Retraining a deaf dog

I rescued a seven-year-old Neapolitan Mastiff with severe ear problems about a year ago. He has had a number of chronic ear problems in the past, left untreated by his previous owners, which have now caused abnormalities in both ear canals. Yesterday the vet had to perform a bilateral TECA/LBO and he is now completely deaf.
Does anyone have any experience of retraining an older dog who has lost his hearing? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Kim Stock

I'm sorry to be a bit late picking up on this, Kim. I am a former dog trainer and APDT member. I had a deaf Border Collie who died of cancer aged 14 years having led a 'normal' life. As well as training my own deaf dog I have also helped loads of other owners to train their deaf dogs. I have written a book, 'Hear, Hear' details of which are on my website www.deaf-dogs-help.co.uk. It shouldn't be so difficult training a dog that has lost his hearing so I've outlined some important things to bear in mind and some training exercises.
Hand Signals
The primary form of communication will be hand signals. They must be:
- Consistent. Everybody in the family must use the same hand signal for the same command.
- Simple. The dog will have much to learn without confusing him with over-complicated hand signals.
- Clear. Ensure the dog can see the hand signal. If the hand is held away from the owner's body as much as possible, the owner's body won't silhouette the signal.
- Exaggerated. Eventually, when the dog is off-lead, he must be able to see the hand signal from some yards away, so use exaggerated, and expansive signals.
- Structured. With a hearing dog, an owner can use a normal, soft tone of voice to 'ask' the dog to sit, for example. Assuming the dog knows the verbal command for 'sit' but chooses not to obey, the owner can use a firmer tone of voice to 'tell' the dog to sit. With a deaf dog this is not an option. Hand signals should therefore be structured so that an ordinary signal is used to 'ask' and a firmer signal used to 'tell'.
- Commands. As well as the commands the dog is expected to obey, a hand signal for 'good dog' and 'bad dog' must also be developed.
Body Posture
- Relax. A relaxed body posture is essential during training. A dog may read the signs of stress or anxiety in its owner and consequently may not respond as well as it might.
- Bending Over. Some dogs are intimidated by an owner bending over it, particularly when the owner is 'calling' it back. The owner bends over and the dog stops a few yards away, not wanting to go underneath the owner's body. Alternatively, some dogs see bending over as a sign of play and will jump up towards the face. If it's necessary to get down to the dog's level, it's best for the owner to crouch down rather than bend over.
- Leaning Forward. Leaning forward slightly is part of the two-stage structure of 'asking' and 'telling'. When 'asking' the dog, the owner should be standing up straight. If the dog chooses not to obey, assuming he knows what the signal means, the owner 'tells' the dog by leaning forward slightly, taking one step towards the dog and using a firmer hand signal.
Facial Expression
- Happy Face. When training a particular exercise, if the dog gets it right, smile and say 'Good dog'. This will automatically brighten up the owner's face and the dog will eventually associate a happy, smiley face with the face he's done the right thing.
- Blank Expression. While the dog is still working out what is being asked of it, the owner must have a blank facial expression, so as not to give away any emotion. The owner is not pleased because the dog is not doing what the owner wants so there's no happt, smiley face. Neither is the owner displeased because the dog is still learning and is not choosing to ignore a command so there is not harsh, scowling face from the owner.
- Scowl. A harsh facial expression is used only when the owner is certain the dog understands a command but is choosing not to obey. A scowl, leaning forward slightly and the firmer hand signal will then all be used to 'tell' the dog rather than 'ask'. The harsh facial expression will also be used when the dog is getting into mischief and the owner needs to communicate his displeasure.
Motivation
With a hearing dog, the dog learns by associating what he's doingwith the verbal command being used by the owner at the time. So when the dog is in the processes of sitting and the owner says, 'sit', the dog pairs its action of sitting with the word 'sit'. In addition, the consequence of the dog sitting is rewarded by a food treat and if a dog finds a behaviour rewarding, he is more likely to repeat the behaviour. With a deaf dog, the process is the same except the dog associates his action with a hand signal. However, to get the desired response from the dog, it must be motivated, and whatever is used as a motivator, is used to reward the dog for correct behaviour.
Most dogs are motivated by food; toys motivate others and just being stroked motivates a few dogs. The first task for an owner is to find out what motivates their dog. If it's food, it shoudl be a high-grade motivator like cheese, sausage or frankfurters rather than its normal dog food, which it will have every mealtime. If it's a toy, it must be the dog's favourite toy.
Having found what motivates the dog, the owner can use it to get and keep the dog's attention. This is essential for training. If the owner hasn't got the dog's attention, training will be impossible.
Sit
Show the dog a food treat and place it in the palm of the hand with the fingers out stretched. Place the thumb over the food treat and turn the hand over for the palm is facing downwards. Position the hand just over the dog's nose and move it slightly back over his head. As he looks up and back towards the treat, his rear end will go down. As soon as he's sitting, give him the treat, smile and stroke him. When the dog is consistently following the hand with the food treat, move the treat to the hand not being used to give the signal and try the same hand signal. As soon as he sits give him the food treat from the other hand, smile and stroke him. At this point the dog has paired his actions with the hand signal.
