A Hearing Dog is a dog that deaf people have. Hearing dogs alert their owners whenever the doorbell rings, baby cries various other noises.  The dog alerts you by physical contact, and then leading you to the sound or lying down in an `alert signal` position. There are three stages of training.

The Hearing Dog’s history is very interesting.  For example, the root of hearing dogs started in Minnesota in the year 1974.  Also, you must be at least 18 to have a hearing dog. If you cannot hear basic sounds, or more, you may qualify for a hearing dog.

What kind of dogs can be a hearing dog? Most people ask. The breed groups are Terriers, Alarms, Companions, Retrievers, Spaniels, and other herding functional breeding groups. If this does not answer your question you can go to http//:www.hearingdogs.com.

Did you know that Hearing Dogs love their work? Hearing Dogs are very positive socialization training, advanced soundwork training, and home placement training.  First, the dog goes to a volunteer puppy socialiser’s home to get used to the people, crowds, traffic, trips to the vet, and loud noises.  The dog also attends puppy-training courses to learn obedience. 

The dogs that pass the first stage then do advanced soundwork training that takes four months.  In this stage the dogs learn specific responses to certain sounds. The dogs are specifically trained to work as a team with their owner.

The last stage takes place in the owner’s home.  This stage takes three months.  The trainer helps acquaint the owner and the dog by going with the owner and the dog everywhere.