Understanding Deaf Dog Training Learning that your new dog is deaf is the first hurdle any owner must accept. But learning that training a deaf dog is not very different from training a hearing one, can take some of the sting of learning that your dog is deaf.
You do not need to use different methods of dog training deaf, only different signals. Training a deaf dog does not even take more time or effort. The concepts are all the same, as hearing dogs learn the meaning of words and commands through repetition, deaf dogs learn the same way. Because we depend so much on speech to communicate as human beings, we just assume that dogs do the same.
Dogs do not understand English or any other language. When two dogs meet, there is very little verbal communication between the two. They use scent and body language to communicate. They tell about it through these two forms of communication dog. The barking, grunts and groans that our dogs use verbal communication are an additional form of interaction dog, but not the principal.
Competition dogs who compete for Obedience titles are required to learn the different hand signals. working dogs, or use hand signals or body language clues to accomplish their work. Most trainers learn to use voice commands first and then go to hand signals. Hand signals are by far much easier for a dog to learn. Therefore, the formation of a deaf dog is really not difficult at all.
ASL
dog training deaf does not mean you have to hire a trainer. There are many books on the subject of training deaf dogs and learning the hand signals can be visualized in the book of training. There is a famous saying, "You can train a dog in five minutes, it takes much longer to train the owner."
Consistency is the first thing and most important training a dog if the dog is deaf or not. There is no "bad hand signals in training a deaf dog, you can use whatever feels most comfortable for you. Some people use American Sign Language or ASL. This is the same sign language that is used for deaf people. The advantage of using ASL in training your dog deaf, is that anyone who can sign ASL can communicate with your dog.
There are some dog owners who make up the totality of their own hand signals. However, most dog owners who are training a deaf dog, will use a combination of ASL and their own signals. Any hand signals that you choose will be good for you and your dog.
Posted on March 8, 2010.