Training deaf dogs
I know some of you have. What's different? What's the same? Training tips? Resources? All I know is I once watched a BC handler running agility and commented on how silent and beautiful her run with her dog was and their incredible partnership just to be told that the reason she was silent was not because she had overcome the basic primate urge to babble  - well, kind of that too  - but that the dog was deaf.
Well, color me stupid, I had no idea! I figure if they can be trained to do agility they can be trained to do almost anything, but the question remains: how? Kristine |
|
|
| I am also interested in learning to communicate with a deaf dog.
Could someone with experience comment? Thanks. |
| I have a student in my classes with a Great Dane named Triton. Not only is he deaf, but he also has vision only in his left eye. He is a Harlequin that has too much white. Not quite a true albino, but has pink eyes and very few spots of pigment.
His owner Angee is amazing. Angee has a background in working with kids with disabilities. She runs a daycare for special needs kids out of her home. She always wanted a dane, and eagerly took on Triton when he became available from an area breeder. I met Angee and Triton when she called to sign her puppy up for beginner classes. I later learned that the other 2 obedience schools in town had turned her down flat away - never even met her or Triton! When she asked if I would accept a puppy in my classes who was deaf and blind in one eye. I said "of course". I think every dog benefits from getting out and going to classes. Angee knows american sign language, and taught him the same as the kids she works with. At 18 months she has a dog that is very typical for a dane of that age - he is a crazy, entertaining dog in class! She has limitations - he never goes to any off lead area, and not even the dog parks. They have a fully fenced yard, and she invites people to come play w/ Triton at their house. When we 1st got our Maggie - abused, untrained coonhound- Angees' house was one of the 1st off lead play times that we did with her. I know Angee has many good books and online resources - same as many here have used. I just enjoy watching and learning from a trainer's point of view. He is the only dog in class that doesn't anticipate the "call your dog" command!!!  It is also interesting to watch other people's reactions. Many of the new students at 1st have no idea that Triton is deaf. They just think Angee is "advanced" and teaching some fancy hand signals!  |
| Hi Kristine.
I also have noticed the seeming increase in the number of deaf dogs showing up in rescue. 
Oscar is our first deaf dog, and our second sheepie. Before we brought him home, I read "Living With A Deaf Dog" by Susan Cope Becker, which was extremely helpful, and I would highly recommend to anyone considering a deaf pup. It covers a myriad of issues, myths, training, etc. Bottom line training-wise? Same effort, slightly different skills. Your requests become hand signals, rather than verbal signals, or if you're used to using both already, use both. (I talk to Oscar constantly, and he watches my face very closely for clues to my mood, in addition to watching my hands.) We started out with the basics, such as doing a sign for "potty" right in front of Oscar's face while he was peeing, and then he immediately got a tasty treat. Then we'd do the sign for "dinner", before we fed him, and the sign for "treat" before he got a biscuit. We also worked on "sit", "down", and "stay", the usual suspects, always using food as motivation. To get his attention, I would tap him, and when he would look, I would give him a "good boy" sign and mix that up with giving a treat. If he refused to look with a tap, I would put a treat in front of his nose, and bring it up to my eyes as a "watch me", and then give him the treat. (Reading this, I'm shocked Oscar was such a lean puppy  )
We trained Oscar one-on-one, without other dogs, as we felt he was so distracted visually that he didn't need any additional things breaking his concentration. (Oscar is hyper-visual......he notices planes in the sky, birds on the wing, wind in the willows , things most dogs wouldn't pay any attention to.)
It took about two weeks before it all clicked, but he really got it using the "sit" sign. I literally saw a lightbulb go on over his fuzzy little puppy head, and then he watched my hands and face constantly for new signs and clues. I use standard obedience signs for "sit", "down", "stay" and "heel", but came up with my own signs for everything else using ASL. The problem with ASL is that it is a two-handed system, and it's very difficult to talk to your dog when you are holding a bag of poop, the leash, treats, etc. I modified all of my signs so that they are one-handed. Oscar is never off leash outside. He has also been trained not to exit any door (car, house) without an explicit sign to do so. He gets excited sometimes, so we work on that constantly. The upside of his deafness is that we don't have any issues with thunderstorms or fireworks. 
I hope this helps. If you have any more questions, just let me know. If we were looking for more dogs, I wouldn't hesitate to get another deaf pup. Laurie and Oscar |
| Laurie said it all! Good advice.
I ALWAYS kept Kissy on a leash, even though I doubt she would ever have ventured off. It was also nice that she rarely barked when the others got started. (although Murph has a certain bark that is so shrill even she ressponded!) The funniest part was when she didn't want to do something she would turn her head so, she couldn't see my hands.... she learned this on day one! |
| Thanks Laurie for the advise on the book. I could imagine the different world they live in. It does have benefits though.
Best Regards, |
| Our first rescue, Chelsea, was a deaf OES. Luckily we had friends who had a deaf Dane and came over to give us the basics in "puppy sign language". As stated above, the commands must be simple and each very different. It was funny to watch our hearing dog pick-up on the sign language, as he didn't want to miss out on any attention or treats.
