IHDI has trained more than 1,000 hearing dogs since 1979 for persons who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. All of the dogs selected for this special training come from local animal shelters. The dogs are generally mixed breeds, six months to a year in age, in good health, with aim-to-please, energetic personalities.
Each dog receives a thorough medical examination before training begins, including blood work, vaccinations and spay or neuter if necessary, to ensure a long healthy life.
The dogs learn to respond to many sounds in the home, such as the door bell or knock, telephone, alarm clock, smoke alarm, or a baby's cries, during daily training sessions. General obedience and socialization rounds out their 4-8 months of custom training.
IHDI also trains dogs to assist deaf/blind individuals (in the home only) by guiding slowly to the source of the sound. Each dog is selected with the needs and lifestyle of its new master in mind.
A professional trainer delivers the hearing dog to its new home and works with the team for three to five days, teaching the recipient how to maintain the dog's training to ensure a good working relationship and proper care of the dog.
After placement and successful completion of a 90-day trial period, the dog is certified as a hearing dog and receives its orange collar and leash and official I.D. card.
Hearing dogs have legal access to all public places when accompanied by their masters.
IHDI began as a program developed by the Minnesota Humane Society and funded by Minnesota Lions donations. The seeds of hearing dog training were planted in 1973, when Mrs. Elva Janke contacted the Twin Cities Action News television program to attempt to find someone who could train a dog for her that could do what her dog had done for her before it passed away…alert her to the sounds around her that she could not hear. Mrs. Ruth Deschene, then executive director of the Minnesota Humane Society, with the help of board member Dick Lambert, found dog trainer Agnes McGrath and she began to train a dog.
With financial backing from the local Minnesota Lions, Agnes trained the first six hearing dogs in Minnesota. In 1976, the program was transferred to the American Humane Association and moved to Colorado. Then governor of Minnesota, Wendell Anderson, signed the “Hearing Ear Program” over in a ceremony on February 13, 1976. The governor said, “This three year program - the first of its kind in the world – has generated so much interest that the American Humane Association, located in Denver, Colorado, has agreed to establish and support a training center and to administer the program on a national basis…Now anyone in the United States, and perhaps the world, with a hearing disability will eventually be helped through this dramatic new concept in human services.”
Under the wing of the American Humane Association, Agnes received a grant to conduct a four-year pilot study in Colorado. Martha Foss, Emlynn Wood and Sandi Sterker joined Agnes to help with this pilot study, which was completed in 1979. On May 7 of that year, the program was fledged from the American Humane Association and Hearing Dog, Inc., was formed as an independent non-profit organization. Agnes was Hearing Dog President; Martha was Vice President of Training; Sandi was trainer and Secretary; Emlynn was Accountant and Kennel Manager.
In 1986, Agnes McGrath passed away and the Board of Directors voted Martha Foss its new President and Director. After its first hearing dog placement in Canada, International was added to the organization’s title.
Today, more than 1,000 animal shelter dogs have been trained by International Hearing Dog to assist individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing throughout the U.S. and Canada. The facility has expanded to include kennel space for 42 dogs, additional training areas, and modern offices. Because of the quality of its training program, International Hearing Dog was chosen to provide training for Japan’s first hearing dog program, has worked with individuals from Norway and Australia to help them learn the training method, and is currently training a group of individuals from Sri Lanka to assist them in building a program in their country.
With a growing need for its professionally trained dogs, International Hearing Dog is looking forward to the future and many more years of service to persons who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.
Priority hearing dog candidates are adults over 18 years old who:
Applicants who feel they do not meet the exact above criteria should not be discouraged from applying, as each application is considered on a case-by-case basis.
Hearing Dogs come in many sizes, small (up to 20 lbs.), medium (20 - 35 lbs.), large (35-50 lbs.)