Martha Hoffman Hearing Dog Training

MORE about Martha Hoffman

I was involved with the training and placement of over 500 Hearing Dogs in the past twenty years at the SF-SPCA Hearing Dog Program. I’ve temperament tested over ten thousand dogs for suitability for this work. During this time I revolutionized training methods to help dogs learn faster and gain a conceptual understanding of sound alerting. Crucial to these methods is the combining of using positive food, toy, and social interaction rewards to produce a dog that will perform under any circumstances and adapt quickly to a new bond with its human partner. This bond cements the early simplified alerting training into a self-reinforcing feedback loop that intensifies sound alerting.
At the time of the Hearing Dog Program's closure, I had just developed methods to train six to ten dogs at one time, in both sound and obedience training, shortening potential stays at the facility. Also starting implementation were training games I developed to include the Humane Education camp children in sound alerting training in addition to their previous role in socializing and obedience training the dogs.
Even untrained volunteers and children can participate in games that are easily performed but teach complex behaviors. In the past, there were long learning curves before volunteers had the timing and dog-reading ability to participate beyond simple socialization routines. Now, I've been happy to see people who I felt had no talent at all for dog training enjoy watching dogs learn successfully. They are so proud of themselves, and love realizing that the thrill of teaching is to have that sudden insight into the thought processes and feelings of another being. Since many applicants for Hearing Dogs are non-trainers, I see a lot of potential for building better bonds.
I'm currently working on a book with the working title "Games Hearing Dogs Play." This will be a user-friendly fun guide to self-training Hearing Dogs that is rewarding for kids and adults.

My dog companions who have helped me along the way:

“Trivar’s Planet Niji”, CDX, was my first dog ever. A Yorkie, he played Toto for six months in Steve Silver’s stage production, “Beach Blanket Babylon”, and bought us our first new car.

“Scotswood Sly Jinx”, CDX, TD, AD, Border Collie, was the 1990 USDAA National Champion, placed fourth and eighth in the 24" class at the USDAA Nationals in subsequent years, and appeared on the David Letterman show. Always a good demo dog for the HDP, and taught me about how dogs think.

"It's a Snap", American Eskimo. My most talented Hearing Dog. Many agility wins, tons of fun HDP fundraising, and always showing her cleverness and creativity in every situation. Non-doggy people at HD demos could always read her expressive face and see clearly her purposefulness in alerting me to sounds. She was also a superb temperament tester for people who had applied for Hearing Dogs; I'd hand them her leash and ask them to get her to sit and heel. If they spoke commands to her, she looked off as if she had not heard. If they signed to her, she only gazed into their eyes innocently. I evaluated the people based on their level of effort to communicate with her and make an emotional connection. If they achieved this, she would then happily cooperate with a stranger's demands.

“Amok ot Vito sha”, Sch 3, IPO 3, (Jekyll), Belgian Malinois: traveled with me to Europe representing the US five times for World FCI IPO Schutzhund Championships, Deutsche Meisterschaft, and Belgian Shepherd world IPO Schutzhund championship competitions. He was one of the few out of thousands tested who passed rigorous Department of Defense testing to qualify for a foundation stud for the military working dog breeding program. He taught me how to connect with a mind so much faster, more determined, more brave, and more in love with surmounting every challenge than I will ever be. He was a great role model whom I look up to and try to emulate.

“Gotcha ot Vitosha”, Belgian Malinois, is my current Hearing Dog and acts as a guinea pig for me to learn service dog training on. She does dynamic demos showing how she expertly manages my life. Gotcha is cross trained in cancer detection, drug detection, and diabetic detection. She’s now ten years old, and although I am completely in love with this breed, I know that I might never find another Malinois with the temperament to be such a trustworthy Hearing Dog. She’s my best friend.

“Everydog”- all the thousands of dogs I tested and/or attempted to train for HDP. In encountering the most bizarre and peculiar temperaments and behavior issues I never could have imagined, Everydog taught me that it’s never possible to reach the point of neatly classifying dogs into types, or finding the perfect training methods. There’s always a surprise out there, and lots more to learn.

