Hearing Dog Training

Ming has a great future for her program, because she is a creative trainer who is trying to make the perfect match with each dog and person.

"Different Needs For People From Different Countries:
Taiwanese"

by Guest Blogger Ming chin Lin

Last year there was the Deaflympic which is held in Taiwan. We took our demo dog there for the promotion. It was a brand new experience for me. We met a lot of people there and had chances to know what their lives were like. The fascinating thing is that people communicated with each other through sign language, no matter which of the countries they came from, or the different Sign Languages they all spoke. We got a lot of questions from our Taiwanese citizens: “What is a Hearing Dog?” “Are they all Labradors, like guide dogs?” The most common question for us was, “Can you train my own dog for this?”

After that, we asked people to leave their contact information for us, so we could go visit and interview them. It was really impressive to know what Taiwanese with hearing impairments need. That affected how I selected their dog from shelters. I visited a family who live in a building where there is a security guard. They said, “We need a dog that looks bigger and stronger, so thieves won’t try to get into our house. But the dog must not be vicious.” After that, I got a dog from a local shelter. He is a Doberman and Taiwan dog mix. He had a solid black coat, and is as tall as a large dog. Every time I took him out for socialization, someone always asked, “Would that dog attack me if I get close to you?” However, when you get close to him, he tries to be cuddly and put himself in your arms. That’s what I want, the appearance for my clients to make them feel safe. I may not choose a specific breed for my client because they look pretty. But I will choose a dog who may help my clients feel calm and secure because of their appearance.

We had another special request from several families. They are all going to have a newborn baby at home. That could be a pity if they cannot hear the baby’s sounds, the laughing and the powerful crying. They asked me if I could train their dog to alert when the baby is crying. I do know the dilemma of this. Dogs should not be expected to take the responsibility for the real life baby. However, I am still trying for this. Trying is not losing, right? Now I have a fake baby lying in a basket. I recorded the crying of my baby nephew through my cell phone. I called with another phone, so the phone under the baby will “cry”. My white Schnauzer in training was very surprised to hear that the first time. She ran and stood in front of the basket and stared at the baby. That gave the perfect timing for me to reinforce the “Baby” and the “weird sound.” After that, I can always take good pictures of a dog “Baby-sitting” carefully. To generalize the alert, I started to record different baby noises for my dog to alert to.

You will never know what people really need until you talk to them, and try something for them. That could be helpful or useless, yet you have to try! What do you think about these two unique needs?