Hearing Ear Dog – (HED)

Roxy

Roxy is my Hearing Ear dog in training! She is a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever #NSDTR from TuffnTendr Tollers. I wrote a post about her here and you can follow her adventures on Instagram.

Just like Walker, Roxy alerts me to sounds; like the doorbell, the microwave, the kettle ‘click’, the timer on the stove, the telephone, alarm clock and the most important one, the smoke alarm.  

Roxy began Service dog training last September 2024 with Jessica from Pet Intel. Jessica is part of the Canadian Association of Service Dog Trainers. We are currently working towards Roxy’s Public Access Certificate.

Roxy’s training:

• Puppy Kindergarten – October to November 2022 (Best Friends Dog Training)
• Basic Obedience Training – January to March 2023 (Best Friends Dog Training)
• Thriving Teen Program (In-person training) 10 week program – October 2023 (Pet Intel)
• Service Dog training (In-person training) – September 2024 – Ongoing (Pet Intel)

Walker (September 2003- October 2017)

Walker was my very first Hearing Ear dog. He was with me from September 2003 until he retired in March 2016 . He crossed the Rainbow bridge October 27, 2017, see my good-bye post.

He alerted me to sounds that he’d been trained for, like the doorbell, the microwave, the kettle ‘click’, the timer on the stove, the telephone, alarm clock and the most important one, the smoke alarm.  

Walker had been a puppy from The Lions Foundation school (Dogguides.com) in Oakville, Ontario. All the expenses of fostering him for the first year and training is paid by the Lions Foundation. They also paid for my train ride to Oakville in 2003 and housed/fed for 2 weeks while I was at the school training with him. Stop by for a visit if you ever have the chance. They have open houses once in a while, check out their events calendar on their website.