Episode 8:

Alfie's super soundwork

Posted by Elizabeth Murphy

Welcome back to Alfie’s Puppy Pen. 

Alfie is in the final stages of his training and has been working on perfecting his soundwork. This is the special skill of being able to alert to sounds – it is what makes hearing dogs so unique and intelligent.

Alfie has been practising his soundwork skills with Jan, his Volunteer Dog Trainer. The key to successful soundwork training is having a strong bond between a dog and trainer – luckily, Alfie and Jan have a wonderful relationship!
 

Black Labrador with tongue out sitting next to lady on bench

Shall we see amazing Alfie in action? Let’s watch him alert Jan to the sound of the alarm clock.

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Clever boy!

For a lot of deaf people, waking up in the morning can bring a lot of anxiety. Without being able to hear an alarm clock, there’s often the fear of oversleeping or missing something important. This is where Alfie will come to the rescue. When he hears the alarm clock, he will gently place his paws on the bed to wake up his future deaf partner – what a lovely, comforting way to start the day!

Of course, every alarm clock sounds a little different, but once Alfie is matched with his deaf partner, his training will be specially tailored to recognise their alarm. 

Now let’s watch Alfie alert Jan to the cooker timer.