Soundwork with Star

Hello and welcome back to Star’s Puppy Pen!

We have a very exciting Puppy Pen Episode for you today.

We thought you might like to see how well Star is progressing in her soundwork training. Soundwork is the highly specialised skill that hearing dogs learn so that they can alert a deaf person to sounds such as the alarm clock, doorbell and smoke alarm.  

Star has been practising her soundwork with Grace, her brilliant volunteer puppy trainer - and they make a fantastic team. Soundwork training builds upon the strong bond and trust between a hearing dog pup and socialiser; Star and Grace have always had a wonderful connection, so they were already off to a great start!

Before Star learnt how to alert to sounds around the home, she first practised to alert to the fun noise of a squeaker.

When Star hears the squeaker, she has been taught to nudge Grace with her nose. The ‘nose nudge’ is very important as it will be how Star communicates to her deaf partner that she has heard a sound.

Once Star was comfortable with the squeaker, she could begin practising with other sounds around the home, such as the alarm clock…

Early mornings are made so much better with a cute and cuddly pup!

Some deaf people do not sleep very well, as they are in fear of missing the sound of their alarm clock, which can lead to them being late for work. This can result in feelings of anxiety and worry. Star’s incredible ability to wake up her future deaf partner in the morning will have an amazing and life-changing impact on their quality of life.

Now for another sound. Star has been practising alerting to the sound of the doorbell…

You can tell how much Star loves soundwork by how enthusiastically she nudges Grace… look at that happy tail wag! Through positive reward-based training, Star is learning that soundwork is a very fun and enjoyable experience. It is like a game… Star hears a sound, alerts her partner, takes them to the sound and then patiently waits for her treat and a fuss!

We are very impressed with Star’s super alert to the doorbell. As you can see, Star happily takes Grace to the front door and then settles down and waits nicely in her bed. This is because Star’s future deaf partner might not want Star greeting every visitor at the front door, so Star has learnt to wait patiently in her bed until she is given a cue to get up.

Well done super Star!

The final sound we are going to show you today is the smoke alarm which is one of the most important sounds that Star has learnt in her training. Unlike the previous sounds mentioned, we don't want Star to lead Grace to where the sound is coming from as she could risk leading her future deaf partner into a potentially unsafe situation.

When Star hears the smoke alarm, she has been taught to lie down; this is known as the ‘danger alert’ and it will let her future deaf partner know that there could be a fire in the home. This important alert has saved many deaf people’s lives in the past.

We are so proud of Star. As you can see, her soundwork training is going fantastically well and she is well on her way to becoming a clever hearing dog superstar.

This is all thanks to your amazing support. We are so grateful.

Until next time, from everyone at Hearing Dogs, thank you for sponsoring Star.