Talk To Your Deaf Dog. Don’t Just Sign!
When communicating with deaf dogs, I don’t just use my hands; I talk to them too- you know, like with my voice! As counterintuitive as using our voice to talk to our deaf dogs may seem, there are some very great benefits and some excellent reasons for doing so. Here are several reasons why I talk to our deaf dogs and why you should too!
The first reason we should talk to deaf dogs is that we’re human. Unlike dogs, we rely heavily on our voice to communicate with the world around us. Speaking is more natural for us.
But there’s another more important reason we should talk to deaf dogs and this is it: when we speak, our facial expressions and body language change. When that happens, we convey a whole lot more information to our deaf dogs.
As an example, if I sign “drop it” and Foster hesitates, I immediately sign “drop it!” again and say the words out loud. He sees from the change in my facial expression and body language that I mean business and he will promptly drop my underwear to the floor.
By using my whole body to communicate, he understands me better.
But it gets better still…
For anyone sharing their life with a deaf dog, teaching hand signs from day one is critical. Doing so is non-negotiable. However, as days and weeks turn into months and years, your bond grows, deepens and expands. As he learns to read your hand signs and body language, you also learn to read his as well.
There are many things I can communicate with my deaf dogs just by changing my facial expression or body language, no hands needed.
For example, if I cock my head, purse my lips and give them “that look”, they know to stop whatever they’re doing and sit. If I crouch down on my haunches, they come running for hugs and belly rubs- no words spoken, no hand sign needed.
Over time, communication between you and your deaf dog becomes more subtle and much of it likely goes unnoticed by people not in the know. Those are the beginnings of the best years of your life together, when a silent look says I Love You! and you know that he knows that it’s true.
But before you start talking to deaf dogs, check out this post on 5 Hand Signs Every Deaf Dog Should Know.
Do you talk to your deaf dog? Do you feel like you
have a stronger bond with your deaf dog and why? Please share your thoughts in a comment below!
Angel Pip and Ruby says
July 8, 2015 at 12:58 pmThis is all very interesting. Of course, I much with facial expressions and gestures when communicating with my dog as well. I never really thought about that, but it’s true.
Our cat Elsie is deaf, but because cats are so different I’m never sure how much she understands. Though she definitely communicates in her own way. I’m assuming it would be much more difficult if not impossible to teach a deaf cat hand signals.
Bernard Lima-Chavez says
July 8, 2015 at 1:02 pmActually, no it’s not harder just different because of species-specific differences. I have some resources on training a deaf cat with hand signs. I’ll look for them and send them to you. I can foresee a fun new video blog for you to work on!!!
Colleen says
July 8, 2015 at 2:45 pmlove! while my pups aren’t deaf, a great trainer a long time ago taught me that every command should be both voice & gesture. She gave great examples for when we need them to be quite because we’re on the phone – a hand gesture is so much better/quicker than interrupting the call (she worked from home!), if you’re at a distance sometimes, being able to gesture is much easier than yelling, as our pups age – like us, they can lose parts or all of their hearing and there are times when we are ill that we don’t have voice — so I’ve always incorporated both into our training and daily use. There are times that a hand gesture works faster than words as there’s never any confusion! I use both when I give a command out of habit. AND you are so right about the expressions – omgoodness!
Bernard Lima-Chavez says
July 8, 2015 at 2:53 pmYou’re right, most dog trainers teach a hand sign to go along with the verbal command. I think hearing people with hearing dogs just get complacent or forget to use them. If they’re lucky enough to still share that lives when that dog is a senior dog, those hand signs will be very important!
Colleen says
July 8, 2015 at 3:03 pmone of our shelter pups was ‘spanish’ in terms of language/commands and we quickly found that if ask to ‘sit’ he would just stare at us, but if we used a hand signal, he would sit perfectly. We adopted a treasure with him and he’s now bi-lingual (or would that be tri-lingual?) but I am sure that many passed him over because he seemed totally ‘un-trained’ when they met him (yeah, who looks @ a 100lb 6 year old dog ..oh, that would be me thinking “no one will adopt him”). My spanish speaking friend discovered his 1st language upon meeting him about a month after his adoption – we knew he could sit/stay/down with the hand signals, but she found he could ‘speak’ and ‘roll-over’ with spanish … it was such a cool discovery!
Bernard Lima-Chavez says
July 8, 2015 at 3:31 pmI love this story, Colleen! Here in the shelter (in Miami) we meet lots of Spanish-understanding dogs. Of course, with the demographics of the city, we’ve learned to test this on dogs. I’m so glad you’re friend was able to help you discover another piece of your dog’s story!
