What kind of dogs are great for deaf people?

Question

Wondered what kind of breed or mixed dogs make great dogs for the deaf? There is training classes for deaf people with dogs, but theyre so expensive. I have a german shepherd part doberman dog, 6 yrs old female.

Answer 1

If you are referring to a hearing alert dog then all sorts of breeds and mixed of breeds in all sizes are used for this. I don't know that there is considered to be any "best" breed for hearing alert work. The dog would simply need to be of stable temperament, be responsive to sound, and be capable of being trained a reliable alert to those sounds as well as being non-disruptive in public places.

Answer 2

Our home and dog are to have a two-hour evaluation for training as an assistive dog this Thursday, 2/8/06. The organization doing this is a local one, Paws With A Cause.(1)



Paws With A Cause follows roughly the same criteria as Dogs For The Deaf, a west-coast organization. (2)



Size of dog is not as imporant as it is to seeing-eye dogs, since they do not need to be in a harness to be physically comfortable to the human. Lap-size dogs are perfectly adequate and much easier to take care of in a space-limited environment.



Here's the link to pictures of our original meeting up with Junior: (3)





The general guidelines for training of a hearing ear dog:

...trained to alert to seven possible sounds: fire/smoke alarm, telephone, door knock, doorbell, oven timer, alarm clock, and name call. A dog may be trained for an eighth sound, the baby cry. Add our desire that the dog be able to signal that something was dropped or something unusual is happening.



This specific training comes on top of more general factors -- that the dog stay focused, that it is not distracted by other dogs, cats, squirrels, or other animals or people. That he be able to be around any type of mix of people and animals without any special attention, with no fear of biting, growling or unnecessary barking. Clean and sanitary so that he may go into a restaurant, church, other peoples' homes and not become a worry.



Junior seems good stock to start from. Miniature Pinscher and Chihuahua (according to the vet), generally calm, affectionate but not possessive, not yappy, and trainable. Even if they decide after the evaluation not to take him for this training, he'll continue to be loved and cherished.



There's more than him alone that will decide this. The training period is four months, and where will the money come from? Can we stand to be without him for four months? It's like sending a kid to college or boot camp.

Answer 3

Any breed really just so long as they have a calm, steady temperament

and are trainable specifically for the deaf, they are expensive but a lot

of work goes into their training, Are you considering training your dog?

the mix of GSD & Dobermann will be intelligent enough but at 6 yrs. it

will be work to make the grade, hey, give it a go you've go nothing to

lose & will get a better trained dog. hope this helps!

Answer 4

NEADS has a support program that does require you to raise money- but they also guide you through doing that. http://www.neads.org/page.aspx?pid=425



Here is information on training your own dog - given your dog's background, she should work well for you, but at the age of 6, you will be putting a lot of training into a dog that won't likley be able to work for your for more than a few years. You may want to do this with a younger dog, or perhaps apply for a hearing dogs from NEADS in the meantime.



http://sdog.danawheels.net/ot-adog.shtml

Answer 5

Labs are commonly used, but since hounds have good hearing, a hound would be a good choice. any easily, well trained, medium large dog would be good.

Answer 6

Labrador retriever .

Answer 7

guide dogs