How do I train a deaf puppy?
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pepsicola81
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Sat May 11, 2013 10:59 pm
How do I train a deaf puppy?
I recently got a puppy and I have come to find out that he is almost completely deaf. I really have no clue what to do. Everything I know about dogs changes when the dog can't hear. Please help.
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tylerthegiant
- Posts: 35
- Joined: Fri May 10, 2013 3:41 am
- Location: Phoenix, AZ
Re: How do I train a deaf puppy?
My Lucas is deaf, adopted him at 15 months, he'd been an outdoor dog, completely untrained, he was a chest level tall, 130 lb wild beast pretty much! Some thought he was untrainable. He is my joy and very polite and well mannered now, your deaf pup should be a peice of cake!
Training a deaf dog may seem intimidating, but it's almost identical to training a hearing dog. Dog's aren't that keen on hearing what we say anyway, their natural communication is mostly body language, so your deafie is not really missing much.
You train with lures, like any other dog, and hand signals. They'll pick this up just as quickly as words, if not more so. Just like any other dog you lure the sit, once you're consistently getting sits you add a cue, but the cue is a hand signal of your choice instead of a word. The only tricky part to training a deaf dog is two things, one is that it's a little harder to mark a behavior sometimes, but there are ways around that. I use a flashlight instead of a clicker to mark the behavior I want. I lure a sit, the second Lucas sits, I flash the flashlight. Using this method I can do shaping or capturing behaviors as well. I also use a vigorous head nod as another marker, this is not my usual head nod, it's exaggerated. Some people use a five finger flash. Some people use a double tap somewhere specific on the body, because it can be nice to have a physical marker so you can mark a behavior even when the dog is not looking at you, but then you have to be careful because deaf dogs are often unaware of a touch until it happens (since they can't hear you behind them) so it can easily be confused with just being bumped into. I use the tap the way that most people use a dog's name, it means "pay attention to me now" which is really all that a dog's name means to them anyway. The only other things that is tricky, is that for the dog to respond to any cue or marker you give they have to be looking at you. LOL To interrupt unwanted behavior you will have to get used to getting up off your butt more than with a hearing dog.
But, I think once you get used to the idea (because I understand a deafie is not what you thought you were getting) you'll find it's actually nice. They adapt just fine to being deaf, they don't react to dogs barking behind fences, or get freaked out when the smoke detector goes off, they are very cued into body language, it's actually kind of nice. Lucas is a happy fella, he doesn't know he's deaf, nobody we meet ever knows he's deaf, and he can do anything a hearing dog can do, except go off leash in open areas.
ETA: If you have any specific questions let me know. I have a soft spot for the deafies!
Training a deaf dog may seem intimidating, but it's almost identical to training a hearing dog. Dog's aren't that keen on hearing what we say anyway, their natural communication is mostly body language, so your deafie is not really missing much.
You train with lures, like any other dog, and hand signals. They'll pick this up just as quickly as words, if not more so. Just like any other dog you lure the sit, once you're consistently getting sits you add a cue, but the cue is a hand signal of your choice instead of a word. The only tricky part to training a deaf dog is two things, one is that it's a little harder to mark a behavior sometimes, but there are ways around that. I use a flashlight instead of a clicker to mark the behavior I want. I lure a sit, the second Lucas sits, I flash the flashlight. Using this method I can do shaping or capturing behaviors as well. I also use a vigorous head nod as another marker, this is not my usual head nod, it's exaggerated. Some people use a five finger flash. Some people use a double tap somewhere specific on the body, because it can be nice to have a physical marker so you can mark a behavior even when the dog is not looking at you, but then you have to be careful because deaf dogs are often unaware of a touch until it happens (since they can't hear you behind them) so it can easily be confused with just being bumped into. I use the tap the way that most people use a dog's name, it means "pay attention to me now" which is really all that a dog's name means to them anyway. The only other things that is tricky, is that for the dog to respond to any cue or marker you give they have to be looking at you. LOL To interrupt unwanted behavior you will have to get used to getting up off your butt more than with a hearing dog.
But, I think once you get used to the idea (because I understand a deafie is not what you thought you were getting) you'll find it's actually nice. They adapt just fine to being deaf, they don't react to dogs barking behind fences, or get freaked out when the smoke detector goes off, they are very cued into body language, it's actually kind of nice. Lucas is a happy fella, he doesn't know he's deaf, nobody we meet ever knows he's deaf, and he can do anything a hearing dog can do, except go off leash in open areas.
ETA: If you have any specific questions let me know. I have a soft spot for the deafies!
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pepsicola81
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Sat May 11, 2013 10:59 pm
Re: How do I train a deaf puppy?
