Hallo everyone!
So after much debating, researching, meeting, and screening, I will be bringing a new puppy into my life in a few weeks. Normally I adopt, foster, and help rehab dogs for adoption, but this time I'm going through a very good breeder who was referred to me. The reason I'm getting a puppy instead of adopting an older puppy or young dog was because of the training I'm planning on getting him when he's old enough. Since this is my first time living completely alone and in a place as large as Philadelphia, my family feels I'd do well to have a hearing dog around the house to help me.
If I'm somewhere quiet and there aren't a lot of distractions, I can usually have an almost normal conversation as long as I can see the other person's face to read their lips, or if they know me well enough to speak slowly and clearly. But there's a lot of sounds I'm missing - beeps, the door knocking, people calling my name, my phone ringing, and the big one is oncoming cars. I'm finding that in Philadelphia it doesn't really matter if the pedestrian light says walk, it's still walk at your own risk. :p The waiting list for most trained adult hearing dogs is pretty long, and since there's a company here that will do service dog training it seemed more practical to get a puppy, go through the three levels of training I wanted anyway, and then after doing the AKC testing pay for the service training that way he'll be trained to what I need from the get-go.
My question is simply wondering if anyone else here has a hearing dog or experience participating in the service training. The dog I raised and loved for the last 14 years wasn't formally trained, but he was still a service dog since he would alert me to phones and people I never picked up on. It wasn't until after I looked at what trained service dogs do that I really realized that all his life, Majik was my helper as much as he was my boy. I know it'll be a while before my puppy will be fully trained and can get legal tags, but being that it's something new for me, I was wondering if anyone else has gone through this process and has any words of wisdom. Did you find the training classes to be helpful to cater to what you need in a helping dog, or did you go through one of the companies that provides dogs already trained? And, if you live alone, do you find that the dog helps take some of the edge off that? Any input is welcomed and appreciated <3
Peace out~
So after much debating, researching, meeting, and screening, I will be bringing a new puppy into my life in a few weeks. Normally I adopt, foster, and help rehab dogs for adoption, but this time I'm going through a very good breeder who was referred to me. The reason I'm getting a puppy instead of adopting an older puppy or young dog was because of the training I'm planning on getting him when he's old enough. Since this is my first time living completely alone and in a place as large as Philadelphia, my family feels I'd do well to have a hearing dog around the house to help me.
If I'm somewhere quiet and there aren't a lot of distractions, I can usually have an almost normal conversation as long as I can see the other person's face to read their lips, or if they know me well enough to speak slowly and clearly. But there's a lot of sounds I'm missing - beeps, the door knocking, people calling my name, my phone ringing, and the big one is oncoming cars. I'm finding that in Philadelphia it doesn't really matter if the pedestrian light says walk, it's still walk at your own risk. :p The waiting list for most trained adult hearing dogs is pretty long, and since there's a company here that will do service dog training it seemed more practical to get a puppy, go through the three levels of training I wanted anyway, and then after doing the AKC testing pay for the service training that way he'll be trained to what I need from the get-go.
My question is simply wondering if anyone else here has a hearing dog or experience participating in the service training. The dog I raised and loved for the last 14 years wasn't formally trained, but he was still a service dog since he would alert me to phones and people I never picked up on. It wasn't until after I looked at what trained service dogs do that I really realized that all his life, Majik was my helper as much as he was my boy. I know it'll be a while before my puppy will be fully trained and can get legal tags, but being that it's something new for me, I was wondering if anyone else has gone through this process and has any words of wisdom. Did you find the training classes to be helpful to cater to what you need in a helping dog, or did you go through one of the companies that provides dogs already trained? And, if you live alone, do you find that the dog helps take some of the edge off that? Any input is welcomed and appreciated <3
Peace out~
OddFoxx congrats and good luck with your new Belgian pup! 
