hearing dog for a deaf traveler?

[wildwerden]

so I'm deaf (can still hear a bit with the aid of a chochlear implant) and i'm seriously considering getting a pup to train to keep her ears out for me. good idea? what exactly should i train her to do? i'd like for her to get my attention when someone is approaching us without making any noise herself. any other ideas? what do you guys use yr hearing for on the road that i should train my dog to listen out for? i plan to hitch hike mostly but may do some train hopping. the pup will be well taken care of since she's going to be my main partner on the road.

also what do you guys think about a deaf chick on the road? like fully deaf? if i wear my chochlear implant, i'd have to carry a shit ton of batteries (three little batteries for every other day) and fuss over it not getting damaged or wet. i can read lips very well and communicate via pen/paper. or should i just bring the implant and batteries? it would be interesting being on the road fully deaf but i won't be able to socialize too well. i don't know, what are yr opinions?

 

[Ekstasis]

I am not deaf but you can easily train your dog using signs vs. verbal commands. My dog knows both hand signs and verbal commands.

Some commands might be easier if you had a few people to practice with you beforehand aka a hearing person that is trying to sneak up.

I think you should ride with someone who is experienced to help train your dog to certain sounds.

Alerting to an approaching train, people.

I helped raise a canine companion puppy as a kid, you might contact an organization like that to help you with things that can help you out. We had a huge list of commands to teach it.

My dog knows know "go pee" and he will.

Safe travels to you!

 

[wildwerden]

many thanks! I'm definitely planning on traveling with an experienced traveler to get myself and the pup a bit more experienced first. was also planning on using a mix of verbal and hand signals.

yeah, I should practice having her warn me when someone is trying to sneak up or approach me (any ideas how she should do that? lay down? i don't want her to bark to avoid anymore unnecessary attention).

will contact an organization that trains hearing dogs, thanks for the idea!

 

[Pheonix]

I've noticed it easier to train a dog hand gestures then it is to train them with words. They always learn the hand gesture first and then start associating the word with the hand gesture. (pointing to the ground means sit and "sit" means I'm pointing at the ground) That's how my experiences have always been anyways and mostly with pits if breed matters in this case.

 

[Ekstasis]

Phoenix-The only dogs I have taught hand signs to have been pit. Funny.


I make my hand motions easy to flow from one to the next. Sit is pointing at the floor and laying is just a flat hand. Roll over is index finger twirling in a circle.

I use one hand for shake and the opposite for high-five, my dog is a gentleman and offers his correct right paw. It opens up your easily recognized hand signs using both hands and is easier on the dog to learn.

When you are practicing don't do the same routine of commands. I was predictable and would do sit, shake, laydown and my dog will start to roll-over sometimes without a command.

I would make sure that the dogs signs are distinct/different from any other signs you use commonly, it might cause the dog confusion if you are signing with someone else.
Baby sign language might also be useful.