A story to encourage owners with deaf animals

The Story of Jacob the Deaf Boston

As a small Boston Terrier puppy, it was difficult to tell if my dog Jacob was deaf or if he was simply following his own agenda. For the first two weeks after I brought him home I blamed myself for choosing the wildest and craziest dog in the entire pet store. Like every new puppy, Jacob did not respond to his name (or any other colorful names I happened to shout at him), nor did he understand the word “No!” regardless of how loudly the word was emphasized. But strangely he didn’t even bat an eyelid when a tin can filled with coins was rattled in his presence. At the end of the day, he slept like he had never slept before, and continued to sleep even after I blew on my trumpet as hard as I could. I came down to two conclusions: either he is the most unresponsive spawn of the devil, or that he may just be… deaf.

Jacob and I were referred to Purdue University Teaching Hospital, one of many veterinary hospitals to administer the Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response (BAER) test. It was a simple, quick, and easy test. Small electrodes were placed under the skin. An electrode was placed in front of each ear, one between, and one behind, the eyes and one at the top of the head. The electrodes recorded any brain activity that was generated due to a sound stimulus transmitted via earphones to the ears. This method made it possible to test the response of each individual ear to the sound. The test results indicated that Jacob had no auditory capability in either ear. In other words, he was completely and utterly deaf.

In the weeks following the confirmation of Jacob’s condition, I quickly learned what it meant to care for a deaf dog. Because I knew he was different from other dogs, I immediately understood that training methods were going to be different than those used on other dogs. For example, as a welcome home from the hospital gift, he received a brand new vibrating collar. It pulsed when I pressed a little white button on the remote control. At first, he was spooked by the vibration of the collar but he quickly learned that when the collar vibrated, a doggie treat was coming his way. Much like a paging system, I used the device to help find him if he was sleeping in a random corner of the house. One press of the button and he would quickly wake up and track me down so that he could claim his treat. In addition, I used the vibrating collar like a clicker trainer. Every time he performed a desired action, I would make the collar vibrate, show him the appropriate hand signal for that action, and then reward him with a treat. It took Jacob two weeks to learn his first sit. After which, he quickly figured out that paying attention to hand signals was the means to getting more treats.

Today, Jacob understands a repertoire of hand signals which include: sit, stay, come, lie down, roll over, give a high-five, dance in a circle on his hind legs, jump onto/through/over desired objects, find a certain person in the house, go for a walk, heel on command, go for a car ride, etc. Jacob’s disability has not prevented him from being one of the most highly functional and well-trained dogs I have met.

Jacob has also learned on his own to compensate for his inability to hear. He takes cues from his cat companion, a gray domestic short-haired sweetheart, named Jasmine. Whenever he sees Jasmine walk purposefully towards the front door, he immediately clues in that someone has arrived at the house, and he runs there to greet the guests as if he had heard them at the doorstep.

Understandably, learning that your pet is deaf can be overwhelming. I personally know many deaf dogs who lead very normal lives. Jacob, my deaf Boston, is a testimony himself. Now he is so well integrated that if you met him on the street, you wouldn’t even guess that he was deaf. It is my hope that this article will reach out positively to pet owners of deaf dogs. Training and living with a deaf dog may take a little more patience than usual, but I assure you, it is a very fulfilling process.

How To Teach An Old Dog New Tricks

Common knowledge and witticism tells a person that old dogs are incapable of learning new behaviors as is often bespoken in the adage, "you can't teach an old dog new tricks". Despite the numbers of people who would proclaim this decree to be solid truth, we are here to tell you that it nowhere near the being an accurate description of the truth. While it is a little more difficult for an older dog to be trained, it is entirely within the realm of possibility if one uses patience and remains consistent in the dog's lessons throughout the process.

The first step in training an older dog is remembering that this dog has, most likely, already been trained once, be it properly or improperly. The older dog already has preconceived notions as to what acceptable behaviors are and what behaviors are not welcome. If you wish to change one of these behaviors you have to reprogram the dogs thinking process. For instance, a farm dog may have been trained to protect the barnyard and chase stray animals and predators away from the barn. Unfortunately, the dog now lives in your townhouse and thinks your cat is its mortal enemy. We have to reprogram the dogs thinking to make it understand that chasing the cat is not acceptable. So how would we handle this situation?

To start, make certain that the cat will be safe by placing the cat in a pet carrier or some other sturdy structure that prohibits the dog from actually physically contacting the animal but still allows for both animals to see, smell and hear each other. This provides a way for both animals to acclimate to each other in a safe, though possibly a bit stressful, situation. This small step teaches the dog and cat that both are going to have a presence in the home.

After the animals have both calmed a bit give them each a small reward, such as a piece of kibble. Be sure to give the dog lots of verbal praise and affection when it is not barking or trying to get to the cat as this reinforces his good behavior. These rewards are quite important in teaching older dogs as they help to retrain their minds that this behavior is good and is rewarded, thus making them want to repeat the behavior. This will also show the dog that you are accepting of the cat's presence and you expect him to be accepting of the animal also. Repeat this process several times over the course of a week or so, until both animals seem fairly accustomed to the presence of the other and their aggressions seem to have subsided. At this point, you are ready to move on to the next step.

This step will require an assistant to help with one of the animals. Have the assistant leash the dog and hold him firmly on a very short leash. After instructing the assistant to maintain control of the dog, open the pet carrier and bring the cat out carefully. Your dog will likely move towards the cat so be sure the assistant has him held tightly and be careful not to let the cat panic and escape your grasp. Gradually bring them closer together and let them calmly adapt to each others presence. Repeat this step several times over the next few days and by the end of the week, these two animals should be like old chums.

Through this exercise, we see the basics of teaching an old dog something new. It involves first recognizing the dog's previous training and then deciding what is applicable and what needs changed. Then reinforcing the good parts of the dog's behavior with plenty of positive rewards and verbal praise while restricting or redirecting the parts of the behavior you want to stop. We also see that it is necessary to change the behavior in small steps rather than a complete change all at one time. This serves to help the older dog by not confusing him totally. With small steps the animal feels that it is learning new tricks rather than a complete behavior modification. This also allows you to spot trouble before it grows to large to handle. It also is essential to exercise patience and be consistent so that you may indeed teach your old dog some brand new tricks.
Dog Article courtesy of I-Love-Dogs.com