Bella

Sometimes we do get deaf English Setters looking for a good loving home. I have owned a deaf ES myself, and I always get asked, 'What is owning and living with a deaf ES like?'

I thought it would be helpful to get people who have a deaf ES (or in some cases several) to write some words and tell you all about it themselves....as you will read, there is NO great mystery. They are just as loving and equally a part of your family.

Please DO NOT be put off from considering a deaf dog. With time and patience you will have a 'wonderful' addition to the family.

This is Bella in her new home with her best friend Sam... with some words from Kathy and Pete her owners.

When we were first asked if we would consider taking Bella on, we were a little concerned about if we would be able to cope with her being deaf. But a Setter's born intelligence and character quickly put a stop to our worries. Within days she was understanding basic commands through hand signals - and we would not think twice about another one!

I hope that people can see and understand that even with a disability English Setters are STILL wonderful dogs...

Also please remember that the dog does not know he or she is deaf. They have NO less quality of life than a hearing dog. So do not think that by taking on a deaf dog you are being cruel. So long as you have a safe garden and you are aware of ALL the dangers when out exercising them. They really do, LIVE life to the full Our girl, Zoë, was 16 when she died.

DEAF OR SELECTIVELY DEAF.....NO DIFFERENCE!

The way I see it when you have a deaf setter puppy is - it's no different to having a hearing (or should I say selectively deaf) puppy. They are full of fun and energy, wanting to do exactly what 'they want to do' and are totally captivating. The "deafness" problem is not theirs - it's ours.

With all three of our deaf setters we started out in the same way - lots and lots of hard physical contact. You can't tell them, so show them. It really is no hardship cuddling a setter pup is it? You have got to attract their attention somehow. I usually just touch them gently (it will make them jump at first - as they will not be aware you are there, and then quickly a "good dog" signal or the "no" command. I use a little wave and a big smile for the "good dog" and a pointed finger and a stern face for the "no". The latter being used quite extensively at first (well for the first ten years at least)!!!

Signals can be anything you like and it's surprising how little you need to do when both you and the setter are more experienced. We always talk to our dogs - that way your body language and facial expressions are telling them what you are feeling - so the dog will eventually know when it's has it right or wrong.

It isn't a quick process - training varies from dog to dog. It certainly will not happen over night - and it can sometimes be frustrating. If you don't seem to be progressing go back over things the dog can do and understand. Always try and let your dog finish the training on something positive. Always make sure that your signals are clear (as you would if you were giving spoken commands) if your dog is not getting the message - it is more likely to be your fault - not theirs.

Eventually you will make "contact" and that feels wonderful. You will begin to see them watching you, and becoming more aware of you, instead of totally ignoring you.

I am going to repeat myself - it really is not that different from teaching a hearing puppy - the main element is time and patience.

The more time you can spend the better the result and the greater the satisfaction.

When we got out first deaf setter Ghyll we thought he would need to be on his lead all the time. We soon realised he could come off the lead (once we were sure we could get him to come back) in the same places a hearing dog could be off the lead (In other words) where it was safe.

Tarn our second "deafie" is now eight years old. He is dark and handsome with the wonderful setter temperament. He likes his walks and loves his cuddles, especially sitting on your knee on the settee.

Twinkle is our third deaf setter. She was originally called Fern - but became Twinkle as Clive, my Husband, kept calling her "a little star" as she surprised us by how quickly she learned (after what seemed a very slow start). Twinkle is five and half old, small in stature - but big in personality.

Tarn and Twinkle are devoted to each other. They greet each other every morning and enjoy getting into mischief together too!

Over the past 27 years we have owned 8 setters both hearing and deaf. We have found that the deaf ones are decidedly more in "tune" with us. they are no less confident or outgoing and enjoy a full and active life.

Judith and Clive Lister July 2005

Useful help and advise on living and training deaf dogs from Barry Eaton

Simba

The Layman's View To Training A Deaf Dog.

Before I begin to write my experiences with this problem, I must tell you that I have never written anything before that other people may want to read. When Chris asked me to do this, I said yes, ok and then thought what the hell do I know about anything. Anyway here is my account of deafness in the breed.

First and foremost I often wondered who was training who. I have now had three deaf English Setters and I think they all allowed me to be in charge or to think I am in charge. I did not have them all at the same time but from 1983 to present day I have not been without one. There are a few things that I feel are necessary in getting through to them.

Love and understanding but then every dog deserves this.
Definitely a sense of humour.
Plenty of patience as this will be sorely tested.
Having a hearing dog as well is a huge help.
Food orientated.
Encouraging the dog to watch you .
Dogged determination to win through.

From right to left... Mandy, Mist and Little Meg

With my first deaf setter, she was 5 months old before we realised she was deaf. We bought her at 7 weeks old from my friend who happened to be a vet. Her name was Jay. Ironically it took me 5 days to think of a name for her, sadly she could not hear it. We thought she was just bloody minded but she came when called and if I mentioned biscuits then she was there. If I opened the dog cupboard she always got to it before the hearing dog. What we did not realise was that she was only following the other dog. She had worked out herself to watch Shayle her friend and when we called him she came. As they were always together we would call Shayle and Jay and because they both responded it never crossed our minds that she couldn't hear. Even after we had watched her pop a balloon and not Jump we still did not realise. It was only a fluke that one day I said I'm sure that dogs deaf not really meaning it Just making a statement because she had not responded to something I specifically said to her. Then the bomb dropped. Once I got over the very sad fact that my beautiful dog would never hear a kind word or hear another dog bark or birds or anything come to think of it I then decided I would have to train her. Thanks to my other dog shayle he had helped to start her off.

