Next Step in Liam’s Journey: Hearing Dog Training

Next Step in Liam’s Journey:

Off to Orlando for Hearing Dog Training

On Tuesday morning (3/7/17), Tina received a voice mail from Liam’s CCI (Canine Companions for Independence) trainer in NY requesting Tina to call her. Naturally, all kinds of questions come to mind. The central one being: Has Liam been disqualified from the program. Already Tina has a new service pup, Nitro, arriving next Wednesday (3/15/17).

So with a bit of trepidation Tina returned the call and was very pleased to learn that Liam had been recommended for the audibility / hearing dogs program. Congratulations Liam! CCI has two locations for this program: Santa Rosa (CA) and Orlando (FL). In the coming days, Liam will head down to Orlando to begin his hearing dog training program. The trainer in NY assured Tina that Liam will have a good time at the hearing dogs program as they use “a lot of treats” in their training.

As you may recall, after being raised here in Maryland with Tina and attending many yoga classes, Liam headed to NY the first week of November 2016 to begin a six-month training program (i.e. college) for possible placement. 40% of the dogs successfully pass the program. After four months, Liam has now been recommended for the hearing dogs program where he will undergo another 5 months of training (i.e. Ph.D. program).  So it looks like Liam is “earning his chops” and making his way in the world.

Stay tuned for more…

Here CCI describes what their hearing dogs do:

Canine Companions for Independence hearing dogs are specially bred Labrador and Golden Retrievers who alert partners to key sounds by making physical contact such as nudging the leg or arm. Among the many sounds hearing dogs are trained to recognize and respond to are the sound of a doorbell, alarm clock, someone calling a name or a smoke alarm.

Partnering with a Canine Companions hearing dog can increase feelings of security and self-confidence by heightening awareness of environmental sounds.

After being placed in the home, the graduates “customize” the dog’s alerting pattern to their own particular environment and needs. Examples include: alerting to incoming e-mail messages at work, timers on microwaves, dryers and other appliances, and dropping keys. (Courtesy of CCI)

Here is more of the background about Liam:

• Introduction to Liam the service dog
• Liam the cat wrestler
• Liam heads off to college