Hearing Dogs
All of our Hearing Dogs receive extensive sound work and obedience training. Hearing Dogs are trained to alert to sounds by making physical contact (jumping on you, or nosing you) then leading you to the sound. Additionally, many of our Hearing Dogs are also trained and certified for public access. Our standards and criteria for determining whether or not a dog is suitable for access to public places are very high. Only dogs that can ignore other dogs, handle being exposed to busy, noisy and crowded environments as well as being comfortable with all types of people are appropriate to be in stores, malls, restaurants, etc.
When we match a Hearing Dog with a client, we look at a variety of factors: the needs of the client both for sound work at home and in public, lifestyle and energy level and level of confidence the dog has in new environments and situations.
For clients that have sound work needs at their workplace or travel frequently and need to be alerted to sounds in a hotel, a Certified Hearing Dog who is comfortable and trained for public access would be most appropriate.
For clients who need a trained dog to alert to sounds in their home but do not require a dog to accompany them in the workplace or travel frequently, a Home Hearing Dog with sound work and obedience training would be most appropriate.
Please Note: The content shown on our promotional videos and website reflects a variety of dogs’ sizes. Unfortunately, it has been challenging to obtain a small breed dogs due to the pandemic. Please know at this time, we primarily place Labrador Retrievers. If you are looking for a dog under 50 pounds, we recommend visiting Assistance Dogs International (ADI) to assist you in finding other assistance dog organizations that can meet your needs.