# Training a Dog to Cue for Alarms/Buzzers



## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

I've thought about training one of my dogs to come get me when the oven timer goes off. I burn quite a bit of food as I can't hear it go off (severe hearing loss). Any ideas how to go about this? Maybe incorporate an alert for the phone too? 

Thought it could be something fun and useful to teach, but I'm not sure how to go about it.


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## wyoung2153 (Feb 28, 2010)

No expert here, but maybe combine the timer with a new recall/vocal command (like comign to you and barking)? So teach the recall with a new word, then when that is solid, start adding the buzzer on the timer when you say your recal word, slowly eliminate the word?

No idea, but that might be how I went about it if I didn't go to a trainer or anything.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

At night, the very last thing I do is check my emails. Once I turn off my computer, I send all the dogs go to their bed time spots. I give them one last treat. I do this every...single...night. 

Now - when the dogs hear the computer shut down (that tone that plays) they all jump up and head to their bed time spots. I don't have to say a word. 

I don't see why you can't do the same thing with the stove and/or phone. Set the timer - when it goes off call your pups and reward. Do it several times every day at different times during the day. Soon the timer will go off and they'll come to you for a reward.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Lilie's idea is great! I wouldn't have thought of doing that, but I bet if they learn to associate that sound with a reward it will work. Dogs are great at making associations, even when we don't want to. 

I get up before my husband on work days, and they stay quietly in their crates until after I take a shower and dry my hair. As soon as I shut off the blow dryer they start to whine because they know I'm going to let them out to potty, and then they get breakfast. Obviously they've made an association between the sound of the blow dryer stopping, and FOOD!


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Another thought - in the meantime, buy a small timer that you can carry with you to whatever room you're in. Tom does this all the time, he'll start something in the kitchen and then bring the timer into the office while he's on the computer rather than relying on hearing the one in the kitchen.


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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

Ok, I can see how I could use these ideas, thanks. Do you think if I were to use a cue word first, then treat at the sound of the alarm for a number of sessions, then gradually stretch out the length of time between cue word and the alarm?


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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

Cassidy's Mom said:


> Another thought - in the meantime, buy a small timer that you can carry with you to whatever room you're in. Tom does this all the time, he'll start something in the kitchen and then bring the timer into the office while he's on the computer rather than relying on hearing the one in the kitchen.


I've used my phone like this so I can see it light up when the alarm goes off and My boss installed flashing lights for my shop phone at work, both work pretty well as long as I'm not distracted by something else. I was just thinking after burning a pizza (again )while watching hockey yesterday, that maybe training my dog to help out would be fun and useful.


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

I know it can be done. A treat for an alert is part of it. I saw this with my guy at about 1;00 am in the morning I would turn off our DLP TV. It would play a tone when it turned off, Rocky would automatically get up and head to the bedroom??

I was amazed! So I have no doubt it can be done.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

Nigel said:


> Ok, I can see how I could use these ideas, thanks. Do you think if I were to use a cue word first, then treat at the sound of the alarm for a number of sessions, then gradually stretch out the length of time between cue word and the alarm?


If you set your stove for 3 minutes, then left the kitchen (with treats or what ever you use as a reward system hidden) went into another room, where YOU can still hear the stove alarm, and waited. When the alarm sounds, jump up and dance around like it's a big deal. Your pups will come to you all excited (because they think you've lost your mind) and tell them what great dogs they are and treat...and then go set the alarm for 3 minutes. ..... 

Then repeat.... and repeat....and soon your dogs will jump up excited when they hear the alarm - before you even react. At that time throw a party and treat. 

Make it a game - but keep it at a distance where you can still hear the stove and reward for the desired reaction from the dogs. 

Then when they are pretty solid at it - set the alarm for 3 minutes - and your watch - and go to a room where YOU can't hear the timer alarm and wait. See if the dogs will still react.

Think along the lines of someone knocking on your door...or your door bell ringing...


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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

Thanks Lilie! I'll try this.


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## souvik6 (Jan 22, 2014)

Its very much possible! Funny story.. my pup who is around 6 months has learned that everytime my cell rings I answer it. Since my gf calls for often that he must have associated the importance of answering it when rings that he calls me when it rings and goes unanswered for a while.. If i'm inside and still dont answer he looks at me like whats wrong with you why not picking up and keeps reminding me that phone is ringing like i cant hear it by constantly looking at me and then at the phone.. haha its just so adoreable! He's also learned that when door bell rings he can bark once then he has to go wait in his crate until I go open the door and release him..


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## JustJim (Sep 6, 2010)

This--alerting me to environmental sounds to which I need to pay attention--is one of my girl Z's primary tasks. She tells me when several different timers go off, when someone is at the door, when the coffeepot is almost done brewing, when the cell phone rings or a text message is received, the smoke detector goes off, etc. 

She initiated the smoke detector alert training. Shortly after I got hurt I was fixing dinner. I guess a fire started and the smoke detector went off; in the meantime, I had forgotten that I was cooking, and didn't notice the smoke detector. From my perspective, I suddenly had this absolutely insane 5 month old puppy bouncing off the walls and barking, racing from me to the kitchen and back. I went and checked, found and corrected the problem, and gave her a jackpot-sized treat. 

Over the next few days, I'd use the "test" function to sound the timer, then give her treats. Now, anytime the alarm goes off, she finds me and makes sure I know it went off. 

Other than that, training was basically as Lilie suggested. 

For the coffeepot, I started by setting a bowl of treats on the counter where Z could see them. Then I sat in the next room and watching the pot brew. When it was making the gurgling noise that indicated it was almost done, I'd go to the pot; I suspect that from her perspective, she thought I was going to the bowl of treats, so of course she went with me! When we arrived, she was praised and got a treat. I shut the pot off and got a cup of coffee. Doing this every time, it wasn't long til she would tell me the pot was making noise. 

Every time someone came to the door she got a treat. After a while, if I wasn't near the door, she would come tell me, doing the "running back and forth between me and the door" routine. 

I began training her to alert to timers using the bell on the microwave, since I use it to nuke my coffee. I drink a _lot_ of coffee, so there are lots of training opportunities. Same routine, it didn't take long for her to get the idea. 

The cell phone was a different matter. I began training her using the alarm clock function, with the phone sitting by me. Then we worked on having it further and further away. During this process, she also had natural learning opportunities when someone would call (different ringtones) or text (a different sound--a 3 second tone), and when I had the ringer silenced so the phone just vibrated. She learned to alert me to the phone any time it made noise. (This has also made it my most-reliable alarm clock, because she will wake me to make sure I know the phone is making noise.)

She is the one who generalized the task (alerting me to alarms/signals/etc) to alerting me to the oven timer, washing machine timer, etc. A few weeks ago, she made sure I knew the tornado siren was going off; I've been meaning to train her for that but hadn't quite figured out how.


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## Baillif (Jun 26, 2013)

It's really way more simple than anything said here. If you have a recall or bark command you just make the timer noise happen first then a half second later give the bark command or recall command and reward. The dog will cue off the timer instead because it always comes first and then you can just drop the command and just reward for the dog cueing off the timer bell.

If it takes you longer than 5 minutes you did something wrong.


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## David Winners (Apr 30, 2012)

How to Train a One Way Alert to Service Dogs (hea…: http://youtu.be/R1DiaKPvgIU 


David Winners


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## David Winners (Apr 30, 2012)

Tried to post the link from my phone and it didn't work. Here's the video I was trying to link.


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