#Deaf dog hand signals chart how to

You can refer to these sites to view the signs I won’t attempt to describe them to you, since an illustration will be more helpful. For that reason, it’s generally best to use ASL signs or UD (Utility Dog) signs. Most of us outlive our dogs, but if something should happen to you, your deaf dog will be confused and frightened if he has no way to communicate. You can use signals that you make up, if you like, although the disadvantage to this would be that your dog will respond only to your instructions, and have no idea whatsoever what anyone else might be asking of him. Once the dog sees the treat, you’ll show him what you want him to do, and add a hand signal. You’ll find that training is most effective when you offer something your dog really, really wants – what is commonly referred to as a “high value” treat. He’s not going to hear your voice, but he will see you offering a treat. If you’re going to teach your dog anything at all, it’s best to do it with treats. He wants to work with you and listen to you. An outside trainer could help, but really, what your dog probably needs is your help. So if your dog is deaf, or getting to the point where he will no longer be able to hear you when you verbalize what you want him to do, your course of action should be to help him get back to his natural form of communication. Training a deaf dog depends on body language, plain and simple. Anyone who has ever observed their dog “bowing” when he wants to play (and that would be just about everyone!) knows that dogs get their message across very effectively without ever needing to make a sound. We pretty much take it as a given, although we don’t necessarily have to many people who have perfectly good hearing take advantage of ASL (American Sign Language) courses so that they can communicate with others who cannot rely on speech.ĭogs, of course, learn to respond to spoken commands, but it’s not their natural means of communication. The thing is, humans who are not hearing-impaired depend on speech in order to communicate. You just have to learn a different language. The good thing here is that training a deaf dog isn’t really all that much different from training a dog that can hear.

#Deaf dog hand signals chart how to

Regardless of the cause or the severity of the condition at this point, you’re going to have training issues, so you’ll need know how to control your dog and help him live to his fullest potential. Was your dog born deaf? Has he suddenly lost his hearing, perhaps due to trauma or illness? Or has he recently been diagnosed with progressive hearing loss?