Happy Deaf Dog Appreciation Week

Rogue and I would like to take a moment to appreciate and thank everyone who has ever brought a deaf dog into their home.   This includes foster homes as well as those who have welcomed a deaf dog into their family.  As I sit here at the computer and play fetch with the dog who will not EVER stop, I can't imagine life without her and she can't imagine that I would ever want or need to stop throwing the toy.

So, since last time, Rogue has earned her Canine Good Citizen certification.  I admit, I didn't expect her to pass and took the test to see what we needed to work on.  She was awesome and did everything I asked of her.   This is a great first step toward therapy dog certification.  It's not necessary to get the CGC to be a therapy dog, but it includes a lot of the same tests and it's a good measure of what you have to work on before you try therapy dog certification.

At the Australian Shepherd Rescue Midwest party and fund raiser, Aussiepalooza a couple weeks ago, she was great.  There were a lot of dogs and the only time she had issues was when we were in some tight quarters.  Her dog reactivity is still a concern since she doesn't give any subtle hints but goes straight for shouting at the top of her voice.  Work in progress and only a problem when she's on leash.  In fact, there were over half a dozen aussies frolicking in a fenced field with her and she had fun when she wasn't sitting by the fence wondering where I was.

At one point, I was able to leave her with a couple of kids while I went into an enclosed area and it worked out well.  The kids enjoyed some Rogue kisses and I was able to see how she is with other handlers when I'm within sight.  She was great!

Rogue makes two new friends.  

She was well loved and I was surprised how many people asked me if that was THE Rogue.  I can't imagine there being two of them.  She's getting a bit of a reputation in the places that we frequent and made a great impression at the feed store that just opened up.  Everyone always comments about how sweet she is.  It really warms my heart to hear that.   The breed isn't known for being that accepting of strangers.  

So, now that we have our CGC, what next?

We're still working on Barn Hunt and I'm going to start trick training her.  We need something to do once it gets too cold to swim in the pond and chase frisbees.  I want to work on some disc dog tricks that don't require a lot of space so that once it's disc season again, we'll be ready to do more than just toss and fetch... assuming she's not sick.  (sigh)

Not so much exciting at the moment, but I couldn't not post on Deaf Dog Appreciation Day.

Deaf dogs CAN

It amazes me sometimes to hear how surprised people are at the things Rogue can do.  Currently, there's nothing we have tried to train her that she hasn't learned to do. In addition to canine disc, we're starting to learn Barn Hunt.  She's been dock diving and we're enrolled in a Click-a-Trick class.  I can't forget training for her therapy dog certification.  I know hearing dogs who can't do all this stuff.  And, of course, she can get a jar of grease out of the sink and lick it clean in under ten minutes.  (sigh)

Yes, that's a glass jar formerly filled with grease.  

But it's not just Rogue.  Other deaf dogs are proving just how much they can do.   Here is Decibel, a canine disc dog who this year won a Freestyle competition in Quebec.

Is that awesome or what?

Don't let the fact that your dog can't hear convince you that you can't do all those fun things you always wanted to do with her.  

Kira, is her human buddy's running partner.   

With those ears, you'd think she could hear something.

And Rogue's buddy, Belle already has her Master of Tricks and is all the way up to NW3 in nosework.

I smell the food.  Give me the food.

When she's not kayaking.

So really, it's not the dogs preventing us from doing what we want with them... it's us.  They are just as eager and happy to learn as their hearing brethren.  Communication is the key.  Dogs are used to communicating mostly in a nonverbal manner, it's we, the humans, that have to get with the program.

Someone shared this video with me on Facebook and while it's not specifically geared toward training deaf dogs, it happens to be pretty awesome for doing just that.

Now, one little point here and it was something we discovered.  When we were training Rogue, Curt didn't bother saying anything because, well, she's deaf.  He had a lot of trouble getting her to respond because since he wasn't verbalizing, he wasn't conveying any sense of excitement or fun. When he went back to verbalizing, his excitement carried over to his body language and Rogue learned quicker.

 Obviously, the guy in this video is very animated so it's not a problem for him but it is something to keep in mind that we have to convey excitement with our bodies since they can't hear it in our voices.  One more thing that I'll go into more detail once I get my video done, when you're trying to come up with a sign for what you're trying to teach, make it natural.  There's nothing wrong with using ASL signs, but you may find in the process of teaching your dog something, they find a cue from your body language that will become their sign for that activity.  I do have a video of some of the signs we use on the list.

What's going on in Rogue's world right now?  Well, we have been busy.  We did a demo at the Wisconsin State fair and Rogue learned that she really likes to perform in front of an audience.  We have a big disc dog competition this weekend she is staying home from because she has kennel cough.  This is the same competition she missed last year because she was in heat.  

She's still pushing boundaries and our buttons and she's still the most challenging dog we've ever trained completely outside her being deaf, but we love her.  Of course, you might want to check out #goddammitrogue to see some of her antics.  Here she is, resting after a day of chaos with Steel.