Deaf puppy learns sign language

**Honey** · January 23rd, 2009, 08:53 PM

Snowy the deaf puppy has a new leash of life after learning sign language - aged just four months. Photo: SWNS

Snowy was handed in to an animal charity because her owners could not cope with having a deaf dog.
However, within just three weeks of training, the four-month-old Jack Russell can sit, stay and walk, by responding to hand gestures.
The pet has learned a vocabulary of different commands including, sit, stop, lie down, roll over, come back and walk on.
Staff at the Dogs Trust Salisbury in Newton Tony, Wilts, hope that they will now be able to find Snowy a home because of her newly-acquired obedience.
Her trainer, Leslie Carley, described Snowy as "the brightest spark" among the animals at the centre.
Mrs Carley, a support relations officer, said: "Snowy is very bright and learned remarkably quickly, so she's picked up half a dozen commands already.
"When she first came in she didn't have a clue what was going on and would chase around causing trouble.
"But she has these amazing big soft eyes that notice every movement and function better without hearing so she's picked up the sign language amazingly quickly.
"It's incredibly that she's only four months old - but I suppose it's easy to teach a young dog new tricks."
The 3kg puppy was born into a litter of six and then sold to new owners who gave her back when they realised she was deaf.
She became shy and withdrawn after being passed from home to home and ignored by her brothers and sisters in the litter and was eventually taken to the charity.
She is expected to learn several more commands in the coming weeks which will give her a full vocabulary of dog terms.

Snowy's sign language:
Sit - move hand from side and bring it up towards chin
Good girl - thumbs up and smile
Stop - Extend arm forwards and show palm of hand
Down - Point to the floor then flatten hand and move downwards parallel to the ground
Come back - wave hands in the air to get attention then crouch down and pat legs
Roll - lie down then bring hand over head and round shoulder
Walk - rotate fists
Greet - hold out hand palm facing up
Naughty - point finger at dog
Food - move fingers to mouth and pout
Relax and be quiet - put index finger to lips
Go to the loo - walk fingers towards the garden

Deaf puppy learns sign language - Telegraph

**qwerty** · January 23rd, 2009, 09:31 PM

A deaf Jack Russell? Double nightmare! I have one. A hearing one is a handful enough.

Anyway, this is awesome. My neighbor has a deaf American boxer. The dog was taught sign language too and is functioning very well.

**sherbear905** · January 23rd, 2009, 10:51 PM

How sweet.

I fostered a deaf JR/Dachshund mix, and she didn't bark, she "screamed", it really was no fun at all.

Deb~ she was all white.

**msdeb** · January 23rd, 2009, 10:52 PM

is it true that white dogs have a greater chance of being deaf? this is like the third dog i've seen online that is deaf and they are all white.

**qwerty** · January 23rd, 2009, 10:57 PM

^^Interesting you say that. The boxer I spoke of is all white.

**sherbear905** · January 23rd, 2009, 11:01 PM

There is also something to do with the pigment around their eyes.

I had a Dalmatian (RIP, she lived to be 14) who was deaf in one ear, and the eye on that side had no "black" around the eyelid anywhere (it was also a blue eye), the other eyelid had "some" black, like a bit of eyeliner, and she had hearing in that ear.

**Laxmobster** · January 24th, 2009, 07:18 PM

When I was growing up we had a black lab who we thought was deaf, turns out he mastered ignoring us at an early age.

**Beeyotch** · January 24th, 2009, 07:25 PM

The all white must be a complete lack of pigment, which I think is a recessive trait, possibly due to inbreeding, iirc. The deafness may be similar or related.