Do you have a dog that you would consider “special needs” or is a bit “different”?

No matter what the dog, work to their strengths. Work to, and with, their abilities and you will be amazed at what they can achieve, don’t focus on any perceived disabilities!

Deaf dogs, blind dogs, dogs with mobility issues, fearful dogs etc. are all usually considered special needs but that doesn’t make them any less able to learn new things or less able to enjoy life and to live it to the fullest.

Many people ask why you should even worry about training special needs dogs. Imagine how much less stressful life would be for you and your dog, if apart from the basic cues like come / sit / wait, that you could ask your dog to settle and he goes to lie down. Or imagine if your dog happily lifts his paw when you ask so that you can clean it, check it or clip his nails. Or how easy would vet visits be if he calmly lies down or rolls over on cue to be examined instead of you having to hold him or roll him over forcibly. These are just a few examples of many helpful cues. not only for special needs dogs, but for all dogs!  If a dog knows what to expect it can reduce anxiety.

Training, done in the right way, can help build confidence in any dog, help calm an excitable or anxious dog and help you bond with him or her. When training deaf or blind dogs, you do need to adapt to communicating in a way they can understand. For a deaf dog use visual cues such as hand signals, facial expressions and torches at night etc. For a blind dog use sounds, smells and textures. Apart from that, the basic principles of training them are the same as any other dogs. Try to always make everything a positive experience, have patience and be consistent!

Make everything positive – ALWAYS MAKE IT FUN for you and the dog. Anyone will repeat behaviours that get them what they want, and who doesn’t want to get treats and have fun? So reinforce and reward all good decisions your dog makes and he will repeat these behaviours and is more likely to make good decisions.

Find what best motivates your dog, is it toys or treats or just you getting happy and excited? You may also find in a different environment that different things will motivate him, for example treats work well when at home in the house but a tug toy might be far more interesting for him when out at the park.

Have patience – Work at your dog’s pace when training new things and don’t push him if he hasn’t quite grasped the basics yet. Remember he is learning to read and understand you as much as you are learning to understand him, so have patience with yourself too. Work with his strengths and abilities and don’t compare him to other dogs and what they can do. Each dog is unique, even from the same litter, so train the dog in front of you. He can probably do certain things better than the others!

Consistency – Make sure everyone in the house uses the same cues, whether it’s a hand signal for a deaf dog or a word or sound for a blind dog, so as not to confuse the dog. Practice the cues regularly in all different situations and environments, and remember to reward your dog whenever he does something right. That doesn’t mean you need to give a treat every time, sometimes just letting him know that what he did made you happy will make him want to do it again.

At Shine-K9 we specialise in helping you train your newly adopted dogs and special needs dogs to reach their true potential. Our passion is Herding Breeds but we can help you with any breed. Our training sessions are logical and fun for both you and your dog, while building confidence and helping you bond with your them. We help you understand them and their abilities and how to adapt your training.

We don’t do formal structured obedience type training but rather tailor each session to you and your dog’s unique training needs. We offer private one on one training sessions and run small group classes in Randburg. See our website for more details and some more training tips