Going deaf and getting depressed

I wonder if you can help as I can’t find anything in any of the back-issues I have, but my 13-year old Border Collie, Beau, has over the past 12 months or so been loosing her hearing and it is now almost gone.  I took her to the vets to check her over as the stage from not hearing bits of what was said to her to hearing very little of what you said was very quick.  The vet said that it was not unusual and it was probably due to age.  Unfortunately that doesn’t help Beau, who being a Border Collie doesn’t do ‘age’ and still thinks she is a pup.
Over the past two months I have noticed a real decline in her and I can only put it down to depression, in that she thinks no-one is talking to her.  I have been trying to teach her sign language, and have just got her a vibrating collar – only problem is I really don’t know where to start without scaring her with the vibrations.  I am trying to get a book called ‘Hear Hear’ which I think is about training deaf dogs, but I was wondering if you had covered anything like this in your magazine as I am sure, like people, there are lots of dogs who go deaf when they get older but would still like to join in and be part of the rest of the family!
Anything you can do to help would be appreciated by both Beau and me!
Regards
Janine Lodge, by email

Barry Eaton who wrote the fantastic Hear Hear does sometimes stop by here, hope he and others can give you some help and support at this worrying time.
Beverley Cuddy, Ed

Barry Eaton says:
Age related deafness is not uncommon - even in Border Collies. Ideally it would have been good to put in place visual signals with verbal ones over the last 12 months so as the deafness progressed the visual cues would take over from the verbal ones. As it is, I'm afraid you'll have to start teaching Beau visual cues from scratch. But don't worry - it's not difficult. Start with something simple, like getting him to sit using a food treat as a lure and developing a hand signal at the same time. All the basic commands you need to know are explained in my book 'Hear, Hear'. Have a look at www.deaf-dogs-help.co.uk Body language and facial expressions are very important when communicating with Beau. If he gets something right, smile, have an open body posture and give him lots of hugs. Always talk to him during training (and at other times). If you just think 'good dog', your face won't light up with delight when he gets something right. If you actually say 'good dog' and mean it, you can't help your face from showing how pleased you are. If you are teaching something and he hasn't quite got it, show no expression on your face. Eventually, Beau will learn that your happy, smiley face means he's done good and a blank expression means he's not quite got it. It doesn't matter what hand signals you use as long as they are clear and simple.
I generally recommend deaf dog owners to take great care when using vibrating collars. There is nothing guaranteed about them. It may work; it may not. It may work for a long time; it may work until Beau becomes accustomed to it and chooses to ignore it. It may be scaret; it may not. As you already have a vibrating collar, it might be worth trying it and see what his reaction is. But if he really doesn't like it, do not persevere with it. Just put it down to experience and throw it away. If however he accepts it, it's best to get him conditioned to it in the same way a dog is conditioned to a clicker. So instead of click/treat, you would vibrate/treat until he feels the vibration and looks to you for a reward. Most people would like to use a vibrating collar for a convenient recall but that would limit its use to just one command. And just as hearing dogs someimes go conveniently deaf when they are called, so Beau could conveniently ignore the vibration knowing he's supposed to go back to you. The biggest problem most owners have with deaf dogs is getting their attention. So I suggest, if you can use the collar, you use it for just that - to get his attention. Once Beau has felt the vibration, you need him to look at you (which he should do if he has been conditioned to it) then you can give him any command you have taught him. There are many vibrating collars that can also be used as an electric shock collar. If you have one with such a device, never, never use it - under any circumstances.
As you know, collies are very bright and mentally (and physically) active. I'm sure he'll relish a new challenge of learning hand signals and body postures. Once Beau has responded to his first visual command you've taught him, you will feel a real 'buzz' of excitement and, hopefully, will be encouraged to carry on teaching him more and more commands. The sky's the limit. I train my hearing dogs with verbal and visual commands and they respond better to visual commands. So in the meantime, if you think he's feeling depressed, interact with him more, play with him; have fun.
Best of luck and have fun training.