 Re: second senior in pack now deaf
[Re: Connie Sutherland ]
#377743 - 05/13/2013 12:49 AM |
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"pack o' Pugs"'
Is that something like a "gaggle of geese" or a "murder of crows"?  
old dogs LOVE to learn new tricks |
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Re: second senior in pack now deaf
[Re: Sheila Buckley ]
#380314 - 07/09/2013 11:06 AM |
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Pour a glass of wine. 
Thor went deaf about 6 months ago. I was on the fence about a collar because I wasn't sure it might startle him since I'd never used one and also..well.. he's old.
An Audiologist (treats humans) said to see if he can hear clapping, sharp, cheerleader like claps. He can! So get out your pompoms and check that.
From there I pretty much substituted the clap in place of a collar vibration. I originally started training to get his attention too but he now recalls when I clap.
I also use a target stick to mark behaviors (trainer suggested). I started with loading the mark by tapping his side and treating (using my hand or stick). Adding hand signals as I got behaviors, I'm sure you know all this but it was helpful to me to see how to mark without a verbal cue. I'm not sure if it is because he was already trained but he had the hand signals for the basics proofed in a week.
Where the target stick has been FANTASTIC is being able to mark him for behaviors he offers at a distance. Very beneficial to our hikes because it keeps the communication going. I have two long Rose of Sharon branches tied together that gives me about 15ft of space which makes the hike a lot more natural than being right beside one another. He is on a long line but I drop it now.
Not sure these suggestions will help but I hope they do and if you get anymore of those deaf dog hearing assistant Pugs, I just might have to adopt one too. 
I went to the target stick (looong one!) to mark behaviors for these two senior deaf guys way back when I read this post of Sheila's. It is a great tool.
Now I think I also need a louder clicker. A sharp sound, like a hard hand-clap but maybe sharper and louder.
Often they are indoors, close to me (no target stick at hand), and I can see them gazing at my face for the marker. I'm pretty sure they can't hear the clicker any more. (I've even seen one of them look at my face, I think for the marker, when the GSD, who can hear, has done a wanted behavior and is being m/r.)
So what I need to think of is a small mechanical thing that can make more of a sound than the regular clicker.
Any thoughts?
BTW, Bob, one of these guys has indeed become adept at NOT looking at me (or a dog, for cues) when there are yummy dropped plums in the yard.  We had to do some extra work on that little hitch. Lots of extra work, including picking them up fast (or, alternatively, having to pick up purple poop).
ETA:
" I originally started training to get his attention too but he now recalls when I clap."
Like Sheila, I had good results with a sharp clap for quite a while, until it too became inaudible to both.
Edited by Connie Sutherland (07/09/2013 11:06 AM)
Edit reason: eta
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Re: second senior in pack now deaf
[Re: Connie Sutherland ]
#380320 - 07/09/2013 02:22 PM |
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Connie, what about switching the mark to a light of some sort? Like a flashlight (one that clicks in the beginning?) or maybe just a very distinguished object? That idea might be way out there but I don't have any loud suggestions
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Re: second senior in pack now deaf
[Re: Connie Sutherland ]
#380346 - 07/09/2013 07:01 PM |
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I'm pretty much afraid of using any kind of flashlight or laser light with a dog, but a very distinguished object is an inventive thought!
What could it be? I'm thinking .... to be as fast as a marker sound, it has to be in my hand.
Or .... maybe a hand signal? A unique signal?
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Re: second senior in pack now deaf
[Re: Connie Sutherland ]
#380348 - 07/09/2013 07:08 PM |
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How about a head nod? That would be easy, intuitive (it already means "yes" to you) and would force the dog to look at your face for response. I suppose you could "load" this mark the same as any other.
Cinco | Jack | Fanny | Ellie | Chip | Deacon |
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Re: second senior in pack now deaf
[Re: Connie Sutherland ]
#380351 - 07/09/2013 07:57 PM |
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That sounds doable!
An exaggerated nod. (I imagine that one of them, at least, might be getting hazy vision as he nears 14.)
I'll start loading that in the morning, in the sunny yard.
Yes. They are both quick to understand a marker, since there's food involved.
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Re: second senior in pack now deaf
[Re: Connie Sutherland ]
#380352 - 07/09/2013 07:59 PM |
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Also, a head nod might be the only signal not already in use, since we started big two-handed beckon-signs, a two-handed "stop" sign, and so on.
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Re: second senior in pack now deaf
[Re: Connie Sutherland ]
#380368 - 07/09/2013 11:58 PM |
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Careful with the plums. The seeds can be toxic I believe.
If the dog isn't looking at you how about a bell of some sort? Old bicycle bell, maybe a whistle even. Two pieces of 2x4 just long enough to hold them in your hand......watch your fingers when you clap them together.
old dogs LOVE to learn new tricks |
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Re: second senior in pack now deaf
[Re: Connie Sutherland ]
#380487 - 07/13/2013 11:35 AM |
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Bob, THANK YOU for that reminder! I knew and remembered about peach and apricot stones, but of course, it's actually all of these too:
Apple seeds, cherry pits, peach pits, and plum pits all contain cyanide.
Luckily, purple poop made me vigilant!
Now I am looking for a bell or a whistle.
Edited by Connie Sutherland (07/13/2013 11:35 AM)
Edit reason: typo
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Re: second senior in pack now deaf
[Re: Connie Sutherland ]
#380491 - 07/13/2013 01:52 PM |
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Not sure about this but...would an actual dog whistle work...the ones that are audible to them but not to us? I've never used one, but would he be able to hear that better then a sound that we can also hear? Just another thought...don't know if it would work or not.
MY DOGS...MY RULES
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