Lily loves soundwork!

Welcome back to Lily's Puppy Pen!

Lily is in a very exciting stage of her training, where she is learning how to alert to everyday sounds around the home. This special skill is what we call soundwork and it is the amazing way that Lily will help her future deaf partner to live their life with a new sense of confidence and independence.

In this episode, we are going to show you an exclusive look at Lily's soundwork training with Janine, her fabulous dog training instructor. They make a brilliant team!

To help Lily become comfortable with alerting to sounds, she first practised alerting to the sound of a squeaker toy.

As you can see, when Lily heard the squeaker, she nudged Janine with her nose, and then received a tasty treat. This fun reward-based training meant that Lily quickly learnt that alerting to sounds is like an exciting game!

Once Lily was confident alerting to the squeaker, she was gradually introduced to other everyday sounds, such as the alarm clock.

Lily absolutely loves jumping on the bed when she hears the alarm clock, as she knows she will receive lots of cuddles and treats if she does it correctly. Lily will help her future deaf partner to no longer feel worried about missing their alarm clock and being late for work or appointments.

Another sound which Lily has been practising is the doorbell. Many deaf people anxiously stay near their front door, especially when they are expecting a visitor or a delivery, as they are nervous that they could miss the sound of their doorbell.

Superstar Lily will help her future deaf partner to feel confident to go about their daily life without fear of missing important sounds. Go Lily!

The final sound we are going to show you is the smoke alarm. During the night, it is recommended that deaf people remove their hearing aids, so that their ears can get a break. However, this can mean that deaf people feel scared and unsafe at night, as they may not know if there is a fire.

This is where superhero Lily will come to the rescue!

When Lily hears the smoke alarm, she will jump up on the bed to wake her deaf partner. Once her deaf partner puts their arms out to say, “what is it?”, Lily will lay down on the floor, signalling that there is danger nearby and she doesn’t want to lead them into a potentially unsafe situation. This alert is known as a danger signal, and it can be life-saving.

Lily’s amazing ability to recognise that certain sounds require a different reaction is incredible. For Lily, soundwork is like a fun game, but her skills will have a hugely positive and life-changing impact on her future deaf partner.

We are so proud of Lily, and we are sure you are too. Lily would not have reached this stage in her training without your amazing support.

So, from everyone at Hearing Dogs, thank you so much for sponsoring Lily.