LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Dogs: Hearing Dogs
built 118 days ago
Hearing Dogs are trained to alert people who are deaf/hard of hearing to household sounds that are necessary for everyday safety and independence. The dogs are trained to make physical contact and lead their person to the source of the sound. They are taught to work for toys and affection. They are ... obedience trained and extensively socialized.
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Hearing dogs alert a person who is deaf or hearing-impaired to sounds like doorbells, smoke alarms and baby cries. The dogs can even be trained to alert to the name of their owner, making communication with others easier. The first hearing dogs were trained with the input of an audiologist (someone that helps people with hearing difficulties), the American Humane Association, and Roy Kabat who trained animals for movies. Working together, they came up with a successful training program and the non-profit organization Dogs for the Deaf was formally established in 1977 to train and place hearing dogs.
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Assistance dogs empower people with disabilities to lead lives of greater independence by performing tasks that would otherwise require reliance on a human caregiver. These tasks might include retrieving dropped objects, opening/closing doors, retrieving an emergency telphone, alerting a person who is hard of hearing to sounds, etc. Perhaps more important than the tasks performed... is the relationship itself. Depression, loneliness and anxiety tend to diminish, and it is the dog’s capacity for unconditional love that is often the greatest gift. Through partnership with an assistance dog, people often experience a joy and confidence previously unattainable through other means. Summit currently trains mobility, hearing, and therapy dogs.
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Hearing Dogs are trained to alert to the sounds: fire/smoke alarm, telephone, door knock, doorbell, oven timer, alarm clock, and name call. In some cases a dog may be trained for the baby cry.
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THSD is dedicated to educating the public about Hearing and Service Dogs. Learn more about public access laws and how to say hello to a working dog. Find out about THSD's Speaker Series here.
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As sick as the treatment of these dogs is, it is really hard to get too exorcised about it when children are being treated worse, and there is no outrage. No complaints, no wringing of the hands in even feigned concern that these children have been exploited, violated, abused and traumatized, and all we are hearing about is some pit-bulls who have the reputation for doing exactly what they are bred to do, even if they have never taken part in "illegal" activity.
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Hearing Dogs