Deaf Dog Aggression

[hamilton308]

Hello, i am the proud owners of 'hugo' 8 months old dalmatian who is DEAF.....now we are really doing well on training EXCEPT for his constant nipping whilst you are walking AND now he is startling to show aggression whilst he is feeding ( He bit my sister) and when he is in a dream and suddenly wakes up, he now wakes up aggressive and will bite anything going past him....

We need help as he is a good dog and hopefully can be trained not to do this...any suggestions please

[emmabeth]

Hi, I have split your post from the other topic as it is much much better if people start their own threads rather than tag onto someone elses. You'll get more responses this way.

The nipping when walking is a sort of follow on problem from puppy biting to instigate play - can you tell us exactly when this happens and is he excited, over excited, is he tired, is it at the start of a walk or near the end, and what does he try to do (nip you, get the lead, jump for your hands or go for your legs?).

Biting over food and biting when woken up is fear - he fears he will lose his food, he for some reason, does not think making a face or growling at you will stop this so he has gone straight to biting.

You must do everything possible to ensure he has NOTHING to fear when eating - so if you have by any chance been taking his food from him or fussing him whilst he is eating, stop this immediately. Feed him on his own in a secure place where no one needs approach him or pass him for any reason. There are ways to deal with food aggression but first I need to know how you have trained him around food and how this problem started.

For the sleep/awakening thing - I would teach him to sleep in a crate where he cannot be disturbed. If he falls asleep elsewhere do NOT wake him by approaching him and touching him, but try to wake him by making the floor vibrate (stamp or bang on it) and then reward him VERY well for waking up and coming to you. Obviously only do this if you NEED to move him, if you don't need to, let him sleep.

It sounds likely that he is quite stressed and doesn't understand some things which is causing frustration and anxiety - the more you can do to reduce this anxiety the more likely it is he will sleep better and not react aggressively when woken.

Can you give us a detailed run through of his typical day, tell us about his walks, what he eats, when/where he eats it, where he sleeps, what training you have done with him and how often you train and anything else. Particularly tell us about the specific problems, wh en they started, what you have been doing about them, what you think might have triggered them.

[Horace's Mum]

I haven't got long to rely, so I will be back later, but I have a deaf lurcher x collie who came to me as aggressive but is wonderful now. Deafies can take longer to learn the bite inhibition, and there are tactics that work better with them than the usual hearing dog versions, but I'll talk about that later. The most important thing is to make sure you never ever make your dog feel unsafe - so as Em has said, feed somewhere completely undisturbed, never ever ever take his food away while eating, and be very careful when teaching him how to wake not to startle him - it is possible to teach them t wake to a touch, but it takes time and they have to feel absolutely safe. I would even be careful using a stamp on the ground to wake him as this was enough to trigger my dog when I got him - I used to wake him by placing something really really smelly and yummy carefully in front of his nose and wait for the scent to sink in! Then when he woke and looked at me he would immediately get some more yummy stuff.

I'll be back later to talk more

[NevillesMommy17]

What type of collar do you use for him? I was looking into adopting a deaf dog, so I did a bit of training research. Many people (should be all) who own deaf dogs use a gentle leader head harness. Why? Because a deaf dog cannot listen to your commands (because he would have to watch you to do that) and walk at the same time. Do not count me on this one because it might not be the case, but he MIGHT be nipping on walks because it is away for him to know you are there and for you to remember he is there? He is deaf, so the only way he can know you are in control of him is if he can see you. Nipping keeps him at a place where he can see you. I would suggest getting him a head halter if you dont already have one for him. It makes sense for a deaf dog, because that way you can still be in control and make gentle corrections (so the dog will know you are there and in control), and the dog can look where he is going. I would think it would make the dog feel more secure as well. Just a thought. =)

[jacksdad]

just to play devils advocate here over head collars. right up front. not a fan of them my self. And doubly so when it comes to fearful dogs. particularly if there are fear issues while on walks. I personally see to many risks to the dog's neck in comparison to any benefits a head collar might have.

Just my opinion and thrown out there as food for thought.

Horace's Mum has a whole lot of posts and experience with deaf dogs, I will defer to her advice and would suggest doing some searches on her posts.

[NevillesMommy17]

Yes, I understand you may not like head halters for dogs. But a deaf dog thinks and comprehends the world much differently than a hearing dog. That is my opinion. I am not a fan of the head collar either, but if I had a deaf dog I would at least try one out and see how it handled it.

[emmabeth]

We do have experience on here of deaf dogs and how they behave and react.

This nipping is NOTHING to do with the dog trying to remind the owner he is there, or to stay in contact with the owner - the dog if he wanted to keep the owner in sight would just walk slightly behind the owner, there'd be no need to nip so you are way way off base here.

Sometimes there is a case for using a headcollar - if and when thats necessary we would ALWAYS recommend people use them with two leads or with a double ended leash as a safety precaution so the dog cannot possibly lunge into the headcollar and damage their neck.

You should NEVER EVER 'correct' a dog with a leash, particularly with one attached to a headcollar, please do not suggest such actions again NevillesMommy17, as this is dangerous advice and its not advice that follows the general forum philosophy either.

[NevillesMommy17]

I know to never correct a dog with the lead, and I'm sorry I had mentioned it. I didn't mean any harm. And I guess I should not have posted a reply to this question because I don't know about working with deaf dogs. I am sorry an I appolagize for any harm or hard feelings I may have created. I will no longer post replies to things I don't know enough about. I am new here an still learning many things. Again I appolagize.

[emmabeth]

Don't worry, no harm done

[Horace's Mum]

Just to put out a deafie owner's point of view on headcollars, I chose not to use one wth Horus from day one, because being deaf he needs MORE freedom to look around and make the decision for himself of what he wants/needs to look at. Using a headcollar takes that freedom away from him, so if he needs to check something out it is harder for him to do so, and can increase anxiety. They also use their sense of smell much more, which again can be restricted by using a headcollar because they would be forever standing on their leads when their noses are on the ground, or they simply wouldn't be able to sniff comfortably while walking in the way they can with a normal collar or harness. It is far better to teach them appropriate behaviour however long that may take than to use a gadget that may restrict them.

One of your other points was about contact - Horus is 100% aware whenever he is on a lead of any kind, and he knows which lead he is on and behaves appropriately. You would be surprised just how aware deafies are of everything around them as long as they are not stressed.

This is all just for info really. I am wondering if the OP has disappeared?