Episode 8:

Amber is nearly there!

Posted by Elizabeth Murphy

Welcome back to Amber’s Puppy Pen!

Amber is doing brilliantly on her journey to becoming a future life-changer. This is partly due to her wonderful bond with her trainers. Throughout her training, she has built trust, connection and a lot of love for Amanda, her Volunteer Dog Trainer.

Orange roan spaniel sitting and looking up at smiling lady crouched down opposite her

Amber’s strong bond with Amanda has helped her to focus and learn the skills she’ll need to alert her future deaf partner to sounds. This is what we call ‘soundwork’ and we’re excited to share some exclusive training videos with you today!

First up, let’s watch Amber alert Amanda to the portable cooker timer, an everyday household sound that will come in very useful. Soon, Amber may need to tell her future deaf partner when dinner is ready, or the washing machine is done.

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What a clever girl! We love how enthusiastically Amber guides Amanda to the sound. Amber knows that praise and tasty treats are on the way if she gets it right, which makes soundwork feel like a fun game! 

Now let’s see Amber alert to the smoke alarm. You’ll notice that for this sound, she lies down on the floor instead of guiding Amanda to it. This is because we don’t want Amber leading her future deaf partner into a potentially dangerous situation. By performing the ‘danger alert’, she will let her partner know they need to get to safety.