The night before we went to pick up Nitro at the City of Salem Animal Shelter, I was desperately looking for any information regarding deaf dogs and training deaf dogs. When I got on the Internet that night I did two things. I ordered “Living With a Deaf Dog” by Susan Cope Becker ( a great book on advice, facts and experiences about canine deafness along with success stories). This book will be your deaf dog bible to refer back to when you have questions. It also calms any worries you might have about owning a deaf dog. Since I freaked out my first 24 hours wondering if I could handle training a deaf dog, this book eased all of my fears.
The next stop on the Internet was to check out videos of others training their deaf dogs with hand signals. The video I am sharing with you is by far my favorite and helped us get started. The video was done by Alisha McGraw and she did such a wonderful job (Alisha you totally Rock). The other site I highly recommend is www.aslpro.com to learn the American Sign Language signs for basic commands. You can also make up your own signs if you feel more comfortable with having your own language with your dog.
Here is a recent photo of Alisha McGraw and her deaf and hearing dogs.
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