How often does your deaf dog look at you? 

It doesn’t come as naturally to her as it does to dogs that can hear, who are drawn to look up at you by your voice. If your deaf dog doesn’t look at you regularly you can’t give her a hand signal cue so make sure you reinforce this every time you notice her looking at you when you first start training, and let her know how happy you are that she did!  There are also games you can play to encourage her to look at you.

Once she is watching or looking at you regularly at home, then work on getting her to “check in” with you frequently when out walking too. If you can master that then you can eventually progress to letting her off lead at the park and the real fun can begin (provided it is a secure environment).

Contact me if you would like more advice on encouraging your dog to watch you more and to check in when you are walking.