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My daughter recently adopted a dog that was described as “having some hearing loss.” In all fairness, they may not have known Buddy is stone-cold deaf. But he is already fitting in and has made a playmate of their geriatric dog Daisy.
My granddaughter is soon to be in her fourth year of American Sign Language, but they need to learn how to communicate with Buddy. In waking him to go out in the morning, he gets startled. So, I suggested she put her phone on vibrate, put it in his bed, and then call it with another phone so the vibration wakes him up. She was going to put one of those locator “tiles” on his collar and see if she can find some bass-heavy music for it to summon him in from the yard.
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This is all new territory for them, but they’ll make it work. He seems to love his new home, and they love him. If you have any ideas to help them communicate with him more effectively, that would be great.
Linda
Dear Linda,
It sounds like your daughter is well-versed in American Sign Language, which is great since hand gestures as well as touch are ways she can train and communicate with her new dog. Dogs learn whatever signs you teach them, so your daughter can use signs she has learned from ASL or create her own to teach the dog his name, or commands like “sit” or “come” when called.
For example, have your daughter tap Buddy’s shoulder twice and when he makes eye contact with her, give him a treat. This gesture, the equivalent of calling his name, will teach him to check in with her and with whoever is touching him.
She also will need to develop a sign for when Buddy gets the behavior right, since a clicker or reward word won’t work in this instance. A common sign for this is a hand flash, where you touch all your fingers with your thumb and then open your hand wide. Just like with the clicker, the hand flash needs to occur as soon as the correct behavior occurs for the dog to make the connection.
Your daughter also can train Buddy to “come” when called at night with a flashlight or porch light. Simply walk Buddy on a leash initially and have someone signal with the flashlight or turn on the porch light. When Buddy looks at the light, use the reward signal and give him a treat. Then walk Buddy to the back door, use the reward signal, and give him a treat.
Your idea of putting the phone in the dog bed is creative. Many owners also gently blow on their dogs to wake them up. Your daughter should have fun learning new ways to communicate with her dog.
Send your pet questions, tips, and stories to [email protected]. You can read the Animals Matter blog at http://blog.mysanantonio.com/animals and follow her at @cathymrosenthal.
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