My 12 year old Pug recently lost the last of his hearing & I was completely overwhelmed. Even though I have been training dogs for years, I have never had a client with a deaf dog. Terrie’s webinar give me a plan with concrete steps to take so that I can make sure Winston’s life stays as happy, safe, & enriched as it has been for the last 11 years.

This was worth watching, even as someone who has worked with deaf dogs. I wish the writing on the slides that described the videos was more clear.

First off, I really like the way your site has evolved, Grisha. It has become more user friendly, the sound quality is excellent, and the content is nothing less than stellar. This is what this profession has needed for a long time, a behavior learning center with up to date content and excellent demonstrations. This goes a long way to help new learners (have my CBCC only 15 mo now). I can say with certainty that this is the best behavior site online now. I believe Kikopup's channel is the de facto goto for training, and you have some great content from her as well. Terrie is a total rock star. Her books helped me when I started working with deaf dogs 2 years ago and I follow pretty much all her training tips (I prefer the thumbs up). I like her tip on using same hand for marker and treat to keep training clean. Here is some additional feedback: 1. I am a big advocate of smiling when I deliver the marker. I think we all know that the word "no" has usually become a conditioned aversive along with the facial expression at the time. Also, any time a client calls us, they usually have a history of frustration and nasty grimaces. It is still possible that a smile-like expression (clenching teeth) has become a conditioned aversive. To correct both, I ask the client to combine the marker (yes, good, good boy etc) with a smile, then follow with a treat. This will countercondition any previously aversive smile-like grimace (delivered with "no!") while assuring that the smile is classically conditioned by the treat. Furthermore, a recent MRI study (APDT online conference), indicated that a treat and praise have essentially equal value. Since I work primarily with phobic and "aggressive dogs", I find that the client's grimace (face in hands, anger, rolling eyes, wide-eyed stare) usually remains with their training and is an unaccounted variable in retarding progress. As a result, I instruct the client to smile (which makes them happier too lol). With non-deaf dogs, all of the above may be concealed since the dog need not look at the handler to hear the click or "yes." With a deaf dog, they must look each time. I believe the "smile" should be especially emphasized here so as not to poison newly installed hand signals. 2. I think the possible contingency of a leash/harness failure should be accounted for with deaf dogs. We know this happens, and a good audible recall will promptly fix this with non-deaf dogs. With a deaf dog, the handler probably will not have a vibrating collar installed. Most leash failures occur when the dog lunges/takes off in response to powerful stimuli, so this makes it even more dangerous. I carry an orange tennis ball and use the sight of this as a cue to check in. By pre-installing cues for reactivity or predatory responses, the dog knows to stop and return to me for a treat/praise. I found this is useful when I am in my backyard and she runs after a bird/bunny/passerby. In each case, once I throw the orange ball, she turns around and comes back to me for the finest of doggie hors d'oeuvres. 3. Here are some great advantages of deaf dogs! a. You can jam your music up load at home and at the car. b. I can take her to loud concerts and jam circles. c. When I scream at my computer, she can't hear me! d. I think they have enhanced scent, and I have trained her to sniff out lost items. e. She sleeps really well! I can watch TV all nite and she remains snug asleep! f. She hears less sounds outdoors which might cause her to become reactive. g. She never has to hear me whine (lol). Thanks for a great webinar.

spot on

This theme seams very complicated but in fact, with your enlightening, it's not ! Thank you !

What a wonderful webinar. It is lovely to see how we can help deaf dogs cope and live a full life. I would highly recommend watching this webinar.

Excellent webinaire, loads of usefull information allthough I'm searching for inspiration for my traffic noise sensitive dog (recordings don't help)

Even though I haven't had an own deaf dog yet, just from friends, I could learn a lot from this course. The changing of perspective is also true for blind dogs, it's about us to learn how dogs with such issues perceive the world and help them to adapt or orientate in it. Definitely recommendable also for owners of dogs without issues