A tiny eight week old puppy is learning sign language in Australia after it was discovered that she is profoundly deaf.
Pixie the border collie is currently being taught to recognise hand commands by trainer Liz Grewal in Coffs Harbour.
Liz has been an owner of deaf dogs for six years and so far she has taught the clever youngster to sit, drop and come forth.
"Dogs understand your body language, your hand gestures, they read all of that. They know," Liz comments.
"Consistency is the key to training any dog but you have to emphasise it more with a deaf dog. You've to train them in a different way, they train quicker than a hearing dog as there are no noise distractions."
In order to get the attention of her four deaf dogs, one of the techniques that Liz uses is to squirt them with a little water bottle.
She adds: "I want these dogs to have a fantastic life, and I know they can do it."
Credit: Ananova
1 comment:
We own a four year old French Bulldog that was born deaf. We have sucessfully taught him many signs. He knows, sit, lay down, come, go (to the door), kennel, treat, wait, go for a walk, no, good dog, and good-bye. He communicates amazingly. He is very affectionate, which we believe is actually enhanced because of his deafness. When he sleeps, he likes to be touching us for example. We had considered giving him back to the breeder when we first got him, but now we are so glad that we didnt. He is an absolute joy.
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