who has a working service dog?

I want to know how you go about getting a hearing dog. I want to get one for my oldest son when he turns 10 yrs old.

Any information would be appreciated!!

katt.
 
hearing dogs

DeafKattMom said:
I want to know how you go about getting a hearing dog. I want to get one for my oldest son when he turns 10 yrs old.

Any information would be appreciated!!

katt.
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Hi Katt,

One of the best places online to look is www.deltasociety.org. They tell about a ton of different places that train hearing dogs; there are lot of them all across the country. Off the top of my head, I know of one place in Ohio that trains hearing dogs for kids, their website is www.4pawsforability.org.

A lot of people now are training their own hearing dogs, but that's kind of hard if you don't have any dog training experience. But there's a neat book about that called "Lend Me an Ear" by Martha Hoffman of the San Francisco SPCA.

:fruit: (this smiley has nothing to do with anything just thought he was cute LOL)

Maggie
 
Getting a hearing dog for your son at the age 10 would not be advised. 10 year olds don't quite understand the concept of the responsibilities of working with a hearing dog. However, they have better understanding of the responsibilities of wearing a hearing aid and working with hearing-impaired assistive devices. Most kids would spoil their dogs and you just ended up spending thousands of dollars for a dog that probably will stop doing its job and end up being a play toy instead. I knew a gal at RIT who did that and she was only a college student.
 
I was under the impression that anyone who wants a hearing dog has to be 18 years and over. What are the laws on hearing dogs in the US? I am fairly interested in this if anyone can help :)
 
:wtf: Wow...I'm a bit insulted by the comments that hearing dogs are not necessary like other assistance dogs. That is an attitude I usually only run into from other hearing people, and it drives me crazy.

I have a hearing assistance dog. I am orally deaf and read lips, so most people cannot tell unless I tell them, that I am deaf. This causes a lot of problems in public. People talk to me when I am not looking at them and assume I am rude or stupid or even suspicious. In airports, I cannot hear the carts coming behind me when I walk, and thus have often blocked "traffic" or nearly gotten hit by cart drivers that assumed I would get out of the way. When driving, I don't hear sirens or horns honking until they are right on top of me visually, so I don't have the pre-warning to get out of the way like most drivers. I once nearly got arrested at the airport because the security guard asked me to step aside for a personal search and me not hearing him just simply started to walk off, and didn't hear the demands for me to stop either, so they thought I was trying to run away (since I was in a hurry to get to my gate on top of it all and looked rushed). That was BEFORE I got my hearing assistance dog.

Having my hearing dog with me takes care of ALL of these problems. And yes, that includes when I go out to eat, to to the grocery store or the mall or whatever!!! Hearing assistance dogs are not just about alerting, they are about awareness as well. I feel much more safe, secure and confident in public knowing that people know I am deaf just by glancing at me and seeing my dog with his vest. A properly trained HA dog will behave perfectly in public and offer absolutely no problems in restraunts, grocers, etc, so where is the abuse issue? People make more of an effort to talk to my face and Wyatt alerts me of things I would not be aware of on my own such as like I said, sirens, etc. Should I just leave him in the hot/cold car when I go to the grocery store because I don't "really need him" in there? Oy...

Hearing assistance dogs ARE a big commitment and not for everyone, but technology is not the answer for everything. I have a vibrating alarm clock that wakes me up, and a flashing fire alarm in my home, but what about when I am in hotels, or visiting family and friends? I'm not going to drag all that technological crap all over with me when my HA dog does the job for me, and a heck of a lot better at that. His batterys don't die on me unexpectedly <g>

In my home, Wyatt follows me everywhere. By watching him I know what is going on around my house and business. I know when the dogs in the kennel are going crazy and I need to go check the monitors to see if there is a problem. I know when the cats get into a fight because while Wyatt doesn't "alert" me officially to these things, his habit of always being by me and always being alert and reacting like a normal dog to his surroundings is a huge walking clue for me as to what is going on in my environment. The peace of mind this gives me is wonderful, especially when I am home alone. Heck, I can even tell when someone is walking down the hallway into my bedroom even though I can't hear it, which is nice because I hate being startled. A few months ago a drunk tried to come into my home thinking it was his, and Wyatt alerted me by raising his hackles and I could feeling him growling because I was petting him at the time, so I knew someone was trying to get in the door even though they didn't knock or ring the bell so Wyatt didn't have any reason to "officially" alert me.

Sorry if I sound like my panties are in a wad but frankly, they kind of are. Hearing assistance dogs are not a responsibility that everyone would want, and Im sure there are those out there that abuse the concept, but they offer a lot of freedom and confidence to those they assist, and that is worth a million bucks in my book. Having ANY pet is a commitment and a responsibility, an assistance dog is absolutely no different. If you are not ready to treat a dog like a dog and are looking for something to spoil and baby, an assistance dog is not for you, as you need to make an effort to treat them as a working dog to avoid confusion. Not to say they can't be pets too, but they can't be spoiled pets. Having an assistance dog also means you have a constant companion. Wyatt is by my side 24/7, and sometimes, it gets kind of annoying to have something trotting under your feet all the time! lol...but I wouldn't change it for the world.
 
serijules said:
I'm a bit insulted by the comments that hearing dogs are not necessary like other assistance dogs. That is an attitude, isn't it?

I have a hearing dog.

