[KateG]

My beloved Calvin was deaf and we didn't realize it till he started training. He could hear me a bit when he was in the heel position, but the moment we started to work at the end of the leash he acted as if he knew nothing. That, plus a few other clues, made us realize he was deaf. Trainer didn't believe me at first, but then we ran a few tests which confirmed the situation. Switched him to hand signals and it was if a light went on. He learned the hand signal for sit in about three repetitions. He was so happy, it was as if someone had finally fixed the TV and he was getting a clear signal for the first time in his life! Actually, I think the deafness made training him easier. He was SO focussed on me and my body language -- much more so than my current rottie girl. In fact his focus was so good, that we always finished first place in our classes -- nothing, but nothing the trainer did to distract the dogs during the final exercises phased him. It was as if the universe was just him and me and nothing else.

I used the standard signals for sit, down, come, stay and finish. When I wanted to move off at heel, I just touched the top of his head and then flicked my hand forward. In fact, I used a little head touch for attention the way I use my hearing dog's name. Not legal in the ring, but very effective in ordinary life. I also added hand signals for drop it (opening and closing my fist), go lie down (palm down and moving the hand to point where I wanted him to go) and no! (both palms down, hands crossed and then moved sharply outward in a cutting motion).

We tried an electric collar as an attention getter for a while, but this was 13 years ago, and they weren't very good. However, it became unnecessary when we added a second dog to the household. Calvin's playmate was a mature (5ish) border collie-shepherdish mutt with good manners if no formal training (a situtation we remedied). She was the one who helped me teach Calvin, "go lie down," since she came to us knowing what that meant. I would give her the verbal command and make the hand signal, and Calvin would copy her. He quickly figured out what the signal meant, and I was soon able to use it even when she wasn't with us (he came to work with me in my inner city museum, while she stayed with my husband in his home office). When we were hiking, I could let both dogs off leash, since they would both come when I called Cricket. In effect, she became his hearing ear dog. However, I was glad that we did not bring her into the picture until he was solid on his basic commands -- and that we brought her in as an older, trained dog rather than an unruly puppy.