Dog training teaches a dog how to perform certain actions. It is used by owners who want to communicate better with their pets. Specially trained dogs are often used in particular situations involving law enforcement, hunting, search and rescue and also to aid persons with disabilities.
Assistance dogs are trained to help people with disabilities. Through the help of a handler or the specific organization, these dogs can be further classified into three general types: guide dogs, service dogs and hearing dogs.
Guide Dogs
Guide Dogs date as far back as World War One when a school in Germany trained German shepherds to assist veterans who were blinded from the war; this is when the Guide Dog program for dog training was developed. It was later adopted and advanced in the United States by a woman named Dorothy Harrison Eustis, a wealthy Philadelphian. The first known case of an individual using these dogs, now known as the ‘seeing eye dog’, was in 1928 when a man known as Morris Frank, who had lost the use of his eyes in two separate accidents, used specially trained dogs. Although the method began with German Shepherds, trainers began to recognize other breeds that could also be used and today the most popular type of dogs used as guides are Labradors, Golden Retrievers and German Shepherds.
The dogs are trained to navigate around different obstacles; however they are partially color blind and cannot interpret street signs. The guide dog and its owner act as a team: the owner does the directing based on the skills acquired though necessary mobility training. The dog training is done by both the dog and the owner so they can interpret each other’s signals. There is usually a lot of trust needed in this relationship as they both need to depend on each other for their own safety.
Hearing Dogs
These are specially trained dogs that assist individuals who are hearing impaired. The dogs that qualify for this position have to be tested for sound reactivity and proper temperament. The idea behind hearing dogs originated in 1979 at an international conference for vets and in February 1982 the first training center was launched.
Hearing dogs are usually rescue dogs, cross-breeds and mongrels and they vary from medium-large to small. They have very intensive training that teaches them how to respond to certain sounds. The training period last for 10 months and dogs are introduced to their prospective owners in the early stages of training, After a while they spend a short period of time with the owner in a specially designed flat at the training center. When the dog training program is complete the dogs are efficient in the ‘touch and tell’ routine where they can identify sounds and where they are coming from. They are also able to seek out and touch their owner and show him where the sound has come from.
The hearing dog has a specific reaction to the sound of a fire alarm: in this case the dog alerts its owner by touch, then lies down flat so the owner can differentiate between the fire alarm sounds and other sounds. Hearing dogs can be identified by their yellow coat which has ‘hearing dog’ displayed clearly on it to distinguish them from other specially trained dogs.
