[csk]

Our little Bobby (aka Bobble Head) is just about as cute as they come. He always seems so happy, but we know he needs more mental stimulation & interaction. The couple of hand signals I've managed to teach him made him CRAZY excited when he had a 'breakthrough' & learned them. He deserves to learn more!

I know the vibrating collar is the big method for deaf dogs, but little Bob is a tiny pup. He has a neuro problem that leaves him a little off balance with a head tick so simply adapting a larger collar to fit him seems a bit unfair. Does anyone know of any particularly small vibe collars on the market?

Lastly, if anyone has any tips or links for nonverbal commands I'd be happy to know about them!

Thanks, & here's a picture of our little guy:

Geez I love that dog to bits

 

[jesirose]

You can use a flashlight in place of a clicker for clicker training, and use hand signals. I use mostly hand signals with my dog and she's not deaf.

 

[csk]

Hmm ... with my fiance's propensity for misplacing gadgets I might stick to hand signals for the most part. I'll look into lights. Bobby's half blind, though. *sigh* Dunno what I'll do if he loses the other eye!

 

[hulkamaniac]

Any flashlight would work though. Basically anything that you can just slightly depress the button and the light comes on. I've heard that dogs pick up on hand signals far faster than auditory signals anyway.

 

[zimandtakandgrrandmimi]

with a deaf dog one of the most important things to teach is "pay attention"

teach this to the point where it isn't just a signal...its something the dog does naturally.

 

[Dogstar]

Using a flashlight is REALLY clunky. I'd recommend joining some of the deafdog mailing lists and figuring out what the smallest vibrating collar is - and plan on attaching the mechanical part to a harness rather than a collar.

 

[csk]

and plan on attaching the mechanical part to a harness rather than a collar.

Very good point. I feel like a bit of a dope for not thinking of it!

Using a flashlight is REALLY clunky. I'd recommend joining some of the deafdog mailing lists and figuring out what the smallest vibrating collar is

Agreed about flashlights in general, but do you know any websites where I can sign up for such mailing lists?



& as far as a pay attention handsignal is concerned I do have him trained to make eye contact & wait. Also have a come here signal that he's very good about. I just want to teach the little guy some tricks so he gets the stimulation & involvement he deserves. Our other dog is extremely high energy & demands extra training. Little Bobby is often left looking on while we teach her games.

 

[digits mama]

I dont have any advice to add...But i did want to say that I think your little guy is absolutely adorable!!