From puppy to partnership: Training our qualified lifesavers

Meg has been a Dog Training Instructor at Hearing Dogs since 2022. Here, she takes us behind the scenes of our reward-based training and explains how the partnerships with these remarkable dogs are truly priceless.

"I’ve always been fascinated with assistance dogs. At university, I studied the positive human health impacts of being around animals. Being type 1 diabetic, I’ve even considered training my own medical alert dog! 

"Being deaf in a hearing world brings so many challenges. Some deaf people feel so isolated, they can’t find the courage to even leave the house. The simple things many of us take for granted, such as going to the shops or falling asleep, can be intimidating and frightening. Having a hearing dog is life-changing. 

"Training each hearing dog takes a lot of time and resources. After all, these intelligent and kind-hearted animals are qualified lifesavers. Because hearing dogs support their deaf partners wherever they go, our puppies need to learn to be calm and happy in all sorts of places. This is alongside learning their signature sound-alert skills.

"Dogs, like humans, learn best when they’re having fun. When they enjoy the work, they learn better! So, throughout training, we reward our dogs with tasty treats, cuddles or playtime – whatever it is they like best – when they get something right.

"However, learning how to ‘be a good dog’ can be tricky. Dogs don’t inherently know how to switch off in different environments. Settling down in a café or on a train is a skill just as much as alerting to sounds. In training, we begin with short periods of settling when they’re young and build up to busier places, like restaurants, when they’re older. 

"A hearing dog needs to know how to alert to all sorts of sounds – and know to respond differently when they hear a danger sound, like a fire alarm. This part of training is the best part of my job.

"Some dogs take longer to get the hang of it than others, but we stick with them. As long as a dog is happy to keep training, we’ll work with them until they get it right. We’re all rooting for every one of our life-saving dogs, every step of the way. 

"Each hearing dog is trained with their deaf partner’s unique lifestyle in mind. For example, we’ve had deaf applicants who ride horses. To a dog, seeing a horse with their head sticking out of a stable can look really weird. So, we’ll take them to a stable in their training to get them used to horses and how they look and move. 

"Another example is when we’ve had deaf applicants who work in factories. During training, we encouraged their future hearing dog to settle whilst playing a recording of ‘factory noises’ in the room. Because each dog’s training is bespoke to their deaf partner’s life, the difference they can make is extraordinary. 

"I recently trained a hearing dog named Ivy who graduated from our training scheme with flying colours. Ivy was matched with Soraya, who works in a hospital infection control team. When she fits staff with special protective masks, the machine that she uses beeps and makes a droning sound. So, even before Ivy went to live with Soraya, we introduced her to similar machinery to get her used to it. 

"Soraya also fits the staff with respirator hoods, which can look quite strange. So, Ivy’s Volunteer Puppy Trainers wore helmets around her. This was to teach her that unusual headgear is nothing to worry about. Soraya is also pregnant with her first baby. So, ready for when the baby is born, Ivy has been taught to alert Soraya and her husband to the baby monitor. 

"As a trainer, once a dog is matched and goes to live with their deaf partner, it’s a mixture of emotions. You're sad to see the dog go, but you know they're doing such great things that you can really only feel happy! 

"It's priceless how these dogs can improve people's lives. We all want these beautiful dogs to do the very best they can for deaf people."