Mushaka Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Its possible that I will be taking in a deaf dog. I was wondering what experience others have had with deafness. I am more concerned with diversions etc. I have always been a verbal leader with my dogs,but wonder,for example,if there was a scuffle,what you would do to distract the dog? I have been given some good advice,but would love to hear from families of deaf dogs who deal with it regularly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartok Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Email Catherine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corvus Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 Vibrating collars and really big, exaggerrated hand/arm signals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mushaka Posted April 23, 2009 Author Share Posted April 23, 2009 where do you get these collars. Does anyone know the price? Erny did suggest this too. I will certainly look into it.. i just dont know where lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corvus Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 I've no idea. On Barking Mad one time they had a deaf Dalmatian. When he finally understood what was going on he was so deleriously happy he became an extraordinarily attentive dog. He obeyed every signal with a good deal of enthusiasm. For the first half of his life no one knew he was deaf and he got dumped. It was so beautiful to see his sudden interest in everything and everyone once he understood. It reminds me of Kivi's excitement when he was 9 weeks old and learnt that you can get things by sitting. He was doing pretty sits whenever he wanted anything at all. He was thrilled! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janba Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 (edited) I had a deaf dalmatian that I trained to open obedience, won the ring at novice, tracking and also agility (though I never competed with her). She knew about 50 different hand signals and was my heart dog. I didn't use vibrating collars or E collars and just a flat collar as I believe you cannot use a check chain effectively on a deaf dog. Basically the dog doesn't know that they are deaf and their other senses do increase to compensate for the deafness. The first commands I taught were "Watch", a "No" signal and a "good" signal. The teaching of the rest of the commands was no different to a hearing dog, though the emphasis is on the hand signal not the verbal command. I still spoke to her as my body language and facialo expression would often reflect what I was saying and she would pick up on these very quickly. I also got her used to a touch means look at me. For distance correction I would use a water pistol and to start with had them lying all over the place. These were seldom used when she reached adulthood as she watched and responded to me well. I don't know if this is any help but my experience was that if you put in the groundwork you will forget you have a deaf dog after a while. ETA I have more problems due to hearing with my current dally who is unilaterally deaf, so not directional hearing, than I did with the deaf one. Edited April 23, 2009 by Janba Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lablover Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 May I ask, why you are taking on a deaf dog? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 Many also use a flashlight to train.They use it similar to a clicker/marker but of course this they can see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tilly Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 I have a book on training deaf dogs - I will try to email it to your tomorrow if you give me an email address. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvsdogs Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 Many also use a flashlight to train.They use it similar to a clicker/marker but of course this they can see. This was going to be my suggestion or a laser pointer. I've only ever had dogs that go deaf with age & already know hand signals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corvus Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 There is a long description of how someone is training a deaf sheepdog here: http://forum.dog.com/forums/p/93999/748994.aspx#748994. He wasn't born deaf, but he has gone deaf quite early in his life and doesn't know signs for a lot of the things he knew verbal commands for. It might give you some ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mushaka Posted April 23, 2009 Author Share Posted April 23, 2009 (edited) He is already trained with SOME hand signals. When meeting him,you would not know it. Apart from when recalling. Although ,once you do get his attention with waving arms,he does come. My main concerns were diversions. For instance in the early days of him being here,If he and my dogs rough play etc,I want to be able to get his attention from a distance,which is why I was considering vibrating collars. Eta thankyou to everyone for your advice Edited April 23, 2009 by Lewis & Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartok Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 (edited) May I ask, why you are taking on a deaf dog? LL can offer a great home to the dog. She has always had some kind of bully breed dog I take my hat off to her for wanting to take him in and work with him and have him as part of her family. Edited April 24, 2009 by Bartok Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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