How to train a deaf dog

Last updated on March 21st, 2015 at 10:32 am

Dogs are a man’s best friend.  They are loyal, loving, forgiving and great companions. What do you do, when you

find out that your puppy is deaf? Do you give it away, or do you send it to some special trainer? There are many questions and the decision is totally up to you. Many puppies are born deaf and that’s in no way their fault. If you are ready to care for your puppy and to give it a loving family, regardless of that particular setback, then kudos to you. If you have a deaf dog, here are some tips on how to train a deaf dog.

How to know if your dog is deaf

If you are wondering “Is my dog deaf”, you would first need to take it to a vet and confirm your suspicions.You may see that the dog is responding to your movements when it’s looking at you and when it’s awake. If you suspect that your puppy is deaf, try this: Make a somewhat loud noise when it’s not looking at you or is in another room or is asleep. If it doesn’t respond to these, sadly, your puppy is probably deaf or hard-of-hearing. But feeling sorry for the dog will only hinder its development, so accept the deficit as a challenge and start training it.

Can you train a deaf dog?

About 60 years ago, many people believed that deaf dogs cannot be trained. They were wrong. There are many dog trainers and institutes which work with deaf dogs, with positive results. You can check up on some documentaries online to see if it’s really achievable. It’s harder, when compared to a normal situation, but the results are also more satisfying.

Gaining trust

Understanding the puppy is the basic thing that you need to do. The more you two get to know each other and gain each other’s trust, the easier it will be for both of you. Now, just because your dog is deaf, doesn’t mean that it cannot have a normal life like any other dog. You just have to use a different approach to make his or her life easy and smooth.

Your behavior matters

Dogs are very receptive to body language, scent and energy. How you act around your dog is the key to

success here.  Be friendly to your dog. Even if it can’t hear you, it can still sense you, smell you and feel you, through vibrations and energy. Be loving and friendly, but also firm. You need to teach the dog that you are the master and there are things that it needs to learn. Always remember, dogs have descended from wolves, and most have a wild instinct. A deaf dog is scared, confused and different. So you need to teach it how to live in a family as any other dog. An untrained deaf dog can be very defensive and even dangerous. So be careful and don’t back off.

How to train a deaf puppy

The first rule of training a deaf puppy is: be patient. It’ll take time, energy and a lot of patience. So be ready for that. Gestures and body language are important factors in this case. Since the dog can’t hear you, make sure it feels your vibrations and sees you.

1. Toilet training

Just like any other dog, a deaf dog needs to know where to do its business. Pick up the “accidents” around the house and use a scented cleaner to clean up the mess and make sure you point and look angry when your dog does this. It will know it’s done something wrong. Puppies will defecate after every meal, every nap and after every playtime. So make sure that you take it out on a regular basis; at least three to four times a day. Now if you want the dog to do its business in some area of the house when it’s inside, make sure you leave a scent of the excrement there. The easy way to do this is to clean up the mess with a tissue paper or cloth and leaving it in the area you want it to excrete when at home. It could be the garden or a bathroom or the backyard. You need to make the dog understand that it needs to do its business where the scent is. Try this do this for a month or so and it will learn in no time.

2. Understanding simple commands

If you want to make your dog learn how to sit, stay, fetch and things like that, use your gestures and body language. You can point and make a downward motion for sit, flatten out your palm and repeat the downward motion for stay and point to a direction rapidly for fetch.

3. Installing fear of punishment

Puppies can be very naughty. They bite and scratch things all over the place. That’s because if the teething process. Get some chew toys for your pup. If it starts biting pillows and slippers, take it away and replace it with a chew toy after you firmly to gesture it that it’s not acceptable. Use your finger to show authority.  Punish it by not talking to him and not responding to those puppy eyes. Send him to the kennel for 15 minutes or so, so that it knows that it’s being punished. But also remember to reward it with a treat when it follows your command and does something right.

4. Keeping your deaf dog safe

When you take it out, always make sure that it has a collar and a leash. Make sure you get a collar, which has a badge identifying  the condition of the dog. The badge should also have your contact details, just in case it gets lost and someone finds the poor thing. Make sure that the dog is always on leash when out. At home, keep sharp objects and electronics and heated objects away from the dog’s reach.

These simple methods will help you in deaf dog training Dogs are the best gift you can gift to yourself. They are not just pets. They are family. So even if your puppy is deaf, show it that it is cared for and loved, just like any dog deserves. Good luck!