I'm a trainer\behaviorist in the Washington DC. area and regularly work with a lot of dominate and aggressive dogs.

I started working with a couple who have a 3 year old deaf pit aussie cross that they rescued who has bitten both the husband and the wife after being corrected. They have had the dog for about 1 year.
This dog also has to be restrained when they walk him because he lunges after passerby’s and has bitten at least one person walking by that resulted in a visit to the emergency room.

I had my first session with them yesterday and started with teaching them how to get eye contact rewarding the dog with treats. I also walked him and when he started to lock on someone walking in front of us I corrected him firmly, he went into a down position and gave me the hard stare. I then proceeded to walk with him and all went well. He was on a wide flat cloth choke at the time.

My plans are to work with him in the future with a muzzle and a dominant dog collar.
I was hoping someone here may have some experience working with deaf dogs and have some suggestions. I often use an e-collar when the situation requires it but not sure if it’s the right approach with this dog.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Mark

Posted this in the wrong forum initially Could a mod please remove it from the Looking for dog forum.?

Hi Mark! Do you know how long this dog has been deaf? I took in a lab that became deaf after a total ear ablation, after incidents of being startled, he developed a lot of stress and anxiety, which lead to aggressive behavior. Do you know if he has been this way since birth? If this is the case, this dog may have NEVER trusted those things he is surrounded by.

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I also walked him and when he started to lock on someone walking in front of us I corrected him firmly, he went into a down position and gave me the hard stare. I

Being deaf, he will be very tuned in to his other senses, I would have used distraction here, but that's me!

He is crossed with a merle aussie and has been deaf from birth.

I've been told that a merle aussie bred with a merle often produce deaf dogs. He also has a partial white eye that may effect his vision as well.

He has a 3 bite history within 1 year with the new owner’s, who knows how many this dog has had prior to the new owner’s taking him! Does the dog know, respond, to visual basic commands? Wow…dealing with aggressive dogs is a challenge in itself, never mind one that is deaf and visually impaired, talk about getting creative and sharpening your training abilities!

Deaf dogs respond very well to Marker training with a visual cue, and an e collar, vibration, for getting their attention, but this dog may not have had the proper training and socialization that it required from the start. With out more information on the dogs history, and the aggression, I would hesitate on this one!

Did this dog come from a rescue?

Thanks again for your feedback Tammy.
He is a rescue so that the history on him is very limited.

I do use marker training and my thoughts were to use the vibration on an e-collar followed by a food reward as a positive reinforcer and the a low level of stimulation without a food reward as a negative marker.

I've become so dependent on using my voice when training that working with this guy makes me feel like a fish out of water.
I really like this dog and am looking forward to helping his owners open up the communication lines with him and hopefully making him more comfortable in his environment and stop his aggressive behavior.

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I've become so dependent on using my voice when training that working with this guy makes me feel like a fish out of water.

I am sure you do! The dog does not know he is deaf, and we as people rely on our hearing in a different order, a dog relies more on scent and vision, so I do believe a deaf dog can train the same way as one that is not, and marker training is a great way, just use visual cues. Signing, vibration with a collar or a stomp on the floor, lights on/off can all be incorporated into his training, it just takes a little creativity to communicate!

Curious…are the owner’s of this dog confident people? Do they seem like they pity him because he is deaf, in other words, could the dog read them as being weak?


You’re experienced with aggressive dogs, and you stated that you like the dog, so you obviously think there is hope in training. I would love to hear how his training progresses!

Is the stare aggressive? I have a deaf dog who stares at me, but she is just trying to read my facial expressions and hand signals. I realize that there is a good chance his stare is more on the aggressive side with his history, but could some of it stem from him trying to decipher what is being 'said?' My Willow is pretty intense looking when she stares, she is a blue eyed, blue merle that had been deaf from birth. She is 'in tune' enough now that I can actually mark her with just a big smile.
I wish you the best with this guy and would love to see updates, too.