What you have to remember is that when they are puppies you are their security. When we had gone for a walk in the park and I had let her off the lead she followed me straight away as it was a big world out there that she didn't know. If I had known her problem I have asked myself would I still have done this at the time?. Touch is also very important for them, to reassure them and also to get their attention. I found myself talking to her all the time and putting one hand on her. I thought she may be able to feel some vibrations through my body and even though she would not know what I was saying she may realise that I was making contact with her. I know she did feel things like when doors opened and closed, she felt noises as we hear them.

When she was 6 months old I decided to take her to dog training with my other dog. I thought it would be good socialization for her even though her daily walks meant she met a large number of dogs.

The first thing I taught her was NO! This is a very important word in any dog language especially a deaf dog. They really can ignore all the things like stealing food chasing cats and birds, chewing my daughters slippers and eating all her selection boxes at Christmas. To do this you must first get the dogs attention, if they will not look at you then gently put your hand under their chin and move their head to meet your eyes, if they have been naughty they will not want to meet your gaze. I then used one finger and pointed it at her as you would scold a naughty child. If she ever misbehaved after this then I repeated the same sign. She picked this up quite rapidly. With all my deaf dogs they have lived for food, so I used this in my training.

The next command was SIT. With a piece of food or dog biscuit, I held it in front of her a little higher than her head and with my other hand put her into the sit, again with repetition I could get her to sit Just using the upward motion. To make her lie down I pointed to the floor and gently helped her to lie down. To get her to go into her basket I would point to it , somehow she understood that this was what I wanted of her. Maybe it was because all the other commands involved pointing to what I wanted I am not sure but she cleverly knew.

When we started heelwork, I used very small biscuits in my hand so she could smell them but not see them. This encouraged her to watch me all the time as she loved her food. After a while I could do heelwork with no treats and she was very good at it. Once she learned this she never pulled on her lead again.

I must stress that training was only short bursts of 5-10 minutes and I always gave her a treat when she had finished and constantly stoked or touched her to reassure her everything was ok. I thought she was very easy to train as she learned very quickly. One of the things she taught herself was how to open the fridge. She would put her Jaw under the bottom corner and pull, then she would devour everything in it. This proved very difficult to stop as she always waited until I had gone out before attempting it. The only way we stopped her was to put leather belts around the fridge and buckle it up every time we left the house. After about 9 months we started to leave it unbuckled and luckily she had forgotten she used to do it.

The easiest command was Come. This was Just opening my arms , getting her attention and then patting my leg. She always came back to me much easier than the hearing dog. She was faithful to the extreme that she would not go for a walk with anyone else but me. If any one tried to take her out she would sit outside the house and cry, she would not move at all. It upset her so much that she only ever went on her walks with me.

I had Jay until she was almost 13 years old, she had a stroke and we had to have her put to sleep, as her quality of life had gone. She, like my other dogs was very sadly missed.

When I was contacted by the rescue to take a 5month old deaf English Setter bitch, I consulted my ever suffering husband who said yes we would take her. This was when I first met Chris. The puppy was one of hers that unfortunately couldn't hear. She had gone to a lady who thought she would manage her but she proved too much. When Chris brought her, she came into the house like a whirlwind, she was a coiled spring that took approximately 2 years to unwind. As the lady who had her could not manage to control her she had left her to her own devices which resulted in a 5 month old demon. Again the first word she learned was no which was about 5 minutes after Chris left. It took a long time and many repetitions before she would stop whatever she was doing and not revert back to her misbehaving as soon a the finger had stopped wagging. This is where the patience comes in and boy did she try mine. Training Mist was not as easy as Jay as she was like a wilful child and did not like to toe the line. There was many a day when I wondered if I would ever get through to her, but slowly it began to happen. Once she had begun to watch me most of the time it then got easier. I think she only began to watch for me to see where I was and if she could get up to any mischief . Funnily enough the training of her was almost a mirror image of training Jay only a little harder. She likes food so much that I think she would stand on her head if I asked her. So sit, down and come worked very well. She watches Mandy our other rescue Setter to see if she leaves any food as she likes to steal it but if we give her the no signal she will leave it alone, even though it is killing her to not eat it.

When I take her out for walks she Just potters along sometimes following the trails the foxes leave in the park but she is always keeping an eye out for me. If she loses me, I then stand where she can clearly see me, hold out one arm to the side and she will come running back to me. Relieved that I am still there. This is a great improvement on how she used to be. She never actually ran off but she would go to say hello to everyone. She was so boisterous that there wasn't a dog in the park that would play with her and I found that owners would avoid me.

Much of the training I think is whatever works for you added to some simple obedience, mixed together with love and understanding. It may take a while but in the end they will come through.

With both Jay and Mist they have always been by my side no matter what I do, they followed me to the loo, and helped me to hang the washing out, even tough their idea was running off with the pegs.

Mist is at my side as I am typing this and when I go back down stairs, even though she is asleep at the moment she will wake up and come with me. She still amazes me as to how she knows I have moved but there are some things I will never know.

I hope this has given you an insight into basic training with a deaf dog, its not quite as hard as you think and the rewards are tremendous.

PS.... I have not mentioned our other deaf dog Willow. The reason being that when we found her she had been so badly neglected that we are not sure if it was this that made her deaf. She never needed training. She was always so grateful for anything you did for her and she was never naughty.

This article was printed in the ESA Spring/Summer 2005 newsletter

Diane Preston Macclesfield