Down
With the dog sitting, lower the hand with the food treat slowly to the floor positioning it between or just in front of the dog's paws. The dog will lie down in an attempt to get the food treat. As soon as he is lying down, give him the treat, smile and stroke him. Gradually the dog will understand that the hand on the floor will be the signal to lie down. At this point, lower the hand to wihin, say, two inches off the floor and wait for the dog to lie down. When he's doing that consistently, lower the hand to within, say six inches off the floor, so eventually the hand is lowering les and less leaving the owner standing and pointing to the floor as the signal to lie down.
Heel
During training the dog must be walked consistently on either the left or right of the owner. It doesn't matter which. It's important to keep a loose lead because if there is tension on the lead, the dog will pull against the tension, hence teaching the dog to pull on the lead. Having the dog on the left, for example, the owner should hold his left hand with the food treat down by his left leg and in line with the dog's nose. As the owner walks off the dog will follow the hand with the food treat. After two or three steps, stop, give the dog the treat, smile and stroke the dog. Repeat the process but walk four or five steps before rewarding with the food treat. When the dog is consistently following the hand with the food treat, move the food to the right hand but still keep the left hand as if it still had the food treat in it. After a few steps, stop and reward the dog with the food treat. At this point the dog has started to pair his action with the 'heel' hand signal.
If the dog starts to pull ahead, change direction or do an about turn, give the 'heel' signal and start again. If the dog pulls ahead again, it may be necessary to walk two steps, change direction, take another two steps, change direction and so on. The dog will start to realise he has to pay attention to its owner, as he doesn't know where he's going. If the dog jumps up, stop. Do not look at or touch the dog and wait for him to calm down before setting off again.
Eventually, the hand signal will be a straight left arm held downwards with the fingers of the hand also outstretched.
Stay
It's important the dog is looking at the owner, so stand in front of the dog and raise an arm as though taking an oath in court. At this stage it doesn't matter if the dog is sitting, lying down or standing, providing he's staying. Later, once the dog will sit or lie down on command and understands the 'stay' signal, the two can be put together for a sit/stay or down/stay.
Take one step back and immediately return to the dog. Smile and reward him. As the dog becomes more competent at staying, gradually move further and further away. The hand signal will alter slightly the further the owner goes from the dog so the arm is outstretched and the hand is vertical, like a policeman stopping traffic. If the dog wanders off during the exercise, just return to him, put him back and start again. If the dog looks away from the owner, stop and get the dog's attention before continuing backwards. Don't forget to smile all the time the dog is staying to reinforce what he's doing.
Recall
This is probably the most important exercise any owner wants to teach their dog. There are two components to getting the dog to come back to its owner. First the dog must understand and obey a 'recall' signal. Second, the dog must be taught to voluntarily pay attention to his owner.
The recall signal must be expansive and exaggerated. Have all the members of the family in the garden each with food treats. To start with, the dog may have to be lured with the treat to go to the first person but when he gets there, hold the collar so he doesn't run off, and give him the food treat. The next person then 'calls' the dog. When he arrives, hold the collar and
give the food treat. The dog will soon get the idea that going to each member of the family is fun and rewarding and will soon pair his action of going to someone with the 'recall' hand signal. Remember to smile when he's doing the right thing. Also remember not to bend over the dog until taking hold of his collar.
When the dog is going to each member of the family consistently, move to unfamiliar but secure surroundings, like a neighbour or friend's back garden.
The next stage is to teach the dog to voluntarily look at his owner. With the dog on a long line, walk around the garden holding food treats or his favourite toy, allowing the dog to wander wherever he wants. Eventually the dog should look back towards his owner and when he does, give the recall signal and when he arrives, give him the food treat or a play with the toy.
If the dog doesn't voluntarily look at his owner, walk into the dog's line of vision to get his attention and give him the 'recall' signal. Once the dog knows the owner has something he likes, he should start to get the idea
to look to the owner in the hope of getting food or a play with his toy.
There are two things to remember. First, the line is only on the dog to stop him wandering off. It is not there to tug him back. Second, only reward the dog when he has fully returned to the owner and has not returned just part of the way.
When on a walk change direction frequently to keep the dog guessing where he's going. If he doesn't know where he's going he is more likely to keep an eye on the owner. Also take a toy and play with the dog for a few minutes then take it away before the dog gets fed up playing. A few minutes later, take the toy out again and play for a few minutes more. This will keep the dog guessing when he's going to be played with and he's then more likely to keep an eye on his owner.
All this and more is explained more fully in my book, 'Hear, Hear' but in the meantime I hope this has been some help.
Good luck - and have fun!
Barry Eaton
www.deaf-dogs-help.co.uk