A deaf dog will follow the owner’s eye movements, body shifts, and hand signals whereas, the hearing dogs generally focus on voices. In our obedience and agility classes, deaf and hearing dogs learn the same commands. Deaf dogs are usually so tuned-in to their owners that they not only learn hand signals but also take notice of subtle body/facial changes and movement to go along with their commands, making them more forgiving of human error. Hearing or deaf, all dogs understand these signals. If they are angry they display stiffness, a good hard stare, and, sometimes, a corrective “bite”. If they are happy, they become soft bodied and wiggle all over, maybe throwing in a play bow. They use body language and subtle movements rather than “talk” and “praise.” To demonstrate happiness or disapproval, they simply move their bodies. Many clients with deaf dogs have helped their dogs learn 30 or more commands.ĭogs do not communicate with each other as we do. In my experience, disabilities do not change this. All dogs take approximately two weeks to learn a command solidly then, another two weeks to learn the command with distractions. Training a deaf dog is no more difficult than training a hearing one. Even though my training and research specialty is aggressive behavior, most of these owners came to me to learn how to communicate successfully with their dogs, rather than for problems with aggression. My work rehabilitating and training dogs for shelters, rescues and clients has given me the pleasure of working with quite a few deaf dogs and their owners and puts me in a unique position to address the ability of deaf dogs to participate in competitive sports. For all my deaf dog owners out there, this one is for you! My only hope is to one-day see the AKC award a ribbon to a deaf dog for a sporting event! Keep your paws crossed! At the present time, they do not allow deaf dogs to compete in AKC sporting events. Recently I had been asked to contribute an article to the AKC delegates regarding my experience and research working with deaf dogs.
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