Acorn is a sixteen week old working Cocker Spaniel who was born to parents who are part of Hearing Dogs’ own breeding scheme. The scheme was developed following extensive research into which breeds and character types were most suited to becoming hearing dogs, to help ensure that the puppies have the very best chance of succeeding in their training. This in turn means that there is a consistent and predictable supply of dogs to meet the growing demand, not just for first-time partnerships, but for people whose hearing dog has retired or passed away. 

 
At nine weeks old, once he was fully weaned, Acorn was ready to go and live with his socialiser Sue who lives close to Hearing Dog’s Training Centre in Buckinghamshire.

Acorn settled into his new home quickly. He responded well to training right from the start. Sue says “Acorn is a lively puppy who keeps her on her toes – and he loves his training sessions”.

Acorn has started attending puppy classes at Hearing Dogs’ Buckinghamshire HQ every fortnight where trainer Claire always has a fresh challenge for the pups.  Over the last couple of weeks, Acorn has learned a couple of voice commands and hand signals. Sue has been impressed with his progress and says “Acorn is a very bright puppy and willing to learn new things”.

Sue takes Acorn out and about to get him used to the everyday sights and sounds he’ll ultimately encounter with his deaf partner. “I have taken him to the shops and he loves going for coffee at our local department store, and we park in the multi-storey car park so that he can get used to walking down lots of stairs and coming back up in the lift.”

Acorn will continue his socialising until he’s around 12 months old. In this time, the difficulty of his training will be increased and he’ll learn to deal with more complex and potentially distracting situations. He’ll also have his first formal character assessment.

“We are delighted to be sponsoring Acorn and supporting Hearing Dogs for Deaf People once again this year”, said Graham Lane, Managing Director of Hidden Hearing. “We are a regular fund raising partner of Hearing Dogs for Deaf People and have seen at first hand the great difference that a well-trained hearing dog can make for its owner. Acorn is a little package, but he will bring someone a big future.”

Be sure to come back for further updates on Acorn.