We have been to battersea @ old windsor today to find a dog for my mum and dad. They have fallen in love with an 11 week old lurcher bitch who is absolutely gorgeous, the only problem is that she is deaf. The only concern they have really is training her especially recall (although owning afghans for the past 30 years they should be used to commands falling on deaf ears :rolleyes: ) I have read various articles in the past about training deaf dogs so I have the general idea but was just wondering if anyone had experienced it and had any hints or tips ?? They havent got her yet, I am taking mum up there tomorrow for "the interview" then we find out if we can take her home or not, the only problem I can see is that they have two rabbits and I remember a few years ago the RSPCA wouldnt let them have a Saluki X because of the rabbits - we always thought they provided alternative exercise for the dogs :D

If anyone has any hints, tips & suggestions on any of the above I would be most greatful !

Hmmmmm,

I wouldnt have t hought the rabbits would be a problem, so long as they are in a secure enclosure......

As far as deaf dogs go, i havent any experience with them, but i do have a 1 yr old lurcherlet, who is a complete GIT......that said, his recall is not one of his problems, and since your parents will have the pup from such a young age, i would have thought that training to hand signals would be easy enough. I could forsee problems if it was an older dog though.

Good luck and i hope they get the pup!

Em

theres is a book out there have alook at amzon.to train a deaf dog would be tip bits and hand sign,and alot of eye contact with the owner and dog,we do eye contact with our dogs,by making them sit,have a small tip in my hand touch the dog nose then with the same hand with the tip bit i touch my nose once the dog look at me then the reward is the tip bit.there lots of ways.

good luck have fun .

Thanks for your replies, I have just called the home to see if she is still there, they told me that unless my parents have another dog or experience with deaf dogs then the chances are they wont rehome her with them. We are going to give it a go anyway.

I've recently read Barry Eaton's "Hear Hear" - a guide to training a deaf dog. It probably available from www.crosskeysbooks.com :)

It's very good, lots of photos of him training his deaf dog Lady.

Lindsay

Thank you, ill have a look for that book. We have just got back from battersea and it seems that pending a home check they are willing to home her with us (well mum and dad really but im still living at home until my new place is re-furbished !!) So now the fun is to begin, we havent had a puppy for 18 years (and have never had a deaf one !!!!) Any advice is greatly received, although alot of stuff ive read on champdogs has been really informative

Thanks

:) Claire :)

Deaf Dog Education

Excellent, thanks admin, what a fantastic site.

:) :) :)

Claire- A friend of mine had a deaf great dane who came to her untrained as a 2 year old. She did Agility with him using hand signals and he was great (no pun intended!) He used to walk on a 50 foot tracking lead , and he wore a dog 'pager'. When my friend needed to recall him, she pressed her remote control button, and his 'pager' vibrated and he knew that it was time to return. He was so clever! Enjoy your new puppy.

Good luck
Ali :)

Wow, a dane doing agility, ive heard about it but never seen one.

I have heard about those vibrating collars, apparantly they can be used for clicker training too - instead of treat and click its treat and vibrate :D

Im really excited now, I havent had a dog to train for years, im hoping to do agility with her too when she is old enough :) :)

How lovely to see a site dedicated to the care and preservation of deaf dogs.