These are the commands we used with Chelsea. Sit - with two fingers, point to the floor Come - full hand, arm extended then brought back to chest (just as you would wave children in for lunch) Stay - full hand out, level LayDown - again with two fingers pointing to the floor, but we would bend down closer to the floor Potty - arms bent, hands one on top of the other, then extend one arm fully directed to the fenced in area Speak - full hand and patted our mouth No - the sign for the letter "n" - thumb tucked with two fingers covering thumb. Down - full hand starting at chest level and extending down to waist level If in fenced area, flip the lights off and on to "call" puppy in (the neighbors will think you're sending some type of Morse Code!) One thing that Chelsea would do if she didn't want to "listen" was she would turn her head to ignore you. One word of advise...be sure a deaf dog can see you before they may smell you. One night, my husband was coming home from work late and Chelsea was sleeping at the top of the steps. She obviously didn't hear him, had not picked up his scent yet but woke up to someone on the steps. Of course, trying to convice a deaf dog in the dark that you're "Daddy" wasn't working. He was backed down the stairs by Chelsea growling until he reached the lights and she picked up his scent. Leason learned, turn the lights on until Chelsea had a chance to see you! We, like so many people with deaf dogs, still talked to her. Not that she ever heard us, but she was treated just like our other puppies. By using signs and speaking at the same time, Alex picked up on everything. Friends were amazed that we could get her to follow commands from inside the house while she was outside. We would certainly consider another deaf OES. I hope these few tips help. |
| Also check out the deaf dog website...
http://www.deafdogs.org |
| Most of the advice I have to give has already been given. However, the late Pandora had both individual trainers and group obedience lessons. When we first figured out that she was deaf - and it took awhile - our vet suggested a trainer. He was expensive, and after a few lessons I decided that this was not all that different from the hearing dogs I had trained and took over the job. The key is to condition the dog to "check in" with you every few minutes - to look to see if you are signing. Some people use vibrator collars to get attention, but that is just one more piece of equipment to hang on to/lose/remember to take along.
Our class training was clicker training - another challenge. I settled on one of those little squeeze light keyrings, a visual click. She did well. She was the best trained dog I ever had. The Q has had a lot more classes, but you would never guess. You form a special bond with a deaf dog, and they are no more difficult to train or deal with than your "normal" dog. The issues are just different. I always talked to Pandora when I signed. I think that my body language is linked to my verbal language, and it helped the dog read me. I would love to train a deaf dog in agility someday. |
| My one and only deaf sheepie lost her hearing after loosing a battle with a very stubborn ear infection.
I may have over looked this as I read the previous posts, but I would like to add the following tip. I trained my sheepie pups with a verbal command, but I also added a hand signal with it. That way they were learning to associate them. So, when my Shadow lost her hearing she already knew hand signals. I wasn't planning on having to use the hand signals, but I sure was glad I'd taught them to my herd after that happened. I know when you acquire a dog through rescue, or one that's born deaf, you can't do that. But, if you're training your own puppies, it helps to teach them the signals while they're young, just in case............ It was probably because she knew our routine so well, but I swear, sometimes it seemed like she could even read lips!
She was always on a leash outside - except one time! I was next door during a lightning storm when all of a sudden we heard a loud crash. As soon as the storm was over I went home and found my garage door open! The lightning opened it when it struck a tree near my garage door. I was immediately upset at the sight of that open door. My sister thought I was over reacting until I told her I'd left Shadow in the garage! I quickly got out of the car and went looking for her, but she was no where to be found. When I start to cry, trying to help out my sister says, "Don't worry, we'll drive around and yell for her, we'll find her." "SHE CAN'T HEAR ME!!!" Then my phone rang. It was my neighbor calling to let me know WHERE my dog was!!! She said my Shadow was sitting in her yard, during the rain, and was just staring back across the street at my house. She said she looked like she wanted to go home, but was afraid to go. (lightning) She knew she was deaf, so she used 'treats' to get a leash on her, walked her back home (in the rain) and put her in the kennel. I was so worried, and my Shadow was sitting just a few feet away from me! She usually got excited and barked, but not this time! I cried tears of joy and was never so glad to see her!!! So, if you have a deaf (or not) dog, and an electric garage door opener, turn it OFF if you leave home with your dog in the garage!!!!!!!!!!!!! She was just shy of her 15th birthday when I put her down. Her vision wasn't all that great by then, but the one thing we NEVER needed a hand signal for was LOVE!!! |
mouthypf wrote: My one and only deaf sheepie lost her hearing after loosing a battle with a very stubborn ear infection.
II trained my sheepie pups with a verbal command, but I also added a hand signal with it. That way they were learning to associate them. So, when my Shadow lost her hearing she already knew hand signals. I wasn't planning on having to use the hand signals, but I sure was glad I'd taught them to my herd after that happened. I know when you acquire a dog through rescue, or one that's born deaf, you can't do that. But, if you're training your own puppies, it helps to teach them the signals while they're young, just in case............ <snip> She was just shy of her 15th birthday when I put her down. Her vision wasn't all that great by then, but the one thing we NEVER needed a hand signal for was LOVE!!! Awwww 
Just wanted to clarify one thing: you can teach any dog with useful vision hand signals at any age - honest!
Thanks so much to all of you who are helping enlighten the rest of us. Kristine |
Mad Dog wrote: mouthypf wrote: ...I trained my sheepie pups with a verbal command, but I also added a hand signal with it. That way they were learning to associate them. So, when my Shadow lost her hearing she already knew hand signals. I wasn't planning on having to use the hand signals, but I sure was glad I'd taught them to my herd after that happened. I know when you acquire a dog through rescue, or one that's born deaf, you can't do that. But, if you're training your own puppies, it helps to teach them the signals while they're young, just in case............ Just wanted to clarify one thing: you can teach any dog with useful vision hand signals at any age - honest! ........ Whoops! Sorry!!!  Thank you for clarifying that!!!
I didn't mean to imply that they can't learn at "any age," but I can see how someone might take what I said that way, but that's not what I meant. I'm a firm believer that you can "always" teach an 'old dog' new tricks! Look at me!!! This "old pup" is learnin' something new every day! |
Didn't find exactly what you're looking for? Search again here:
Custom Search
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|