Don’t be put off adopting him just because a dog is deaf, here are some tips on living with a deaf dog :

* The first thing to do when you adopt a deaf dog is to teach him a hand signal for “Good boy”. I like to use a thumb up as it is the universal sign for approval or encouragement. Once you can communicate to him that he is doing something right, then it makes life much easier for you and your dog and you will see his face light up whenever you give him a thumbs up!

* Make sure you still speak when you communicate with him via hand signals, he cannot hear you, but deaf dogs are very good at reading our facial expressions and body language, and we tend to become more rigid if we don’t chat to them the way we would a hearing dog.

* Leave a dim light on for him at night for the first few weeks until he has settled in. With not being able to hear things approach it can be quite scary to also not be able to see anything approach him when its dark

* Deaf dogs often fall into very deep sleep so wake him gently by either blowing softly on him or putting a nice smelly treat in front of his nose. Avoid touching when waking him as deaf dogs can be easily startled if they are touched when not expecting it.

* Encourage him to look at you regularly if he isn’t looking at you then he can’t see your hand signals! Also reward him every time he does voluntary check-ins with you.

*Don’t worry, you don’t need to know sign language You can use any hand signals/cues you like when training him, as long as each one is easily identifiable from each other, and you are consistent with the ones you use.

*Closely watch all interaction with your deaf dogs and any new dogs he meets as can’t hear warning growls

*One major advantage of a deaf dog is that he can’t hear loud noises that often startle other dogs like fireworks & storms.

Contact Shine-K9 if you would like to know more about living with and training a deaf dog