Ruth Cox says
July 9, 2015 at 9:51 amThe fact that your deaf dogs respond to your facial and body expressions comes as no surprise to me. My coonhound is the same way as was my chow/Aussie dog before him. In fact, I often wonder shy I have to say things twice and now I know… They’re waiting for that physical sign from my face and body to let them know I meant what I said the first time!
Jenn says
July 9, 2015 at 10:28 pmI love this article! It really speaks to my heart as well as my mind. I have a deaf Aussie, Bindi. We do agility and I seriously wish I could point louder sometimes 🙂 She is very sensitive to my movement when running, a tiny step this way or that way and she really goes. The same for acceleration and deceleration. When running a course I don’t use verbals at all, but off the course, I talk to her all the time!! She knows when I’m happy, sad, angry and even sick. I rarely have to use a leash as she is never more than 5 feet from me and she is always looking to me for cues. There are times when she just looks at me and I know exactly what she wants, cuddles, cookies, to play ball or frisbee. It really feels like a mental connection more so than any of my other dogs. And when she sees me give her a sign that she wants to ignore, she will turn her face away as if to say “sorry, didn’t see that”. Such a naughty girlie!!
Bernard Lima-Chavez says
July 9, 2015 at 10:29 pmI love when they play the “If I look away and can’t see you, then I can’t hear you” game!
Sharen Bloom says
November 3, 2015 at 3:27 pmI like that game also. My pifbull, Bindi, is also deaf and she plays that game sometimes. I first discovered this when we were in training with her and learning to teach her “leave it”. When we gave her the signal we noticed she would look away from whatever it was she was supposed to leave alone. At first I thought she was being bored or distracted but she would keep glancing back towards us. When we gave her the signal to “take it” (the treat or whatever) she would appear more attentive again and I realized she was looking away on purpose after the “leave it” command. I thought it was the funniest thing…until she does it to purposely try to ignore a different command. 🙂
angela says
July 9, 2015 at 11:30 pmMy English bulldog, Bart is deaf…We use the same sign for “go find your toy” and “go sit down” and he knows which one we mean just by our facial expressions and body language.
Bernard Lima-Chavez says
July 9, 2015 at 11:32 pmHow cool is that, Angela!
Amber says
July 10, 2015 at 1:04 amI speak to my deaf dog every single day. Our bond is incredible. I could have never imagined being so connected with an animal as I am with him and he cannot even hear the words I’m saying. Sometimes it hurts knowing that he can’t hear me say “I love you” but then I remember he didn’t have to hear it, because he already knows, because it’s deeper than words.
Deb Drovdlic says
July 10, 2015 at 6:58 amWe have a deaf rescue Toy Australian Shepherd and her name is Story. We have had her for 2 months. We talk to her all the time. Even though Story is deaf, we know she can hear….with her heart ; ) We love sharing her story. Our Story has her own website and Facebook page. The website is http://storysstory.com/ and her Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/ourstorysstory?ref=hl
Jenna,Mark “HuskyCrazed” Drady says
July 10, 2015 at 12:45 pmWow, this is very interesting! I have never experienced living with a deaf dog let alone communicating with them!
Bernard Lima-Chavez says
July 10, 2015 at 12:48 pmHi Jenna,
It’s different than living with a hearing dog but not at all harder. Once you flip a switch in your brain, it’s pretty easy. Of course, there are extra safety precautions and you always run the risk of sighing when talking to people. 🙂
MattieDog says
July 10, 2015 at 1:42 pmTrue, true, true, true, true! 🙂 You is so smart, loving, and great with your pups! Our deaf (and eventually blind) dogs would respond when momma and dadz talked to them – they would us their expressions to ‘talk’ to OD and Pudgie. Dogs really look at people – and watch them – so it’s important to engage doggies in all sorts of ways. Momma also has a theory based on different studies and dog sensitivities: voice carry vibrations – resonance – voice and the way it is used is unique to every individual…your dog knows your ‘voice’ even if he/she can’t ‘hear’ it! So good for you for talking with your deaf pup – all humans should talk to/with their animals, it’s an important bond!
Bernard Lima-Chavez says
July 10, 2015 at 1:51 pmI completely agree, like 1000% percent.
Carleen says
July 10, 2015 at 1:58 pmSo easy for people to forget that talking include other expressions that our dogs can pick up on. Thanks for the reminder!
