I found this on Cesar Milan's website and found it interesting.
Here is an excerpt and I think it works true for dogs and horses. Leadership, consistency, being present.
"So what are the lessons a deaf dog can teach? So many humans are out of touch with Mother Nature. They’ve lost patience. They’re disconnected from their lives. They are not mindfully aware and emotionally in tune. With a deaf dog, it is critical that you be present, feel the energy, read signals, and be in tune to yourself and the environment around you, just as you are asking your dog to do. You will need to bond with your dog in a way that he trusts you as his leader; a leader whose job is to provide him with protection and direction."
One of our dogs is deaf.
He was adopted from EAPL about 6 years ago. We knew he was deaf at the time. They were having difficulty placing him because of it. We decided to take the challenge.
We thought we'd train him using a blend of voice commands & hand signals.
Plan: 1) use voice commands on the other dogs in the household
2) combine with hand signal for deaf dog
3) deaf dog sees other dogs responding to command/signal
4) deaf dog learns/responds as expected
Flaw: The other dogs did not always obey verbal commands in that moment. Training was inconsistent & frustrating for all...comical at times as well.
Reality: All dogs are safe & happy. They "come","get down","leave it" and sometimes "sit". It's enough.
BTW - We still talk to him. Can't help it. Perhaps he feels that energy Cesar wrote about?
Thanks for the link, my older cocker just went deaf over the last year. He does fine in the house but he is used to being outside with me and still doesn't realize to stay closer. I am working on hand signals but they don't work when we are hiking. He is having to get used to a leash, he thinks it's insulting.
