Search Results for: blog how do you train a deaf dog

Adopt a Less-Adoptable Pet Day: August 12

Petfinder.com has declared August 12th “Adopt a Less-Adoptable Pet Day”. For all the overlooked pets in shelters, this day’s for you! What constitutes a “less-adoptable” pet? Petfinder asked their member shelters which pets were the hardest to place. 30% of responders had the hardest time finding homes for senior pets 15% of shelters had a difficult time adopting out pets with health issues 13% of Petfinder shelters had problems with breed prejudices (and many shelters mentioned pit bulls specifically as being hard to adopt because of breed prejudice) 10% of responders had difficulty placing pets who need to be the … Continue reading →

Dogs Are as Smart as Toddlers (When it Comes to Hand Signals)

Two different studies recently took a look at how well dogs learn and understand hand signals. The first study (from Eotvos University) tested dogs against two-year-old children and three year old children. Testers used a variety of gestures like finger pointing, elbow pointing, and leg pointing to help the kids find a favorite toy… and help the dogs find tasty treats. Both the dogs and the two-year-olds had no problem with the majority of the gestures. Pointing with a knee gave both groups a little trouble, as did an arm pointing one way with a finger pointing a different way … Continue reading →

The Dogs vs. the Laser Pointer

My new roommates just picked up a new laser pointer for playing with their cats. Let the hilarity ensue! The two cats are pretty entertaining when the laser pointer is out. They chase the spot around the room, stare at it in horror when the red dot is on a paw, and go skittering into the bathroom (and onto the tile) at full speed in pursuit. Since it was such fun and great exercise for the kitties, we decided to try it on my dogs Moose and Lally. My roommate M. was in control of the laser pointer; I sat … Continue reading →

When a Dog Goes Blind

My next door neighbor’s dog, Simba, has had a rough road lately. First he was diagnosed with diabetes and Cushing’s syndrome, then shortly after that (not even a week later) he went blind. How They Knew Simba Was Blind When I was little, our family dog Mike went blind. I don’t remember exactly when it happened or how we knew. I’m fairly sure my dad was the first to notice it. I got to thinking about that because I asked my neighbors how they figured out Simba was blind. It’s not like he can just shout all of a sudden, … Continue reading →

Further Things to Take Into Consideration with Deaf and Disabled Pets

At the end of January I got an email from Izzy Forman with 360i on behalf of a company called Petside.com in regards to some deaf dog articles I’d written earlier that month. She wanted to let me know about their recently launched “Pets with Disabilities” series that had a section devoted to deaf pets. Initially, my main focus for researching deaf dogs was how to train them. That’s what my friend needed help with for her puppy. But the Petside.com articles took a few other things into consideration aside from training. Things to make living with a deaf or … Continue reading →

The Pets Blog Week in Review for January 14-20

Aimee and I once again strove to bring you a slew of interesting, thought provoking, and otherwise entertaining articles last week. In case you missed any days, here’s the recap of what we wrote on: Monday, January 14 Would You Make a Good Parent for a Deaf Pet? It’s hard enough being a stray in a shelter, but imagine being a deaf one. The chances for adoption go even lower. My plea was to consider adopting such a pet to give them a fair chance too. Tuesday, January 15 Shelters are Bad Enough, Deplorable in Tennessee For some reason the … Continue reading →

Would You Make a Good Parent for a Deaf Pet?

I really took my quest to heart in regards to finding information about training deaf dogs for my friend who found out she’d adopted a deaf puppy. In addition to finding information on the Internet, I also posted a request for help in the Pets forum. Interestingly, several Families.com family members responded that either they’ve had deaf pets or knew of people who did. Not just dogs, but also cats and even a ferret was mentioned. The one thing that wasn’t mentioned was getting rid of any kind of deaf pet. Everyone who shared stories of deaf pets mentioned how … Continue reading →

The Pets Blog Week in Review for January 7-13

Last week was the first full week of 2008. Resolutions were set and being tackled full force. Which meant Aimee and I were busy bringing you a bunch of interesting articles. In case you missed any part of last week due to tending your resolutions, here’s what we wrote on: Monday, January 7 Why Does My Pet Play in His Water Bowl? If you have a cat like my Mr. Meow who definitely plays in his water bowl, Aimee provided insight into this mysterious phenomenon. Is Your Cat Stressed? Aimee listed some signs to look for that your cat may … Continue reading →

How Do You Get a Deaf Dog’s Attention When He’s Not Looking at You?

Who knew my friend asking me an innocent question the other night about the little deaf puppy she’d adopted would spark so many questions on my end? But it did, because I’ve never had a dog with a disability and I couldn’t help but wonder, “What would you do in X, Y, and Z circumstances?” For instance, I wondered how you’d train a deaf dog? Turns out, it’s not all that much different from training a hearing-able pooch. Sure, you do have to rely more on hand signals, but you can be creative! Either with inventing your own hand signals … Continue reading →

How Do You Train a Deaf Dog?

Yesterday I wrote about my friend who found out her dog is deaf. She had asked me if I knew anything about training a deaf dog, so I looked into it. I searched online for resources on the topic, and I also posted a request for help in the forums. The result? A wealth of information! Training Techniques TOUCH Both the replies in the forum and the Deaf Dog Education Action Fund emphasized how important physical contact, like pats and petting, is to training deaf dogs. Which makes sense. When one sense is out of commission the others have to … Continue reading →