Training a Deaf Dog: click here for printer friendly version
Vibrating Collar section: Click here to see details and a review of the PetSafe Pet Pager
Deaf/Blind Training: Click here to visit Dolcezza's site for some information on traing a deaf/blind dog.
We should first point out that we are NOT experienced dog trainers, and that the information in this section is purely based upon training advice which we have received and found to be helpful. We would urge all owners of deaf (and hearing) dogs to seek the help of an experienced trainer and if anyone would like to offer further advice or corrections to any part of the following information we would be delighted to hear from you!
Initial training:
We found it very useful to enrol Dizzy in a puppy class as soon as we adopted her. We were lucky enough to be given the number of an experienced dog trainer who had spent some time with her at the RSPCA kennels and also had some prior experience with deaf dogs.
All of Dizzy's training took place in a safe environment well away from traffic.
Recall / Come:
As preparation for training we were asked to bring a very long (about 5 metres) knotted line with a normal clip to attach to Dizzy's collar. We would attach this and allow her to walk normally, as soon as she started to wander away, we would give a short sharp tug on the lead, just enough to get her attention,and as soon as she turned to see what was happening we would back away from her. quickly clap our hands together and then outstretch our arms making encouraging facial expressions. She would coming running to us for reassurance and was rewarded when reached us (either with a food treat or lots of hugs and encouragement). This technique seemed to work very well, but did need some fleetness of foot on our part to avoid falling flat on our backside as we backed away!!!
Dizzy soon learned that our outstretched arms were the sign for her to return to us and that she would ALWAYS be rewarded when she did. Originally the reward was a food treat but now we are able to reward her with encouragement and hugs and she will usually come with a wagging tail. (Sometimes she chooses not to see her recall command, but I think that all dogs can be stubborn sometimes!!!)
We found that using the knotted line we could walk with dizzy off the lead (in safe areas) leaving the lead trailing and if she started to wander off we could step on the lead (the knots helped to prevent the line from slipping under our feet!) using the recall command to call her to us. Eventually we found that she would look round quite regularly to see where we are and could be recalled without using the line (we still only allow her off the lead in areas which are either enclosed or very remote and where we can see clearly for long distances)
As part of their continuing training, whenever we are out with all of the dogs together, we regularly do an about face - calling the dogs - and walk for a few yards away from them whilst listening to see if they are coming. As soon as our hearing dogs respond to the recall, both Dizzy and Bertie tend to follow them back to us, this gives us the opportunity to turn to face them and give the recall signal. When all the dogs are back level with us we continue on in our original direction. This seems to encourage them to watch us more so that they can find out which way we are going, and it also discourages all the dogs from going too far ahead!!
Some owners also find that a vibrating collar operated by remote control is very effective for recalling their dog. Details of where to get these in the UK will be coming soon! For further information see the link at the bottom of this page
Close / Heel:
For the close or heel command we again initially used food treats to get and hold Dizzy's attention. I would call her to me using the recall command described above, and when she was immediately in front of me I would turn away from her and bring my right hand down and next to my left hip just in front of her nose I would then walk forward making a small circling motion with my hand (which to start off with contained a treat!). Dizzy would follow closely in the heel position and after we had walked a few metres she would be rewarded and praised. She will now follow the hand signal without the treat!
Sit:
This was a very easy one, and used the same technique which we had been taught to use with our other dogs. I would stand in front of Dizzy with a food treat in my hand level with her nose and lift my hand higher and upright. As her head came up to follow the treat her bottom would naturally go down onto the floor and she would sit, if she was being awkward (usually if it had been raining and the ground was wet!!) a little gentle pressure was applied on her bottom to encourage her to sit. Now we can sign Dizzy to sit from quite a distance by raising one hand into the upright position.
Stay / Wait:
From the sit position a flat hand was held in front of Dizzy's face at a distance of about six inches from her nose. I would then walk away slowly repeating the command if she started to move. Initially I only moved one or two paces away and then returned, rewarding on the return if she stayed and repeating the command if she showed any sign of moving. Once she had got the hang of this we were able to move some distance away without even looking toward Dizzy or re-signing her and she would stay put. After learning the stay command from the sit we were able to teach her to stay when standing. As the trainer pointed out the Stay/ Wait command is one of the most important for all dogs and can be very useful around the house; for instance if a glass is dropped and broken on the floor you will want your dog to stay out of harms way and not go walking over it or sniffing at it!
Down:
We had originally used a downward pointed finger to signal the down position to Dizzy, which worked with a reasonable degree of success, but since we have started training Bertie it was suggested that we used a closed fist with the palm facing down and moved in a downward motion. The reason for this was that we could hold a treat in our hand and move the closed fist down to the ground. Bertie naturally followed the hand (and the treat) down to the ground, and with a little gentle pressure applied to his shoulders he would lie down. As soon as he was lying down the fist could immediately be turned to face upwards and give him a treat. With Bertie this worked like magic and Dizzy soon picked up the new sign!! (I suppose the moral here is to be flexible - and if you find a new method for any of your dogs training which works better than the old one, don't be afraid to try it!)
Retrieve:
For the retrieve command we have used a small
plastic bottle half filled with treats. Firstly we showed Dizzy
the bottle containing the treats, and then took one out and gave
it to her, after allowing her to play with the bottle for a minute
of two (with the top on) we then opened it and gave her another
treat. We repeated this process several times until she got used
to the idea that the bottled would yield up a treat when she gave
it to us, the next step was to throw the treat bottle a few feet
and encourage her with lots of visual praise
( hand clapping and 'GOOD GIRL' signs) when she picked it up,
we then signaled the recall to get her to bring it to us. When
she brought the bottle back without dropping it on the way, we
would open it up and give her the treat.
Sit Close:
To get a deaf dog to sit at your side can be a tricky thing to master in our experience. They seem to automatically want to sit immediately in front of you so that they can easily see any signs that you make, I can't claim that we have really conquered this one but a method that seems to work quite well is to start from the sit in front, with a treat in your hand, lead the dog round using the treat in a looping motion until she is facing front next to you, then signal sit and give her the treat when she sits! (see badly drawn diagram below!!)
The PetSafe Pet Pager Vibrating Collar.
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The collar and remote came well packaged complete with:
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For further training advice and information about vibrating collars try these:
DDEAF
- Training section.
DDEAF
- Vibrating Collar training.
DDEAF
- Details of vibrating collars.
The
Deaf Dogs Web Page - An introduction to training a deaf dog.