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Date Posted: 18:58:34 08/06/03 Wed
Author: Pixie
Author Host/IP: 199.222.165.175
Subject: Re: Soon to be totally deaf
In reply to: Karann 's message, "Soon to be totally deaf" on 15:15:06 08/06/03 Wed

>When we lost our best friend DJ back in 10/00 we
>thought that was the last dog to enter our lives. We
>have 2 more dogs and 2 cats. In Jan of 2001 our Motar
>was born. A pure breed chocolate lab, he is a hand
>full now.
>
>We just found out that Motar has a birth defect with
>his ears. His ear canals are the size of that which
>belongs to a 40lb dog and he is 123lb. His ear are
>almost totally closed and we were told to take him to
>a specialist to have the ear canal and ear drum
>removed from both ears and have the ears closed. He
>does have a constant discharge from his ears and has
>since he was 6mo.
>I call him my "Wild Boy". He steals everything he can
>get his mouth on from remote controls to shoes to
>boxes. If he can reach it, it will be in his mouth.
>What fears me is that once he is totally deaf, it will
>be even more difficult to keep him safe.
>
>I have started a new training program for us both
>using more hand signals than before. He can still
>hear some for now and he is very smart and learns
>fast. I hope to have him fully trained before this
>surgery but am having trouble finding hand signals to
>use. I know they should not look similar so not to
>confuse the dog yet I find but a few offered and many
>are either similar or not practical.
>Anyone have any suggestions as to where to find a good
>varity of hand signals that can be used on a deaf dog?
>
>Thank you kindly
>Karann


I have a deaf puppy and I use the standard obedience hand signals for sit etc but I bought a American Sign Language dictionary with lots of pictures and diagrams on how to use them and just leafed through to find practical signs related to what I want my puppy to learn. My pup now knows leave it/drop it, go potty, come, good dog & no. We are working on down and a few others. The important thing is to make any sign you choose easy to see and distinguish from your other signs. For example we use a fist moved slightly forward and stopped suddenly with a BIG frown for no and put our thumb, index and pinky extended with the rest folded down for good dog. A thumbs up or OK sign would also work. I use the ok sign to release Kaia. I found that something I can relate to and do quickly are the best signs and many have become modified as they seem to work better different way. I would just get a book on dog training for the obedience signs (if you don't already know them) and a Amer Sign Language dictionary for the rest and just start picking (I use "go dirty" for go potty - it is easy and very different). Your biggest problem will be when your puppy learns he can ignore you by not simply turning his head and not looking at you. Then you have to chase him down and force him to look at you to reprimand him. My puppy simply averts her eyes and refuses to look at me unless I hold her head still where she can't help but see me when she has been bad and is feeling rebellious. Good Luck!

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Replies:

  • Please get a second opinion -- Noofies, 23:38:53 08/08/03 Fri
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