Learning that your new pooch is deaf is the first hurdle any owner must accept. But then learning that training a deaf dog isn’t very different from training a hearing one, can take some of the sting out of learning that your dog is deaf.

/>
You don’t need to use any different methods in deaf dog training, only different cues. Training a deaf dog does not even take any more time or effort. The concepts are all the same, as hearing dogs learn the meaning of words and commands through repetition, deaf dogs learn the same way. Because we depend so much on speech to communicate as humans, we just assume that dogs do so as well.

Dogs don’t understand the English language or any other language. When two dogs meet, there is very Littleverbal communication between the two. They use scent and body language to communicate. They tell each other nearly everything through these two forms of dog communication. The barking, whining and growling that our dogs use as verbal communication are an additional form of dog interaction, but not the primary one.

Competition dogs who compete for Obedience titles are required to learn hand signals. Working dogs use either hand signals or body language cues to perform their work. Most trainers will teach owners to use voice commands first and then move onto hand signals. Hand signals are by far, much easier for a dog to learn. Therefore, training a deaf dog is really not difficult at all.

ASL

Deaf dog training does not mean that you’ve to hire a trainer. There are many books on the subject of training deaf dogs and learning the hand signals can be done visually in the training book. There is a famous saying, “you can train a dog in five minute, it takes much longer to train the owner.”

Consistency is the first and foremost important thing about training a dog, whether the dog is deaf or not. There are no ‘wrong’ hand signals in training a deaf dog; you can use whatever feels most comfortable to you. Some people use American Sign Language or ASL. This is the same sign language that is used for deaf people. The advantage to using ASL in training your deaf dog, is that anyone who can sign ASL can communicate with your dog.

There are some dog owners who make up all of their own hand signals. However, most dog owners who are training a deaf dog, will use a combination of ASL and their own signals. Any hand signals that youselect will be fine for you and your dog.

We have trained our 2 hunting dogs with numerous dog training techniques. Our Vizslas Abby and Peaches hunt and are competitive in AKC sponsored events. These are the fundamentals with which we teach our dogs.

Flexibility, Consistency, Fairness or Positive attitude are all key to successful dog training.

To train any type of dog, you need a solid foundation. Apply these basics with any dog training method you use.

Remember to trustyourself and your dog while you train. The most important part of successful training is your partnership.

Flexibility – Don’t just repeat what has worked in the past with another dog. Each dog is unique. Be prepared to handle eachvery special training situation.

Consistency – Dogs learn through repetition. If you send mixedsignals or don’t correct unwanted behavior every time, your dog will not learn.

Positive attitude – Like people, dogs learn best from positive experiences. Focus on rewarding desired behaviors. Avoid working with your dog when you’re frustrated or upset.

Fairness – Never correct your dog out of anger. The correction will not help your dog learn. It will only damage your relationship.

Confidence – Trust yourself!! Believe in your ability to train your dog well, and you’ll be successful in what ever dog training techniques you use.

Know your dog – Giving dog training commands isn’t enough. You must also read your dog’s body language and respond accordingly.

React quickly – When you give immediate praise or correction, your dog can make the connection between the behavior and the consequence. That’s how dog training works. But you must be alert so you can respond quickly.

Training notes – Keep track of your progress. Note what works and what doesn’t. List the dog training commands he still needs to practice. Having this information handy will be valuable as you continue learning how to train a dog better.

Enjoy training – When you and your dog have fun, training is easier and more effective. Use games and activities to practice commands and skills with your dog. Be creative and try new things so training never gets boring for either of you.

Tools – Your energy and attitude are important in dog training. But your dog training techniques must also include the right tools: leashes, collars, treats, etc. The wrong tools can make good training impossible.

Start slowly – Do not expect your dog to learn “Stay” if he does not know “Sit.” Do not expect your hunting dogs to follow commands if they don’t know basic obedience. Training is a gradual process. Each step builds on the previous step.

Socialization – Dog training commands are only part of obedience. You also need to socialize your dog. That means he needs positive encounters with new people, animals, and environments regularly starting as a puppy.

Environment – Start with a distraction-free environment. You want the dogs to focus on you. As your dogs improve, train in new environments and with more distractions.

Health – Your dog must be in good health during training. Make sure to feed him a high-quality diet, low in artificial products and fillers.

Breaks – Don’t push yourself or your dog too hard during training. Take time for a rest. Sit down together for a drink of water. Play a game of fetch. Go for a swim. Rememberto care aboutyour dog not just train your dog.

In this article I will discuss the three primary aspects of training a dog. These three aspects are motivation, reinforcement and constancy. When these three principles are followed your dog will be working confident, happy and a tentative.

When begging to instruct your remember the most important things are consistency, rate of reinforcement and motivation. Consistency would be always giving the dog the same signals dogs love consistency and it will make stress levels go right down and produce far quicker results. The rate of reinforcement is how often the dog is rewarded when starting to teach a new behavior the rate of reinforcement should be very high. The rate of reinforcement should gradually come down as the dog begins to learn the behavior until the rate of reinforcement is very low. A high rate of reinforcement will also encourage faster behaviors thought motivation. One of the biggest aspects to any dog training whether it be obedience, agility, fly ball or just general behavior obedience the most important thing is the dogs motivation. The dog must love to do what you’re asking of it when this is the case the dog will work fast and highly accurate. A dog that hasTiny or no motivation to work will be very slow and de-motivated making any training extremely difficult. Forced behavior which is where a dog is forced into the behavior will often produce a de-motivated dog in cases where dogs have been forced into behaviors the ideal thing to do is simply startfrom scratch with very high levels of reinforcement.

Reinforces to use:

Toys are the number one way to train dogs they produce highly motivated and highly obedient dog. When dogs love there reward and associate it with fast exciting situations then dogs will always work well. Games of tug etc are always a great way of producing high drive energy thats so sort after in so many dog sports including agility, flyball, working trials and many others.

Food is also a motivator often used I personally would always avoid using food for training as it produces a dog that becomes dependent of constantly being fed.

Clickers are a way of reinforcing a dog’s behavior with a easy click rather than the reward itself. This is a good way to train as it produces very quick results. The dog is being reinforced down to the millisecond getting through to the dog exactly whets excepted using a consistent click at the same consistent point when the desirable behavior is shown. The other advantage of training with a clicker is it removes many stages associated with baiting a dog etc. These stages include the gradual moving away from the dog so its producing the behavior on its own. Where as with a clicker you’re starting away from the dog.

Motivation, consistence and the rate of reinforcement are threeBig factors in training any dog. I hope through reading this guide you have learned how to train your dog more efficiently while producing a happier dog.

Using these three principles your dog will become fast at learning fast in producing the behavior, happy and overall confident in training. Remember training should always be fun for both the dog and owner. If a dogs happy its motivated if its motivated it will always work well.