What breed of dog could support hearing loss? Advice needed please.

[DogQuestion]

I wondered if any dog expert could advise on two things:

Firstly, what breed of dog do you think would best suit a healthy and very active newly retired person with a hearing loss who can finally embrace and enjoy responsible dog ownership? i.e. a dog who will respond to doorbells/ noises suggesting someone has entered the house etc? I’m not suggesting a full blown hearing dog but intelligent breeds which would be more inclined to be alert and responsive to noises.

Walks would be up to 8-10 miles a day at weekends, 3-4 miles a day during the week, at least while we both were up for it.

And how easy would it be to train a dog to do a few simple things like this? Could a fully grown rescue dog be trained to do this? Or would you need to start with a pup?

Thanks and yes, this is starting from a place of relative ignorance but nothing will be done towards it for a year or so, no jumping in without plenty of time and energy put in to consider all aspects and to research things properly.

Get in touch with Hearing Dogs. They train pups for exactly this, but they also want volunteer puppy socialisers (just like Guide Dogs do). Sounds like you might be ideal for this. Usually they have poodles and poodle crosses. It is much easier to train a puppy than an adult dog- because a lot of the things you’re training for are actually the opposite of what people usually want in a dog, reacting to the door and the phone etc.

Appreciate where you’re coming from. My hearing loss isn’t severe enough for a hearing dog and I would prefer not to get involved in puppy socialising as a voluntary activity as I have my projects lined up already - it’s not an interest in working dogs as such, I just want to pick the best pet dog to suit my home and me.

Our darling dog who died earlier this year was brilliant At doing what you need. She was a Staffie who was at least seven years old when we got her.

I've got hearing loss and the dog seemed to pick up on this. If anyone came to the door, or even into the garden, she would go ape shit and run into my room barking until I got up to see what was concerning her.

To be totally truthful, she could also do this when she was asleep, so there would be no one around.

Poodles, labs and spaniels are all hearing dogs purely because they are quick to pick things up and are loyal to their owners.

So these breeds would be ideal, but I would say you would need a proper trainer in too to help you teach them how to pick these things up.

She sounds lovely. I’m so sorry you lost her but glad you had her. Was she good with other people, other dogs and children?

I think most dogs are good for door knocks/bells, and strangers passing by

My chihuahuas certainly are...though they bark at a butterfly’s fart in the Amazon too, so swings and roundabouts.

However it is handy to me. I’m deaf, so it does help when they bark at the door as I wouldn’t hear it otherwise

Getting advice from a trainer sounds a good idea. I’m not after a working dog at all - I know that hours and hours and hours go into training working dogs - I know from fundraising that it takes £40,000 to buy, train and support a hearing dog.

I just want the right friend who is inclined towards responding to noise so I know there is someone there at the door! And if someone is walking behind us, or a bike, so neither of us get hurt when we’re walking.

Labs, goldies would be great. Very easy to train to do the tasks you are asking for. Depends on your area but I can put you in touch with people who help owners dogs for assistance work.

Many rescue dogs could also do the task. If you had already talked to a trainer they could help assess the rescue dog and see if it were suitable.

If you wanted a smaller dog then poodles . poodle mixes and possible cocker spaniels. (I would not go for a springer personally in this instance)

My standard dachshund would have fitted the bill ... until he himself became deaf when he was about 13.

I think there are some breeds more prone to deafness than others, so check if there are any which are worth avoiding on that score.

And if I’m honest, I would prefer an older rescue to a puppy simply because my home is quiet and perhaps a bit boring for a young dog.

I think the majority of dogs will alert owners to the door. I’ve had terriers, German shepherds, poodles and collies and all have alerted to the door.

What I would look into is what else you want in a dog. Size, temperament, personality. Do you want an active dog or one that lies around most of the day. Shedding or non shedding? Do you want to do anything else training wise such as agility etc.
That should narrow it down a little bit.

In that case, most dogs will alert you to the door, phone, people behind you.

It’s all about training really. Without it being a proper working dog, it might not be 100% reliable, but most dogs are quick to please.

Like I said, my chihuahuas will alert me to the door, and they would definitely alert me to someone walking behind me.

Great advice - thank you so much. I’m in London and have a small house and small garden so not really suitable for a big breed, although I walk and walk and walk so a dog with energy would be essential. I’ll be 60 soon (that’s when I would be considering getting a dog). I would hope that it’s a good age to get an early middle aged dog who would slow down with me as we got a bit older.

Any recommendations of trainers to have an initial chat with would be incredibly useful. Thanks so much.

I don’t mind too much about shedding, but would like a breed which has a reputation of being good with children and non-aggressive with other dogs as we would be walking in parks a lot as well as driving out of London for longer country walks. I’d also like one which was robust enough to deal with sometimes using London Transport tubes and buses as well as longer train journeys.

I’m asking rather a lot.

Get yourself a show type cocker spaniel. Or a poodle. Both would be fab and are used by hearing dogs. Do consider contacting Hearing Dogs. There is a centre in Saunderton in Buckinghamshire which isn’t far from London at all. They sometimes have failed hearing dogs looking for homes. Might be an idea to put your name on the (long) list. My show type cocker is very responsive to noise and could easily have been trained to alert me to the door etc. Show types enjoy a good long walk but don’t need it all day every day like their working type counterparts.

Also, a show type cocker is compact enough to travel with. You can scoop them up and carry them on the tube for instance, but very robust.

Thanks - what is a ‘show type’? (I’m a bit new at this) Is it a particular breed of spaniel?

Sorry - I do know what a cocker is, just not what show type means.

I had a Goldie who would have been very good at this. Incredibly loyal and alert around strangers. Patient with children and other dogs. Although she did get easily bored in the house when I was working from home. She always wanted to be outside and rarely tired, despite 2-3 beach and hill walks a day.

There are two separate lines of cocker spaniels

Working cockers, who usually have slightly shorter ears, longer legs and very active, and show cockers, who are bred to be shown.

They tend to have longer ears, shorter legs, and are not as active but still very intelligent

I’d also like one which was robust enough to deal with sometimes using London Transport tubes and buses as well as longer train journeys.

That limits the weight range to something you can pick up easily and carry securely now and when you're a few years older. You're probably right not to get a pup - if you're 60 now, given that many small breeds can live to around 15 or more, you'd need to think of whether you're likely to still be able to pick him up when you're mid 70s.

I do need to plan for ageing, agreed. Both of myself and of a dog.

A show cocker sounds more suitable in the long run than a working cocker.

My deaf friend has a poodle assistance dog
To get it she had to go on a waiting list and then they both went through intensive training.
Another deaf friend bought a cocker spaniel and paid a fortune for specialist trading that turned out to be a scam. It was a huge scandal and I can’t remember all the details but be careful

@FredaFrogspawn, darling dog was great with peop!e,horrid with other dogs. Strange with children. She would go flat on her stomach and try to crawl away from them.

That's one of the things you have to accept if you adopt an older dog. They will have had experiences, good or bad, that have shaped their personality.

That's not to say you cannot train even an older dog. You can. But you have to choose if it's an important enough trait for you to do so.

Good luck with choosing a dog. For me, a home seems empty without one. Because of work commitments I didn't have one for a lot of years, and I missed it.

As they say, no one is ever as pleased to see you as your dog