How do you train a deaf dog?

[Wing]

I have a male poodle mix who has been deaf for a couple of years now, and I was just wondering if there is a way to train him? He knows sit and lie down because I taught him when he could still hear (sometimes it takes him a while to remember), but I've tried again and again different ways to get him to stay, come here, or leave it.
Obviously I can't use a clicker.

Any suggestions? Thanks

[ckranz]

Actually you may be able to use a clicker, but the clicker needs to be close enough to the dogs skull for bone conduction hearing....that aside though I have seen several adaptive things to aid in training deaf dogs:

One person used a blinking light. A blink meant treat.

Another modified a shock collar to remove the shock feature and have a vibration mode. It was used in the same manner as a clicker, to identify and mark a desired behavior. Just be careful on doing this as many of these collars are not waterproof and water and electricity dog not mix.

Again the collar was not nor ever design to deliver a shock, but only to vibrate.

Cues for the dog to perform of course should be non verbal.

[Wing]

I'll try the blinking light idea. I probably won't do the vibration one because he's a little jittery and it might frighten him

Thanks ^^

[ckranz]

It may, but even amongst hearing dogs there are those that are initially scared of the clicker.

Its important when defining a marker for a dog to pair that marker with something the dog likes more than anything in the world. Earlier this year Patricia McConnell published an article in the Bark magazine about coddling in thunderstorms. One of the comments she makes about why counter condition works so well with fear issues is that fear is not fun. Fear is not something a dog naturally seeks out. This makes it easier for a dog to re-assoicate good things under a certain stimuli over the previous fear feelings. Its a great article which could be of benefit to anyone with dogs with special needs.

[akreisle]

Training a deaf dog should be not be a big problem. Dogs pick up hand signals much faster than spoken words anyway. If you notice Victoria in her show, she always teaches dogs sit, stay, and lie down with hand signals, pairing the hand signals with a word. Hearing dogs will learn what the hand signal means almost immediately, and eventually they associate the hand signal with the word. Once the dog has learned the word, some owners then phase out the hand signal altogether, but for you, you would just stick with hand signals. To get your dog's attention, you could teach the "watch me" command that Victoria teaches in some of her shows, but perhaps by clapping or stomping on the ground. That way your dog will be looking at you when you make a hand signal. Target training for "come" will be a must for you and your dog. This means you'll need to get your dog's attention with the "watch me" command, and then train your dog that "come" means touching his/her nose to your hand or fist. Then when you hold out your hand or fist, your dog will know to come.

[Dibbythedog]

You might find Barry Eatons website about training deaf dogs useful.
http://www.deaf-dogs-help.co.uk/

[Joanna]

You could use a hand signal as a bridge. I know many animal trainers that use a crisp, enthusiastic point at the animal, but any gesture that your dog can easily discriminate would work. For close-up behaviors you could also use a tactile, such as a double tap on his hip, shoulder, or paw.

[Horace's Mum]

Deaf dogs are just as easy to train as hearing dogs, you just use hand signals to communicate. I do clicker-type training using a thumbs-up sign, obviously clicker training is not as simple as with a hearing dog because you have to get the "click" in their sight at the right time. I have thought about using a vibrating collar, but to be honest I haven't found anything that I could not teach my dog using other methods. Think back to before clickers, there is plenty you can do without them. My dog has about 20 tricks and does agility better than the others who we started with, and he has been deaf since birth. Just be very quick with the reward (treats or toy), train a "good" sign (thumbs up or "ok" are often used) and use it lots. You can also teach a "touch"sign - I have 2 areas on the body that when I touch either mean "watch me" or "well done". And smile a lot!! Clapping is also good for when you are very pleased. My dog can lipread me a bit as well, so talk as much as you would to any other dog, they will read your body and face better than you can imagine. Most of the time I forget my dog can't hear me, you can't tell. Just remember to have fun!!