly training classes with their volunteer and attend a group session with a new, exciting theme each week.

Small black and brown cockapoo puppy sat next to a backpack on a gravel path
Arya on her first day at puppy class

We always use reward-based training and start by finding out what motivates our pups. This could be anything from food, to praise, to getting them to play with their favourite toy.

Our training is based around choices. A puppy is given the opportunity to decide to do the right or the wrong action. The wrong action is ignored, and the right action is rewarded. This is important to make sure our dogs feel safe and comfortable, which is key to their success as a hearing dog.

The first star a hearing dog must pass is a Puppy One Star. This is based on the dog learning the difference between good and bad behaviour, and for them to learn they cannot always do what they want.

Although they can learn basic obedience training, we focus on their social development and making sure they are on track to becoming a relaxed, confident, and happy dog at this stage.

 

What does a puppy learn?

Here is what a dog will learn in this important first step of their training.

 

How to play nicely

A lot of a young puppy’s learning is done through play. This may not seem like an important part of a hearing dog’s training, but it is crucial at this stage of a pup’s development.

A woman is crouching outside on a sunny day dangling a toy for a spaniel puppy to play with and the puppy is looking at it intently

We have certain games we play with a young dog which encourages them to share their toys with their Volunteer Dog Trainer. We want them to understand that playing with a human is more fun than playing alone, which also really helps strengthen the bond between volunteer and the pup.

Playing with hearing dog puppies in the right way teaches them important life skills, like good manners, how to wait your turn and sharing. And they quickly learn that playing with us can be fun!