Fenzi Dog Sports Academy - FE400: Hearing Dog Training

Course Details

"Hearing Dogs” are dogs that are trained to alert on specific sounds and to notify the partner about both the sound and its source. Hearing dogs are invaluable to people with hearing challenges; allowing them to live much more comfortable and stress free lives; knowing that their canine companion will assist them in responding to specific sounds that most people take for granted.

It is possible for a Deaf or hearing-challenged person to train their own Hearing Dog, and this class is designed to help you achieve that goal, however you must have the right temperament of dog AND a strong commitment to following through on the training. This class will NOT help you to "certify" your dog, nor will we assist you with public access or ADA issues - these are outside the scope of this class. This class has one specific goal - to instruct you on the most modern methods for training a hearing dog; resulting in a happy and self-motivated dog, using no force or coercion. We cannot guarantee how far you will progress towards a trained hearing dog, but we can guarantee that we are providing you with the same top quality information and techniques used by Hearing Dog trainers throughout the world!

Hearing dogs can be trained to alert a hearing-challenged person to a variety of sounds, from timers, to doorbells to smoke alarms. To reach this goal, the trainer must be committed to both training AND maintaining the behaviors; this class will help you learn to perform these tasks.

Soundwork is appropriate for dogs of any age, from very young puppies to elderly dogs. The only requirement is a dog with a stable temperament with no sound sensitivities, and a passion for either food or toys.

The class will be taught by Martha Hoffman; a recognized leader in the world of training for Hearing Dogs. Martha is the author of "Lend me an Ear"; a book devoted to training hearing dogs. She is also working on a new book, "Hearing Dog Games" and she hopes to use feedback and methods from this class to make this book even better and as user friendly as possible!

WORKING SCHOLARSHIPS ARE AVAILABLE IN THIS CLASS FOR INDIVIDUALS ABLE AND WILLING TO ASSIST WITH SPECIFIC VIDEO ASSIGNMENTS. PLEASE CONTACT MARTHA FOR DETAILS IF YOU WISH TO APPLY.

If you have questions about this class, please contact Martha.

Prerequisites and Equipment

No prior training experience or other classes are required, however, experience with training dogs is always a benefit, and familiarity with both basic training techniques and clicker (marker) training are useful skills. If you are a very novice trainer, you can expect to have to work harder to master the skills, but you can succeed if you possess a high level of commitment to the program.

Required Equipment:

A variety of sound creating devices. Examples include kitchen timers, doorbells, detached smoke alarms, alarm clocks, mobile phones, etc.)

Manners Minder: While not required, you will find this device quite useful for training certain exercises. These are available second hand through e-bay, craigslist and other options, for about $40.

Videocamera and access to youtube upload. (Gold level only)

Access to high speed internet access in order to view videos (all levels)

A food or toy motivated dog!

Harness or flat collar to restrain dogs for some exercises.

Tiny treats for rewards!

Plastic container lids, industrial-strength sticky-back Velcro Tape, children's steps tool.

Treat containers that are difficult for the dog to open but easy for the human!