Hearing Dogs, for adults who are deaf or hard of hearing, alert their partners to sounds they may not hear or sounds they rely on others to point out. They do this by making physical contact with their partner.

Watch a short video clip of a Canine Companions Hearing Dog in action! (662KB).

Among the sounds that Hearing Dogs can be trained to recognize and alert their partners to are the ring of a telephone, the cry of a baby, a knock at the door, a kitchen timer, an alarm clock, an intruder, a smoke alarm, even someone calling a name. The Hearing Dog is also trained to indicate the source of the sound. During advanced training, Hearing Dogs are taught to respond to behavioral commands and to "alert" to a core set of sounds such as a knock at the door or a telephone ring. Their learning continues after being placed in a graduate's home. Graduates "customize" the dog's alerting pattern to his or her own particular environment. Hearing Dogs increase feelings of security and confidence. All of CCI's Hearing Dogs are trained at the Northwest Regional Center, located at the Schulz Campus in Santa Rosa, California. Follow-up support to Hearing Dog graduates is provided by members of the program staff at each of the regional training centers.