Martha's Resume

2008-present
Training Director- Hearing Dog Program

2008-present
Book project-
Working title: “Games Hearing Dogs Play”- User-friendly manual for sound alerting training

2008-present
Volunteer dog trainer
Human Ovarian Cancer Detection Study, Pine Street Foundation

2006-2008
Board of Directors
Dogs For Diabetics
Helped found Dogs For Diabetics- helped develop testing and training methods.

1989-2008
Hearing Dog Trainer
SF/SPCA Hearing Dog Program

1979-1998
Designer-owner, Dogzilla
Custom specialty leather leashes, collars, training equipment- original designs.
Custom designs-Sandblasted mirrors and trophies for dog shows, innovative training equipment

1997-present
Seminars for Puppyworks
Panelist at Assistance Dogs International meeting
Consultant for Hearing Dog Programs
Website and forum for Hearing Dog partners and trainers

1997
“Lend M e An Ear-The Temperament, Selection, and Training of the Hearing Ear Dog”, Doral Publishing

1978-1983
Black and Paterno Inc.
Crystal giftware designer- Revolutionized the crystal giftware industry with lifelike animal designs

1976-1977
Lamp Designer

1969-1990
Goldsmith

1980-1997
Helen Woodhull Gallery- Gem Engraver- one of 4 gem engravers in the US

1977-1981
Kulicke-Stark Academy of Jewelry Art
Evening Class receptionist- Apprentice Goldsmith-Instructor
Developed gem engraving techniques for Kulicke-Stark

Book Review by Sara Laufer :

Lend Me an Ear: The Temperament, Selection, and Training of the Hearing Ear Dog
If there were ever a paradigmatic situation illustrating how art triumphs over science, it would be the hearing dog selection process. Author Martha Hoffman celebrates this messy, hard to codify series of events and circumstances in Lend Me an Ear, by describing the traits of the ideal hearing dog, while acknowledging that such perfection doesn't exist in a single animal. Hoffman has been a trainer in the San Francisco SPCA Hearing Dog Program since 1989, and has worked with hundreds of dogs exhibiting a wide range of potential for hearing dog work. In Lend Me an Ear, she shares her criteria for evaluating necessary signal dog characteristics in shelter dogs, including confidence, curiosity, sound reactivity, absence of aggression, and motivation to food rewards.She also provides "blueprints" of groups of dogs (e.g., scent hounds, terriers, and retrievers), with their general attributes alongside the three key roles of a hearing dog--companionship, public access, and sound alerting--to inform readers about how they can expect broad categories of dogs to perform in hearing dog roles. Most of Lend Me an Ear is written for trainers. Several chapters on hearing dog theory and performing tests on prospective hearing dogs at shelters contain more information than most people interested in adopting hearing dog need to know--such as establishing a satisfactory working relationship with a particular shelter--but the introductory material and the sections on training for specific sounds are approachable and useful for hearing dog guardians. Hoffman gives specific, easy to understand instructions for training a core of signals, such as a smoke alarm and a timer, with extra advice on subjects ranging from frequent training mistakes to various types of training rewards. Real-life anecdotes and photographs of San Francisco SPCA Hearing Dog recipients working with their dogs allow readers to get a good sense of what is involved in life with a canine partner.
Throughout the text, Hoffman emphasizes the difficulty in reducing hearing dog selection to a fixed set of rules based upon often brief observations. Decisions are made by also relying on substantial experience and gut-level responses. She writes, "Objectivity is needed to avoid slipping into fantasy, and subjectivity is needed to see beyond superficial test results." An additional wrinkle Hoffman irons out is the suitability of the hearing dog/human match; one dog may be ideal for one program applicant and entirely unsuitable for another because of human differences in lifestyle, experience with dogs, and signaling needs.
As awareness of hearing dogs increases among people who can benefit from these remarkable service animals, demand for them will also likely grow. Hoffman's sage guidance is and will remain a valuable reference for helping to make harmonious partnerships between compatible canine and human lives.