Oscar's incredible soundwork

Welcome back to Oscar’s Puppy Pen! In your last official training update, we told you that Oscar was making great progress in his soundwork training. This is a hearing dog’s unique ability to alert to life-saving and important sounds. In this episode, we are going to show you exclusive training videos of Oscar being a soundwork superstar!

First up, we have the alarm clock. For so many deaf people, waking up in the morning can be a stressful experience. This is because a lot of deaf people cannot hear the alarm clock, which can lead to them being late for work or school. Understandably, this can cause a lot of frustration and anxiety.

When Oscar hears the alarm clock, he will jump on his deaf partner’s bed and wake them up with lovely cuddles, meaning they will no longer need to feel worried about missing their alarm.

Next up, we have the doorbell. Many deaf people cannot hear the doorbell, which can result in them missing visitors or deliveries at their front door.

This is where superstar Oscar will come to the rescue! When he hears the doorbell, he will nudge his deaf partner with his nose and lead them to the front door. What a clever pup!

Another important sound that Oscar has been trained to alert to is the smoke alarm. However, this sound requires a slightly different reaction. 

For the doorbell, Oscar has been taught to lead his partner to the source of the sound. But we don’t want him to lead his deaf partner into a potentially dangerous situation. So, when Oscar hears the smoke alarm, he will instead drop to the floor in a ‘down’ position. This will signal that a ‘danger sound’ has gone off and that they need to get to safety.

Another ‘danger sound’ which requires the same response is the fire alarm. For this sound, Oscar has practised it in his burgundy jacket, as he is likely to be out in public with his deaf partner when he hears this.