By Joan B. Guertin
Piper
Piper was the Corgi that I interacted with from start to finish. I located a four-month-old Corgi puppy for a client who had been turned down by three agencies. My love affair with the little tri-Corgi, (a son of my Oliver, AM/Mex CH Cypress Red Ryder, CD, PT, CGC), began in the summer of 1995.
Following a temperament test which determined that the pup was the sort of free-thinker, analytical puppy that I love for the work, we settled in for a two-year run of intense socialization, obedience and skills training. All but the last seven months following my move from California to Missouri, the owner was involved in all aspects of the training so that there was bonding on that end from early on.
One of the reasons that I personally like training a hearing dog in a home versus an institutional environment is that the set-ups are more natural. The dog lives with the trainer and interacts in much the same way that it will when it transitions on to the owner. Institutionally trained dogs are generally living in a kennel for months following the initial 12 - 15 month puppy-raising period. During the sojourn with the puppy-raiser, valuable signal training time is lost as the host family generally doesn't know how to begin making connections between sounds and the pups responsibility in the process. In addition, most puppy-raiser families are hearing individuals so even if they do some signal work, it isn't consistent because they do hear the sounds and will act independently and not allow the dog to do its job. When I bring a dog into my home environment and do the signal work, the dog will follow the lead of my dogs, all of whom assume I can't hear the sounds around us. I have to pretend I don't hear the sounds so that the dogs will work. Their job is to alert the owner! No matter what!
Actually, it was Piper's time with us that led to certifying Flash as a Hearing Dog. Once Piper was returned to California in January of 1997, I returned home thinking that I could relax and get back to a normal life. It wasn't that way, however. The first time the phone rang, Flash dashed to my chair, alerted and headed back to the phone before I had even had an opportunity to move. Given the fact that dogs are mimics, Flash had assimilated all of the signal work that I had been practicing with Piper. Since then, Flash has actually been the "sound trainer" for five signal dogs that I trained for C.A.R.E.S, a service dog organization located in Concordia, Kansas.
Piper's skills were learned on the level of his experiences with me in my environment. When I returned him to California I lived in the home of his owner for six weeks to facilitate the transfer. The environment was very different and it was most interesting watching how the dog interpreted and ultimately refined the skills he'd learned. For example, his owner was a tea drinker so he had learned to respond to a tea kettle whistle. The pitch on the kettle in California was apparently different from the one that we had worked with and he apparently didn't like the piercing sound. He began alerting upon hearing the bubbling of the water, before the steam could generate the whistling. He finessed that into alerting to boiling water in pots on the stove. Thus saving the family from scorched and burnt foods.
One of the greatest difficulties in transitioning a working dog is helping the individual learn to trust the dog. It requires teaching that person to read the body language of the dog such as when on a walk. If someone approaches from behind, I learned that Piper would glance over his left shoulder to check things out. His owner learned to respond by looking back. Knowing someone is behind you when you can't hear, is empowering, it takes the surprise out of sharing a sidewalk with a friendly stranger.
Often those who are hearing-impaired will hear fine with hearing aids. They have to learn to allow the dog to work even though they may actually hear the sound first. If the dog doesn't work consistently, it may fail to alert at a time when the aids are not working or out of the ear, such as at night.
People who say that dogs don't talk have never truly watched their dog. The hearing impaired relies on such a vast amount of communication through their dog that they have to observe. The dog can be much more effective for his charge if the individual is sensitive to all of the nuances transmitted through body language, shift of an ear, a glance. The communication can be incredibly powerful. It is extremely exciting to watch the interaction between a team that is truly in sinc.
One job that I was asked to train Piper for was alerting to dropped items. Although we do that automatically with service dogs, I hadn't thought about the hearing impaired not hearing such things as keys dropping. Thus Piper was taught to alert by jumping back and picking up the item and returning it. From the keys I went a step further and taught him to pick up dollar bills, papers, gloves, all items that might drop out of a pocket or purse and not be heard by the person. He thought that was the greatest of games. Training that little dog was such a pleasure. I often refer to him as "my masterpiece!"
Piper alerting to dropped keys
When visiting with the hearing-impaired with working dogs, the one statement that I hear over and over again is the sense of security that they feel when they know that there is a set of ears working for them. And with the Corgi, not only are they getting a wonderful working dog, but they are blessed with partnering with a charming companion that has the ability to entertain and charm all around them.
One major challenge faced by those with hearing dogs is that the public has had little education regarding the use of dogs for those with invisible disabilities. There is sight recognition and instant understanding when the public sees a Seeing Eye dog or a Service dog working with a wheelchair bound individual. Those with invisible disabilities are often challenged when seeking public access to places that don't normally allow dogs on premises. Although protected by laws through the Americans With Disabilities Act and often supported in individual State legislation, there is a need for constant public education.
I'm often asked how one goes about obtaining a Corgi as a Hearing dog. There are some agencies that have worked with Corgis. Canine Companions for Independence, the Santa Rosa, California based service dog organization did conduct a Corgi breeding program. The last time I visited them in 1998, they were in the process of phasing out the Corgis as they felt that they were "too strong in personality" for most people to handle. In addition, the litters they showed me had not been docked as they felt that the deaf recipient couldn't "read" the dog because of the lack of a tail. Later I heard that they were crossing the Corgi with Shelties in order to "soften" the temperament. I have had no recent contact with them.
Most non-profit Service Dog organizations work with their own breeding stock or they do shelter rescues. The waiting list for a dog can be up to two years or more. Then, through their screening process, the Agency matches dog and candidate, which may not be the breed that they wanted. A number of these agencies will accept donations of dogs from reputable breeders. A listing of service dog agencies is readily available on the internet.
There is a growing number of individuals who wish to train their own family dog. The search for an agency to help in the training of a personal dog takes more persistence. Most agencies won't go in that direction. They will only work with dogs from their own organization. In addition, what I have found is that most non-profits try to mystify the entire process. They make the public think only a select few are gifted in training the hearing dog. Fortunately, training these dogs isn't brain surgery and many competent private trainers are finding that working with the disabled and hearing impaired is most rewarding.
A few agencies such as Handi-Dogs in Tucson, obviously will work with an individuals' own dog. I personally prefer to work this way. And I love bringing a dog into my home and integrating it into the household and watch the dynamics as these natural mimics learn from their peers. However, the most gratifying feeling comes from knowing that a working hearing dog will open vast vistas including more confidence, for those living in a silent world.
Published in the PWCCA Newsletter Summer 2003
Reproduced with the kind permission of the editor Marian Johnson Your.
25.04.2013