Chuleta says
July 10, 2015 at 2:56 pmIt’s so funny: When I worked with deaf dogs, I always spoke and signed to them. And you’re right that speaking conveys a much deeper message than signing alone, but I mostly did it out of habit from working with hearing capable dogs. It was never cognitive, but the dogs always responded positively.
Robin says
July 10, 2015 at 4:17 pmI think it is wonderful how much time and thought that you have put into the way you communicate with your dogs. I have never had a deaf pet, but I have taken sign languge classes. I have taught humans with autism, down syndrome, and a variety of other cognitive impairments. Sign language is a great tool for them because it is less complicated than understanding speech (which takes interaction from several parts of the brain). Speaking along with it is definitely necessary.
Beth | Daily Dog Tag says
July 10, 2015 at 5:29 pmWhile my dogs aren’t deaf, I use a lot of non verbal communication with them. I can imagine it is even more important with deaf dogs!
Bernard Lima-Chavez says
July 10, 2015 at 6:45 pmTeaching hearing dogs non-verbals is so important! When they get to be senior dogs and she takes a toll on their hearing, the transition will be much easier for you and them!
Jodi Jarvis-Therrian says
July 10, 2015 at 8:37 pm4 paws up for this great blog!!! This makes so much sense , the more time you spend with your dog the more they do “read” you . My Odin is not deaf but he knows what I mean without a single word. 🙂 I have been teaching him things in case he gets old age blindness or deafness. He knows to come when I flick a flashlight or overhead light on and off or stomp my feet 🙂
Bernard Lima-Chavez says
July 10, 2015 at 8:55 pmThat’s so smart if you to think about the future and what kind of special needs he may have! You rock! And I hope you keep reading my blog.
Lindsay says
July 10, 2015 at 11:55 pmHow sweet! Even with a hearing dog, i can really relate – there’s so much subtle communication going on that it’s like instinct. I feel as though a lot of the time, when I talk to her, it’s more for me. Sometimes I’ll say “thank you” after an easy nail clip or tooth brushing. I think dogs understand a lot more in our tone and expression than we know.
Fur Everywhere says
July 12, 2015 at 3:37 amIt sounds like visual clues are essential to deaf dogs. Facial expressions, hand gestures, etc tell them what you want them to do. I wonder if deaf dog owners learn ASL and use that with their dogs or if each comes up witht heir own signs?
Jen Jelly says
July 12, 2015 at 8:52 amYou are amazing with your dogs, I’m so happy for them, they ended up hitting the jackpot as far as homes go. While I don’t have any experience with deaf dogs I have noticed Laika tends to follow hand gestures better than verbal commands most of the time. I don’t know if that’s part of her “selective hearing” attitude or not.
Bernard Lima-Chavez says
July 12, 2015 at 9:29 amThanks Jen! You know, when we use our bodies to communicate with our dogs, deaf, hearing or somewhere in between- I think we are getting closer to speaking “dog”. The vast majority of their communication with each other, with us and the world around them is done with their bodies. I’m not surprised that Laika responds better to hand signs than verbal cues. You’re speaking Dog to your dog!
Kevin & Rachael (@MyDogLikes) says
July 12, 2015 at 8:13 pmSo true that speaking with words is only part of how we all communicate. It is important to talk to them and sign to them. I love reading about your life with these beauties!
Cathy Armato says
July 12, 2015 at 10:03 pmThis is really interesting, and makes a lot of sense. Dogs are always paying such close attention to our movements and facial expressions. Great post!
Love & Biscuits,
Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them
Dog Mom Days says
July 13, 2015 at 12:04 amI’ve always wanted to rescue a deaf dog, so all I’m sayin’ is that when I do, I’m going to be a pro because of you 😉
alynnette09 says
August 26, 2015 at 2:11 pmMy favorite is taking my deaf boxer to the dog park. She is usually the most well behaved dog there. While most owners are yelling or calling to their dogs being ignored, I’m waving and pointing silently to Eevee as she does exactly what I want. She is truly an amazing animal.
Pixel Blue Eyes (@pixelblueeyes) says
September 23, 2015 at 5:51 pmWhat a truly fantastic article Bernard. Talking to your pet is SO important, and all of what you said is 100% SPOT ON!! Mommy is hearing impaired, and I hear just fine, but she still uses occasional sign language with me just as loving messages, in addition to hand signals for training. She tells me “I love you” and “you’re beautiful” to me from across the room and I know she is telling me something special because when she does it and says it at the same time up close its full of love and affection.
Thanks for being such a great advocate for deaf dogs!
Your friend, Pixel