Thank you for the reply, that puts my mind to ease. I just started to do some research and was getting worried about some of the stuff I was reading. I don't think I will have too many problems with him, he doesn't seem to notice or care. My other dogs have noticed that he doesn't respond to growling and my 2 year old French Mastiff has started to touch my pup with his nose, usually on his side and that is enough to get the pup's attention. I love the new baby very much and don't care if he can't hear, I was just worried that it would make his quality of life different. Oh and I have noticed that when I hold my hand out to him, he will come up and touch my hand with his nose. I never had another dog do that, I like it 
He is such a sweet baby.
He is such a sweet baby.-
tylerthegiant
- Posts: 35
- Joined: Fri May 10, 2013 3:41 am
- Location: Phoenix, AZ
Re: How do I train a deaf puppy?
You'll read a lot of garbage on the internet. Many breeders, not wanting these impairments to be bred will kill deafies at birth. So IMO much of the information out there on the internet is there in support of that practice so it's biased. I think it's a shame to kill an otherwise perfectly healthy dog because it can't hear or see really well but I'm a pet owner not a breeder.
IME (and I make a habit of connecting with and learning from other deaf dog owners) a deafie's quality of life is normally excellent and they are great dogs! The world be be a much less interesting place w/o my Lucas, and he certainly enjoys life and gives me back much more than I give him. Don't listen to that stuff about them almost always having social and cognitive problems (Lucas is the problem solver in the house), and there's no reason to assume there will be other serious health issues just because your pup is deaf. I loved reading about how the other dogs are adjusting to communicating with him a little differently. What kind of a dog is he and what is his coloring?
In my house Lucas has flawless social skills, he is actually the keeper of the peace, and always knows exactly how to interact with another dog outside the house too, when to ignore, when to give calming signals, he gets down on his belly to greet small dogs, he knows how much to assert himself and when it's appropriate to do it, and never with more force than is necessary, usually just using his body and posture. When it comes to dog-to-dog social skills he could not be any better! So never assume your dog will have issues socializing simply because of his impairment.
Lucas is also a sweet, sweet sweety!
IME (and I make a habit of connecting with and learning from other deaf dog owners) a deafie's quality of life is normally excellent and they are great dogs! The world be be a much less interesting place w/o my Lucas, and he certainly enjoys life and gives me back much more than I give him. Don't listen to that stuff about them almost always having social and cognitive problems (Lucas is the problem solver in the house), and there's no reason to assume there will be other serious health issues just because your pup is deaf. I loved reading about how the other dogs are adjusting to communicating with him a little differently. What kind of a dog is he and what is his coloring?
In my house Lucas has flawless social skills, he is actually the keeper of the peace, and always knows exactly how to interact with another dog outside the house too, when to ignore, when to give calming signals, he gets down on his belly to greet small dogs, he knows how much to assert himself and when it's appropriate to do it, and never with more force than is necessary, usually just using his body and posture. When it comes to dog-to-dog social skills he could not be any better! So never assume your dog will have issues socializing simply because of his impairment.
Lucas is also a sweet, sweet sweety!
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pepsicola81
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Sat May 11, 2013 10:59 pm
Re: How do I train a deaf puppy?
Thank you! My pup is a great dane/St. bernard mix. He is black with a white triangle on his nose, white chest and paws. He is such a sweet heart.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/35480250@N ... otostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/35480250@N ... otostream/
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tylerthegiant
- Posts: 35
- Joined: Fri May 10, 2013 3:41 am
- Location: Phoenix, AZ
Re: How do I train a deaf puppy?
hand signals.
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will.smithers
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Fri May 17, 2013 10:11 am
Re: How do I train a deaf puppy?
When we got our biggest dog Storm, we thought she was deaf. When we started working with her we just used hand signals and she responded really well. We were surprised when she started responded to sound. Turns out that she had severe ear infections before we got her and we thought the loss of hearing was permanent. It slowly came back and she is now a sweet 8 year old 100lb American Bulldog that responds to visual commands from far away as well as verbal. Most of the time still we just use visual commands. Your pup is adorable and will be just fine using only visual's!
Re: How do I train a deaf puppy?
check some of Horace's Mum's old post. she still checks in from time to time, but had not only a deaf dog, but a deaf dog that was also had sever aggression issues. so for sure, take hart that a deaf dog can be trained.
Horace has gone on to some amazing success.
search.php?author_id=1275&sr=posts
Horace has gone on to some amazing success.
search.php?author_id=1275&sr=posts
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Dibbythedog
- Posts: 214
- Joined: Wed Oct 18, 2006 12:08 pm
- Location: Middlesex West London
