Mila, The Deaf Jaws on paws, need help

[gobronco]

We have had Mila for about a week and a half. We have finally realized that she is not just a puppy that is too distracted to listen. She is deaf. We have never had a deaf dog before so we are looking for as much information as we can find. Mila is such a sweet girl we do not want to give her back to the breeder. She loves to play with Rudy, cuddle up in our laps and do all of the other fun things Bulldog puppies do.. Any information on how to train Etc. a deaf 11 week old puppy would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Texkota]

I have no experience with deaf animals, I know that there is no way I could ever give her back. She's too precious.

 

[cowsmom]

aw how precious. ive no experience really with a deaf dog just blind ones. i think people teach them hand signals. im sure someone will be along later to help you.

 

[RiiSi]

Usko's sister is deaf and as it happens she is here with me at the moment for "day care". It's the first time for me so I have no wisdom here yet, but it's funny how I still try to use verbal commands:D and of course they are useless. Maybe her owner will tell me some tips to give you. I have one funny video, if he let's me to share that with you I will. One thing that I know is that it helps to have another dog to teach her dog stuff. Anyway Welma is very clever, sweet and stubborn girl.
To make this "day care" extra special I think she is coming to heat or really Usko think's so... I had to put Usko in his crate, bc he was all over her and she didn't really mind...

 

[Vicaroo1000]

You've just been handed an amazing opportunity!

I've never had a deaf dog but I would imagine that sight and your energy are going to be a crucial part in her training. Too, she's going to learn a BUNCH from the other dogs so the better trained they are, the faster she'll learn. How fun! What an exciting journey. I'm so grateful you're here to share it with us.

 

[dozersmama]

I had a deaf great dane. And hav worked with a whole litter of deaf American bullys. It's really no different than a hearing dog. She has no idea she is deaf , only you do . S to her it isn't a problem. We used hand signals to communicate. Worked great for us. I had hard wood floor and to call him I would stomp my foot. Th vibrations would get his attention and then I would signal him to come. Actually I have trained all of my hearing dogs with hand signals too because it's much easier. Use a treat in your hand and they pay attention to your hand. I would suggest you would extra hard on "watch me" That's the signal for them to pay attention to you. She will get in th habit of watching you all the time . If you need help with specific hand signals and training pm me. What state are you from btw?

 

[bullmama]

I had a deaf great dane. And hav worked with a whole litter of deaf American bullys. It's really no different than a hearing dog. She has no idea she is deaf , only you do . S to her it isn't a problem. We used hand signals to communicate. Worked great for us. I had hard wood floor and to call him I would stomp my foot. Th vibrations would get his attention and then I would signal him to come. Actually I have trained all of my hearing dogs with hand signals too because it's much easier. Use a treat in your hand and they pay attention to your hand. I would suggest you would extra hard on "watch me" That's the signal for them to pay attention to you. She will get in th habit of watching you all the time . If you need help with specific hand signals and training pm me. What state are you from btw?

Excellent advice! I was also going to point out vibrations. I think using a bell for certain things would work too. How did you come to find out she is deaf?


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[dozersmama]

Also forgot to mention that a vibrating collar is a great investment. It's NOT a shock collar. It's a collar that has a remote and uses gentle vibrations to get a dogs attention. Exactly like clicker training for a hearing dog.

 

[RiiSi]

[MENTION=3914]gobronco[/MENTION] I just posted a video of Usko's deaf and smart sister on Facebook (I don't know how to post it here)

 

[kazzy220]

I'm glad you've already had such good advice .... especially from [MENTION=1665]dozersmama[/MENTION] who has hands-on experience with deaf dogs. I wouldn't have been able to give her back either ... she is one of the most adorable bully-babies I've seen!! So pretty!

 

[jen74401]

I had a deaf German Shepherd years ago. For me I taught with hand signals and touch. It was always best to get in front of her when interacting. Sometimes I'd forget and touch her back when standing behind her and it scared the bajeje's out of her. I at first was worries about training but it was just like training my other dogs, my methods were just a bit different.

Mila is beautiful, btw!

 

[gobronco]

Answers to a few questions:
We are in California
It took us about a week to figure out she was deaf. She wasn't acting any different than any other puppy. We started to get the idea when we threw a piece of chain (like you would hang a lamp from) near her to distract her from chewing on something. That didn't even faze her. No problem, the chain didn't work for Rudy either. Way too stubborn. Then we got out the can filled with coins. She didn't even flinch when we tossed it. She went for it when she saw it rolling by. We tried clapping behind her, nothing. You can yell her name as loud as you can when she is sleeping, nothing. We think she may have 1 or 2 percent hearing because very loud noises get her attention but it may just be that she is feeling the air waves. I found www.deafdogs.org. They seem to have a lot of information. Vibration collar, book on training deaf dogs and a sign language book are on the way. We also got a bell to put on her collar so we can hear where she is. Mila seems very intelligent so I think she is going to be easy to train. She was going through two sets of doggy doors to get to the lawn and potty at 10 weeks old, within two hours of arriving at her new home. I hadn’t planned on training her to use the doggy doors until she was quite a bit older. She saw Rudy do it and followed. She learned to sit, for food, in less than a minute.

dozersmama I would pm you if I knew how. I would be very interested in knowing which hand signals you were able to train your deaf dogs to use. I would also be very interested to know what correction methods you used. Obviously saying “NO” doesn’t do anything.

Thanks to everyone for your replies

 

[dozersmama]

[MENTION=3914]gobronco[/MENTION] I'll respond more late don't have much time right now but 1 very important thing I forgot to mention is for the first 2 weeks or so walk up behind her so she doesn't see you and grab her collar, then give her a treat or just use part of her kibble. You can even give her up to half of her food this way. Do this several time a day every single day. Grab her collar, pet her back, gently tug her tail nub, just any sort of plesant unexpected touching. Have everyone in your house do this, if you have company come over, have them do it. Over and over and over. After a couple weeks you can cut it down a bit but still do it at least once or twice a day. This will prevent her from fear biting in the future and is VERY VERY important as deaf dogs can be a little jumpy.