How to Train Hearing Service Dogs

Service dogs are an invaluable aid for people with disabilities. Hearing service dogs assist people with hearing disabilities, alerting the owner to important situations, from the ring of a doorbell to a fire alarm. These abilities require the dog to be very highly trained.

Steps:

• Choose the type of dog carefully. Dog training is challenging to begin with, but training a service dog involves more focused training as they are targeted towards greater responsibility. These dogs interact with the public, so you should choose one that is good natured and obedient. As stated by the Hunting Dog website, Spaniels, Golden Retriever, Labrador and Setter breeds are great choices to be hearing dogs.


• Start with a puppy if possible. Training these dogs from birth is common practice; however, adult dogs can be taught if you have already established a relationship with them.


• Train the dog to identify specific noises. Hearing dogs need to be able to recognize a minimum of three different noises and respond to the owner. Only then can they be considered service dogs.


• Begin by providing a noise such as a phone ringtone and teach the dog to respond accordingly. Demonstrate the response that you desire. If a fire alarm goes off the dog should alert the owner and take him outside. Similarly if a door bell rings the dog should alert the owner and bring him to the door.


• Reward the dog on achieving desired results to reinforce the training and expected results.


• Train the dog to recognize and respond to sign language. The hand signals must be clear and unique and not something that is used normally, since dogs get confused by unclear sign language.


• Research common sign commands for a hearing dog. The first sign to teach a dog would be the affirmative, which indicates a good job. This sign is further used to reinforce the training when the dog succeeds in learning more signs.


• Repeat the affirmative sign each time the dog learns a new sign properly and reward with treats.

Seek outside assistance if required. Training a service dog involves a lot of work. If you need extra help there are numerous organizations that train and oversee service dogs. Taking the dog to an established training facility and working with a personal trainer are  very good options. Books and videos are also available to provide instruction