Deaf dogs are amazing!

[sara]

So I adopted a deaf dog a year and a half ago, thinking she would be a challenge. Boy was I wrong. She is an amazing dog! I have trained more than 40 signs and have done demo's with her on adopting and training deaf dogs. There are alot of dogs born every year that are deaf. alot of them are killed as soon as the breeder finds out. Often the deafness is due to bad or unknowledgeable breeders. There is no need to kill a deaf puppy. I have become very involved with deaf dogs and rescue. I just thought we'd share our video's of our demo's here. If we can help just one deaf dog by our demo's we've been successful. Scout was housr from being euthanized at a pound because no one was willing to give her a chance. PLEASE consider adopting a deaf or otherwise disabled dog. they are well worth it and need loving homes too!

Here's the first demo we did, last fall, Scout had been with me for 15 months at that point. It was at a SPCA fundraiser. we didn't show even a third of what she knows, but had alot of fun
[MEDIA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcHhWPFDFDo[/MEDIA]

Heres the first video of our second demo at a Pet Expo, a week ago. Scout was very tired, after working the crowd at our booth all day. but she was still willing..... and my belt fell apart just before the video started.... rather embarrassing. but we had alot of wonderful feedback, and several people came up after and said that they'd never considered adopting a less than perfect dog and would next time
[MEDIA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73zAAaBuRAk[/MEDIA]

Here's the last little bit of our second video, it got split up
[MEDIA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eZvO8krO5g[/MEDIA]

I just thought I'd Share Scout's success, and her "amazingness" (if thats a word LOL) She is a brilliant dog, and I have been so lucky to have the chance to work with a dog like her!

 

[tx_cowgirl]

Great post. A friend of mine fosters for some kind of national deaf dog rescue....you might know it; I can't seem to remember the name. Her most recent was a Pit Bull Terrier who learned over 100 signs before having to be put to sleep for health reasons(seizures and other problems). She's trained others and says she really loves working with the deaf dogs. Personally I've never had a go at one, but I think it'd be really interesting. Kudos to you for rescuing and working with deaf dogs!! Keep up the good work. Nice vids!!

 

[sara]

There are Several... more than several actually, deaf dog rescues, some breed specific, like Lethal White Aussie Rescue and Deaf Dane Rescue. Some more generalized like CODA Rescue and DDeaf, although I think that one is mostly transport-related. and many others within the States. I do not know of any rescues in Canada that are deaf dog specific. I am on a Yahoo group for Deaf Dogs, they have tought me so much, and my latest rescue came to me from Texas because of the list... alittle over 1800 miles as the crow flies (He is no longer deaf. My vet thinks he had an allergic reaction to the flea bites and his ears were inflamed, causing temporary deafness). There are ALOT of deaf dogs out there, and many are euthanized before they ever get a chance. anyone thinking to rescue might want to consider a deaf dog, they are amazing and not nearly as much work as people think they are. Scout, the dog in the video, was 2 hours from being euthanized at a pound, because no one would adopt her, and now look at her! If we can save just one deaf dog by the work we do, we will have been successful!

 

[snooks]

Just beautiful work! applause. One thing I was curious about for ur dog have u tried a vibrating collar to call the dog from another room for example? given some ocd tendencies i didn't know if it would work with the proper + association like head halter conditioning. just a thought. I'm always so curious to learn more. You've obv done a lot of great and dedicated work. Big kudos for your educational work too. You're doing dogs proud. :dogbiggrin:

 

[sara]

I never needed to use a vibrating collar on Scout.... She Never leaves my side. If I leave a room, I wake her up, so she doesn't have to look for me. and although it is not recommended for a deaf dog to be off-leash, I can with Scout (in safe areas and the dog park) because I trained her to come back constantly. she'll run 20 ft, then run back, back and forth... its really funny. She gets a treat when she comes back, so she always wants to. I am going to try to teach her to cross her paws, I think i've figured out how... we'll see if it works.

 

[snooks]

Nice ping pong dog---a lot of hearing dogs can't do that. It's a great safety measure and makes that recall very solid.

 

[sara]

Yes her recall is one of the best I've ever seen, I didn't have to work all that hard on it, she was a natural. She has very little interest in anything that doesn't involve her "people" and training her has shown me a totally new way of training dogs, and I will continue to use training techniques I learned with her when training new dogs. NILIF is one. it totally turns a dog around, and focuses them on you, hearing or not. I think we rely too much on our voices when training dogs, and dont pay nearly enough attention to what our body language is telling them. When you train a deaf dog, you learn to use body language to tell them things. Scout knows 43 signs, but she reads my body language and that tells her way more. I can tell her to sit, just by moving my body.... I tell people that she reads lips, but she is just reacting to my posture, but it makes for a fun "trick" to show people! I pay way more attention to my body language now with my new dog, than I ever would have before Scout, and he is learning new things at an amazing rate. Scout has changed my life in so many ways.

 

[tigerlily46514]

:msnhugegrin: Wow, awesome work! Amazing! Thanks for all you are doing out there for dogs in need!! Wow!