Is it possible for an every-day person to train a hearing-ear signal dog?
I am losing my hearing and I’d like a dog for companionship *and* for help hearing sounds around the house. Applying for one of these specially trained dogs is an option, but the waiting lists are as long as my arm, so I will be seeking out the local shelters soon. I want to know if there are some instructions online or books that will help me train my dog to alert me to sounds like door knocking and fire alarms (I live in a high rise). I think dogs are way smarter than we give them credit for, and eager to please too. I really don’t see any reason why a “non-certified” person can’t go beyond crate training, house breaking, and teaching old dogs new tricks by teaching them to be an assitance dog as well.
September 19th, 2010 at 3:18 am
I don’t see why not.
You should also try looking into adopting one of their dogs that “didn’t make the cut”
A lot of times dogs that don’t necessarily pass their tests to be either seeing-eye, hearing, or helping dogs will be put up for adoption. And those dogs should have a lot more training than just starting from scratch with a shelter dog.
September 19th, 2010 at 3:54 am
Well..you can train your dog, for whatever it is you need it to, dogs are smart, and if you feel that you can train it according to your need, then go ahead, this is more about trusting your abilities at training your own dog. But if you can train it to potty about side, you can teach it simply things like how to recognize certain sounds, or warnings.
September 19th, 2010 at 4:44 am
Well I don’t see any reason why not.. I don’t know any resources to help you out but most dogs are smart and under worked. It comes natural for a dawg to bark at knocks on the door etc…….I hope there is help for you and you can be involved in the training while you still have hearing, you’ll need him/her to quiet on command as well. Good luck!
September 19th, 2010 at 5:05 am
All service dogs need special training. It’s really not good to learn from a book. Look up trainers and ask them for advice (yellow pages).