How to Train a Deaf Dog

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Although deaf dogs may require a little extra time and training, there is absolutely no reason to think you can’t successfully train a dog whose hearing is less than perfect (or even a fully deaf dog) to respond to basic obedience commands. A hearing-impaired dog may have a few special issues that other animals don’t have, but there’s no reason to think they can’t be trained to learn correct behavior and have just as wonderful a life as any other dog-–all it means is that you might use different cues for communication than you would with any hearing dog. Yes, there are a few special issues you might need to address, but it’s a challenge both you and your dog can overcome!

What causes deafness in dogs both over time and as puppies

Canine deafness can be caused by any number of things. Some puppies are just born with congenital deafness while others experience some kind of situation or event that causes deafness. Anything from infection to an incredibly loud noise can cause hearing loss and even deafness in dogs as can, sadly, injury or abuse. 

Certain breeds are also more likely than others to experience congenital deafness. For example, a dalmation puppy or English setter are more likely to experience congenital hearing loss than other breeds. That said, please don’t let that deter you from adopting them as they would make a wonderful companion animal! There are so many wonderful rescue organizations and adoption organizations out there just full of these wonderful breeds!

Sometimes, dogs, like people, just become deaf over time. Geriatric deafness occurs as dogs get older and while there’s not much you can do about that, you can teach an older dog who’s going deaf basic commands.

Also, if you’ve heard that dogs who are hard of hearing are more likely to exhibit aggressive behaviors, forget it! While there are certain deaf dog issues that will need to be addressed, with some extra training and attention, you can absolutely get them to respond to commands and exhibit correct behavior. There really is no correlation between deafness and aggression issues. 

Can I train a deaf dog?

Deaf dog training is entirely doable! All it takes is a little positive reinforcement and a little extra effort to lessen the communication gap created by the dog’s hearing loss. Effective training hinges on patience and time! Remember, too, that dogs who have hearing issues, actually develop more acute senses. For example, their peripheral vision becomes incredibly strong so while they may be lacking in some areas, they excel in others! 

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How to train a deaf dog

Believe it or not, there is very little difference between training a deaf dog and a hearing one, especially when it comes to basic dog training. The issues around training are actually pretty simple to deal with and with a couple of adjustments, you can help your dog with everything from behavior modification to additional behaviors you want to change. For example, in addition to basic training, you can also work on incompatible behaviors and even impulse-control training. 

The main difference in your training sessions is that you’re going to use hand signals instead of verbal commands. You’ll also probably rely on eye contact, facial expressions, and even sign language more than you would with a hearing dog, but other than that, the basic training techniques are very similar. As with any training scheme, we recommend you have plenty of food for training treats and take things slowly. Hours and hours or even days and days of training in a row are a good way to wear your dog out. They may not even be able to get through an entire training class when they first start. To really achieve a happy training experience, keep things simple and short, especially at the beginning. There’s always time for additional training later on–deaf dogs these days even go through agility training and competition.

Keep in mind that when training your deaf dogs or puppies, you’re usually going to rely on the dog’s visual sense and therefore need to use a visual marker where you would ordinarily use a verbal one. That means that all your hand and body movements and body postures are crucial because they’ll mean something to the dog so try to pay attention to your body language as you train your dog. 

Here are some basics for training your deaf dog:

1. Get their attention 

One of the challenges of deaf dog training is getting their attention. Unlike our canine hearing companions, we can’t use audio or verbal cues or signals as a means of communication. Here are few easy ways to get your deaf dog’s attention:

One easy way to get their attention is via vibrations. For example, stomp or tap on the floor a few times and see if your dog responds. At this stage of training, when they look at you or turn their body towards you, use a little positive reinforcement to show that’s what you wanted them to do and reward them with a treat. Instead of offering verbal praise, use affection to show they’ve done what you wanted them to do. This “check-in” behavior is critical in the training process so it’s clear the dog is engaged in the process. 

You can also use light as a visual signal to get your dog’s attention. Use a small flashlight or just flicker your lights gently (just remember not to shine anything in your dog’s eyes directly). Many people use this style of training as they would clicker training. When the dog exhibits correct behavior when the light is flashed (in this case, giving you attention), offer a little reward to show they’ve done what you wanted them to do.  

Another way to get your deaf dog’s attention and make contact with them is with visual signals. That can be as simple as just waving your arms or hands in front of him or her. Again, when they show a response, acknowledge it with food treats or even a little hug if your dog finds hugging reinforcing. When they exhibit a correct response, you can also use a finger flash where you just open and close your hand from a fist to “jazz hands” over and over again. In time, they’ll come to recognize that this kind of visual hand flash marker means they’ve done something right. 

Whatever you do, try not to startle them. Approaching a deaf dog from behind to get their attention can feel very threatening to a dog who can’t hear you coming. For this reason, it’s a good idea to practice tapping them on the shoulder or even giving them a little pet on the tushy and then offering a treat when they turn around. Over time, they’ll learn that a tap on the shoulder isn’t such a bad thing. 

If all else fails, you can always try using a vibrating collar–not a shock collar that hurts the dog when it’s done something wrong–a vibrating collar that tells the dog you need their attention. All you need to do is make the collar vibrate when you want the dog’s attention and then offer a treat when the dog turns their head your way. It doesn’t hurt the dog at all and is an easy way to get their attention quickly. 

1. Use hand signals 

A great technique when it comes to deaf dog training is to use hand signals. With hearing dogs, we usually use verbal communication to get them to learn “sit,” “stay,” “heel,” etc., but with dogs who have experienced hearing loss, we need to figure out another way to get them to exhibit the behavior we’re looking for. One way to do that is with hand signals. You can create your own hand signals to use when you want the dog to respond to a certain command and you can use gestures with voice commands so that it feels natural for you. It really doesn’t matter that the dog can’t hear you. 

1. Use sign language 

As we said above, you can create your own “vocabulary” of obedience hand signals for these and other commands, or you can use the hand signals used in human sign language (otherwise known as American Sign Language or ASL) for these commands. Sign language is actually a great communication tool in general for deaf dogs, in part because it standardizes their training so someone other than you who knows those signals can lead the dog. 

1. Use eye contact 

A key point when you’re training a dog who has been affected by deafness, is to make sure your dog is making eye contact with you. Since you can’t use verbal or audio cues, it’s crucial that your dog is paying attention to your visual cues and hand signals, so whenever your deaf dog makes direct eye contact, make sure you acknowledge it.

1. Always keep them on a leash 

Above all, you want to make sure you keep your deaf dog on a leash while training. Unlike hearing dogs, deaf dogs cannot respond to a verbal command emergency recall. For that reason, it’s crucial you have a way to pull them back if they suddenly run away from you or worse, start to run out into the street. Also, if their back is to you, there is no way to give obedience hand signals or use another form of communication to alert them to danger. 

The bond between people and their dogs is a strong one and deafness does nothing to diminish that. A deaf dog’s daily life can be just as rewarding and happy as any other dog so don’t be intimidated by the task in front of you. With a few hand signals, great eye contact, and a little patience, your deaf dog will be just as well trained as any hearing dog!

Trainer Review of this Article

There is so much misinformation out there, we want to make sure we only provide the highest quality information to our community. We have all of our articles reviewed by qualified, positive-only trainers.  

This is the trainer that reviewed this article:

Shannon Finch
AnimalKind Training
M.Ed. Humane Education
Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner
Certified Tellington TTouch and TTEAM Practitioner

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