Vibrating collar (NO SHOCK) for deaf dog? Other option for getting him to look at me?

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ttw
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Joined: Fri Sep 11, 2015 7:17 am

Vibrating collar (NO SHOCK) for deaf dog? Other option for getting him to look at me?

Post by ttw »

I have a 13 year old whippet who is going deaf. I am looking for something to get his attention when he is outside and not facing me. He already knows some hand signals but without the voice I need something to be able to get him to look at me. He sometimes gets into things in our yard that he shouldn't. Previously I could just call him but now he does not hear.

I thought of a training with a vibrating collar to get him to look at/find me. My problem is most vibrating collars seem to have a few issues: they come with the ability to shock, they seem very heavy, and they are quite expensive ($200+ USD).

I'm not looking to start a debate on whether vibrating collars should be used on non-deaf dogs. And certainly not about shock collars to which I am deeply opposed - I wouldn't even consider buying one just to get the vibration feature because I don't want to support the manufacturing of shock collars. But does anyone have any suggestions on vibrating (non-shock) collars or other (realistic) tools that might help me train my deaf dog to look at me? I live in Michigan and chasing my dog out into the bitter cold/snow in the winter every time he has to use the bathroom just to be sure he maintains eye contact with me is not realistic. I need some way to get his attention.
JudyN
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Re: Vibrating collar (NO SHOCK) for deaf dog? Other option for getting him to look at me?

Post by JudyN »

A member who hasn't been around for a long time, Horace's Mum, has a deaf dog who she has trained brilliantly :D She did use a vibrating collar, though at a quick scan through her threads, she didn't use it for getting attention. Have a read of these threads and see if they help:

https://positively.com/forum/viewtopic. ... 17&p=33432

https://positively.com/forum/viewtopic. ... 45&p=41050
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Erica
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Re: Vibrating collar (NO SHOCK) for deaf dog? Other option for getting him to look at me?

Post by Erica »

Another, far cheaper option is a long leash - they are made even to lengths of 100 feet, but if your yard has a lot of trees it might not be a good idea. You may also be able to train your dog to check in with you often, but that wouldn't be of much help when he's into something he shouldn't be.

I do know several people with deaf dogs who have used vibrating collars to communicate with their dogs and had great success. You have to be careful to introduce it gradually and with good associations for the dog; the reason they're often included in shock collars is that the sudden vibration can scare dogs.

I did a bit of googling, as this isn't something I'm personally familiar with, and found this article here which could be helpful for you; the article it links to also looks good.

It appears that PetSafe makes a vibration-only collar, and on chewy.com it's $65...still fairly expensive but not as much as you were finding! It has mixed reviews on Amazon but a lot of the negative ones appear to be people who thought the dog would automatically understand what the vibration meant.
Delta, standard poodle, born 6/30/14
ttw
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Joined: Fri Sep 11, 2015 7:17 am

Re: Vibrating collar (NO SHOCK) for deaf dog? Other option for getting him to look at me?

Post by ttw »

Judy - thanks, I had seen one of her posts before and just read the other. They had some helpful information but those posts are 5 years old and didn't mention any specific collars or manufacturers so I'm still searching for something that meets my needs.

Erica - I appreciate the long leash idea, but it would not work in my hard due to trees and other permanent objects in our yard. And whatever I get will definitely be introduced slowly with lots of positive reinforcement. My baby in sensitive! :D But I figure if I could teach him to actually like having his nails trimmed I should be able to get him to like something like a vibrating collar. I will check out the one you mentioned - sounds promising and that is a reasonable price to get what we need.
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