Signal dogs

Signal dogs primarily help people with hearing impairments. They alert these people to important sound in their environment such as:

• doorbell
• incoming fax or phone
• crying baby
• smoke or other alarm
• beeping of machines and kitchen equipment
• a person calling their name etc.

The latest type of signal dog is “chemical detector” for people with extreme sensitivity to chemicals in the air. Such people can require hospitalization if they encounter chemicals they are sensitive to (perfume, fumes from paint, solvents, or even regular home-used cleaning liquids). These people virtually cannot leave their homes … unless they have a four-legged friend with an extremely sensitive nose.

Another type of signal dog is called a seizure alert dog. Such dogs are either trained to call help if their master suffers a seizure or can be trained to sense the coming seizure and signal this to the person or family far before people notice something is wrong. There are even special “dog phones” available in the US, on which dogs are able to dial a preset number for emergency or family member.

Often these dogs are small breeds or small mixed breeds, because they alert people by physical contact.

Helping Paws will introduce training of signal dogs in the second phase of the company’s development. We will be pleased to hear from anyone interested in this type of training – either professionally or as a client. The waiting list for these dogs is available.