Teddy's terrific soundwork

Welcome back to Teddy’s Puppy Pen! We have a very exciting episode for you today.

We are going to show you how Teddy has been getting on in his soundwork training. Soundwork is the highly specialised skill that hearing dogs learn to help them alert deaf people to life-changing sounds. This skill makes hearing dogs incredibly special!

The first part of teaching Teddy how to alert to sounds was by practising with a squeaker toy. Peter and Hazel taught Teddy to nudge them with his nose when he hears the squeaker. Nudging with his nose is known as an ‘alert’ and it will be Teddy’s way of telling his future deaf partner that he has heard a sound.

Teddy is a very clever pup, so it is no surprise that he took to his soundwork training very quickly. Once Teddy was confident and comfortable alerting to the squeaker toy, he could begin practising with more sounds that he might hear around the home, such as the cooker timer…

How cute does Teddy look as he excitedly skips over to the cooker timer!

Teddy really enjoys his soundwork, as he knows he will receive some tasty treats when he does it well. As you can see, Hazel rewards Teddy with a yummy treat and lots of praise. This style of reward-based training makes soundwork fun for everyone!

Another sound which Teddy has been practising is the doorbell…

Many deaf people can miss visitors and deliveries at their front door, as they cannot hear their doorbell. This can understandably cause feelings of anxiety, loneliness and frustration. Thanks to your support, Teddy’s super soundwork skills will have a life-changing impact on his future deaf partner, helping them to feel less isolated from the world around them.

Perhaps one of the most important sounds that Teddy has learnt is the smoke alarm. This sound requires a slightly different reaction to the previous sounds mentioned. When Teddy hears the smoke alarm, he will nudge his future deaf partner with his nose, before immediately lying down. This is because we don’t want Teddy leading his future deaf partner into a potentially dangerous situation. This is known as the danger signal.

Watch clever Teddy alert Hazel to the sound of the smoke alarm...

We are so proud of Teddy. His amazing ability to alert to sounds such as the smoke alarm could potentially save his future deaf partner’s life. He is a fluffy superhero!

We hope you have enjoyed seeing the brilliant Teddy in action.

He would not have reached this stage in his training without your incredible support.

So, from everyone at Hearing Dogs, thank you so much for sponsoring Teddy!