Signal dog
A signal dog is an assistance dog that supports its deaf or hard-of-hearing owner in everyday life by making them aware of important noises . The signal dog for the deaf is often mistakenly called the deaf and dumb dog or the deaf dog . In English the term hearing dog is used.
In addition to the use of the term 'signal dog' exclusively for assistance dogs for the hearing impaired, there is also a broader definition of the term. It includes dogs that can recognize seizure disorders such as epilepsy and signal impending seizures ( epilepsy dogs ).
Working method
The dog indicates, for example, the ringing of the telephone , the doorbell or the alarm clock . The dog reliably indicates the noise by attracting the attention of its owner, for example by nudging it, and then guiding its owner to the source of the noise. A signal dog also indicates when its owner is addressed by name or when the owner has dropped an object unnoticed. In traffic, it indicates a siren or car horns and reports approaching vehicles from behind. The usual commands (sit, down, here, ...) are not used as commands for signal dogs. Instead, visual signals (hand position, head movement, ...) and special audio signals are used. The audio signals are mostly in a different language or have their own names, so that only the owner can give the dog the commands and no strangers use them.
education
The training of signal dogs is carried out by various associations and institutions. Uniform standards recognized by everyone do not exist in Germany or within the European Union.
Legal situation in Austria
In Austria, the use of assistance dogs has been regulated in Section 39a of the Federal Disabled Persons Act (BBG) since January 1, 2015 . For this purpose, the Federal Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection commissioned the Messerli Research Institute of the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna to carry out the assistance dog test. The testing and coordination center for assistance dogs was set up at the Messerli Research Institute. The Federal Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection has issued a uniform guideline in which the requirements for the designation as an assistance dog are specified and assessment criteria are specified. Two assessment sheets have been issued. For guide dogs and a separate one for service and signal dogs. The law provides that signal dogs have exemptions from the muzzle and leash requirement and that they have free access to public places, buildings and services.
According to the decree of the Federal Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection of March 20, 2008 in connection with § 42 BBG, the assistance dogs are entered in the handicapped pass with an additional entry. It looks like this: "The holder of the passport has a signal dog to help with disability-related restrictions."
literature
- Martha Hoffman: Lend Me an Ear. The Temperament, Selection and Training of the Hearing Dog . Dogwise Publishing, Wenatchee, Washington 2013, ISBN 978-1-61781-121-0 (English).
Individual evidence
- ↑ This broader definition can be found, for example, in the application “Definition of service and signal dogs in the Federal Disabled Persons Act” from a citizens' initiative to the Austrian Parliament. ( pdf online )
- ↑ Testing and coordination office for assistance dogs at the Messerli Research Institute
- ↑ Guidelines for assistance dogs of the Federal Minister for Labor, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection on more detailed provisions in accordance with Section 39a (10) BBG
- ↑ Assessment of guide dogs for the blind
- ↑ Assessment of service and signal dogs
- ↑ (BMASK) Zl. 44.301 / 0015-IV / 7/2008