Having my hearing dog with me takes care of ALL of these problems. And yes, that includes when I go out to eat, to to the grocery store or the mall or whatever!!! Hearing assistance dogs are not just about alerting, they are about awareness as well. I feel much more safe, secure and confident in public, people know by glancing at me and seeing my dog with her cape. A properly trained HA dog will behave perfectly in public and offer absolutely no problems in restaurants, grocery stores, etc, so where is the abuse issue?
People make more of an effort to talk to my face and Snickers alerts me of things I would not be aware of on my own. Should I just leave her in the hot/cold car when I go to the grocery store because I don't "really need her" in there? Oy...

Hearing assistance dogs ARE a big commitment and not for everyone, but technology is not the answer for everything. I have a loud alarm clock that wakes me up, but what about when I am in hotels, or visiting family and friends? I'm not going to drag all that technological crap all over with me when my HA dog does the job for me and a heck of a lot better at that. Her batterys don't die on me unexpectedly <g>

In my home, Snickers follows me everywhere. By watching her, I know what is going on around my house and college. Her habit of always being by me and always being alert and reacting like a normal dog to her surroundings is a huge walking clue for me as to what is going on in my environment. The peace of mind this gives me is wonderful, especially when I am home alone. Heck, I can even tell when someone is walking down the hallway into my bedroom even though I can't hear it, which is nice because I hate being startled.

Hearing assistance dogs are not a responsibility that everyone would want, and I'm sure there are those out there that abuse the concept, but they offer a lot of freedom and confidence to those they assist, and that is worth a million bucks in my book. Having ANY pet is a commitment and a responsibility, an assistance dog is absolutely no different. If you are not ready to treat a dog like a dog and are looking for something to spoil and baby, an assistance dog is not for you, as you need to make an effort to treat them as a working dog to avoid confusion. Not to say they can't be pets too, but they can't be spoiled pets. Having an assistance dog also means you have a constant companion. Snickers is by my side 24/7, and sometimes it gets kind of annoying to have something trotting under your feet all the time! lol...but I wouldn't change it for the world.
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serijules,

I hope you don't mind if I cut part of what you said to pertain to me...by the way, I just moved to Duluth, MN from the Moorhead, Fargo, ND area, noted you're from ND.

We also need to differentiate that hearing dogs are only hearing dogs, they are NOT pets in any way, shape or form. Yes, I call Snickers up onto my bed, but she does not stay there very long, as she is a big girl. Snickers started out being my pet in October 2000 when I got her from the Humane Society of Ramsey County in Saint Paul, MN., and in the early part of 2002, she started being my hearing dog. She has been an absolute godsend! However, having the blaze orange cape on her is something I don't enjoy, as I feel as if I'm a circus act and resent it when people point and stare. How do you handle that?

In addition, I do give Snickers bones to chew (from Petco or another store), pig ears, treats and the like and she only eats Nutro Max or similar in that brand, for large breeds.
 
pek1 said:
serijules,

I hope you don't mind if I cut part of what you said to pertain to me...by the way, I just moved to Duluth, MN from the Moorhead, Fargo, ND area, noted you're from ND.

We also need to differentiate that hearing dogs are only hearing dogs, they are NOT pets in any way, shape or form. Yes, I call Snickers up onto my bed, but she does not stay there very long, as she is a big girl. Snickers started out being my pet in October 2000 when I got her from the Humane Society of Ramsey County in Saint Paul, MN., and in the early part of 2002, she started being my hearing dog. She has been an absolute godsend! However, having the blaze orange cape on her is something I don't enjoy, as I feel as if I'm a circus act and resent it when people point and stare. How do you handle that?

In addition, I do give Snickers bones to chew (from Petco or another store), pig ears, treats and the like and she only eats Nutro Max or similar in that brand, for large breeds.
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I don't have issues with people realizing I'm deaf by the orange cape. That's the point of it. I have never had any desire to "hide" my disability. If people stare....that's their issue, not mine :)

Wyatt is a working dog, but when he isn't working, he is a pet. I treat him like a pet. I love him and groom him and play with him and discipline him and he sleeps with me at night since he is trained to alert to fire alarms. When he isn't working, he is a pet. Some may disagree with that, but it works out just fine for me and him, and he completely understands the difference between "work" and just plain "being Wyatt". He is always "on" in the sense that he will always alert to certain things like alarms, regardless of the vest, but he does very much go into working dog mode when he is wearing it, and isn't allowed treats, to greet people like he normally would, etc. He knows the difference and does it without prompt or correction from me, which is one of the reasons he is such an amazing assistance dog.

So to answer your question....I handle the stares and pointing by not paying attention to it. It means people are interested and taking note of me and my disability. That is what I want. That is why I have a hearing dog. If they are pointing and staring for other reasons...that isn't my issue, and they are making themselves look like fools. That's fine with me too :)

Seri
 
I have a hearing dog that is a Standard Poodle. I got him when he was two years old . He is now 10 years old and has a lot of issues! Around 7 years old he became afraid of sounds , I think when he was at a groomer something really freaked him out and it cause my dog to get freaked out by sounds. I would not get a poodle if do not want to spend a lot of money on grooming it! He still tell me when the phone but he has arthritis now and does not like to get up a lot! I got a phone call once when I was cooking and thought I had turn off the stove . My dog came and got when the smoke alarm went off! I could had a fire! I was on the phone and could not hear the
alarm! If I got another dog ,I would like a mutt as they have less health issue than a purebred dog! I got my dog from NEADS and I do not like the wy thery train the dog to stop barking , you are told to hit the under his chin with your fist! This is not possible to do while you're driving! And I was told never to hit a dog as it will not trust you when you call it to come to you!
 
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