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| Bo smiling for the camera :) |
Jack wasn’t supposed to live. He was born the runt with various eye problems and after nobody wanted him, the breeders decided they were going to put him down. It seems in my family we have a certain soft spot for animals that nobody wants, so we decided to welcome him into our home. The only problem with this was that our home was still being built. Because we were living in an apartment that didn’t allow pets, my mom’s boss took Jack in and when we got him back a few months later her daughter had him trained pretty well.
Fun fact about Jack before we get to the actual point of this blog: We got him when I was seven and when I found out he was yellow I wanted to name him Sunshine. I can vividly remember me being at the bus stop telling her I want his name to be Sunshine and her telling me that she didn’t really think that would be a good name for him. I was so hurt. Looking back now, I think she made the right decision. :) Alright, back to the point…
Bo is a very, very smart dog. So smart that we are lucky he can’t hear or he would be a ruthless dictator in our household. But, his deafness is still a huge communication barrier especially because it is something we have never had to deal with. Deaf dogs aren’t for lazy people. When he is doing something bad, we can’t just yell at him. We have to walk over to where he is, get his attention, give him the no sign and make sure he stops. When he is outside during the day and we want him to come in, we have to bundle up, put on some boots and walk out there to get him. (When it’s night he usually comes in if we flick the lights on and off.) It is different, but it is something that we are adjusting to.
Bo’s foster parents told us that he knew some commands, but that was a big fat lie. Weird… Anyway, my mom and I decided to teach Bo how to sit first. We started his training his first full day with us.
Obviously, when training deaf dogs you cannot say the command to them so instead you have to use signs. For Bo, we decided to use a “sit” sign that I had seen before. I’m not really sure how to explain the sign but it kind of looks like you are doing a bicep curl without the weight. I put my arm at a 90 degree angle and bend at the elbow to make closer to a 45 degree angle.
To train him, we would make sure he was looking at us, do the sign and then push his butt down and give him a treat. Training lasted anywhere from five to ten minutes and was done probably four or five times a day. By Saturday, Bo was sitting consistently without treats or help from us. The first time I saw him sit with just the command, I was overwhelmed with satisfaction because for the first time, I actually felt like we really were going to be able to take care of Bo and train him correctly and provide him with the home he deserves.
