Our team had the pleasure of competing in Vassar, MI this past weekend at the 10th Anniversary of Ballistics' "River Run" Tournament. We do it every year because they make it so much fun on the banks of the Cass River in the lovely town of Vassar. It is a beautiful setting with an open air ice rink pavilion. Lots of opportunity for pictures, good food and leisurely walks through town.
We had our ups and downs as most teams do. ....but, one outstanding achievement was watching the deaf dog run.
"Luna" is a white Border Collie who is completely and profoundly deaf. A lot of dogs born with this condition are put to sleep without ever having a chance at life because it is assumed that nobody wants a deaf dog. That isn't true, of course. It is a lot of work to find a willing home for a dog with such a handicap. Luna's owner not only was willing to take on the challenge of owning and training a deaf dog, she went looking for a deaf dog purposely. Luna was "wanted".
Luna is approximately 2 and 1/2 years old. She was born in Idaho and came to Michigan through Utah by way of a wonderful group that rescues deaf dogs of all breeds.
Training a deaf dog to play flyball is a challenge but achievable. You need to decide ahead of time what hand signals you are going to use for each desired behavior. The signal for "NO" or "STOP what you are doing right now" needs to be taught very early. Since Luna can't hear, the handler needs to jump up and down or use other exaggerated moves to create excitement for the dog. You should also decide on a simple gesture to indicate the dog's name. It doesn't matter if these signals are accepted sign language gestures or not. The point is that if you are training a deaf dog, you need to easily remember how to signal your dog for the basic things. Luna's name is signed by holding your right hand, palm down and fingers together and waving. Just the hand moves, not the wrist or arm. I really don't know what, if anything, this means in sign language. BUT, Luna knows it means HER and she'll come bounding over to see what you want.
Anyway, this weekend was supposed to be warmups for Luna. Our policy is to train with proofing for consistent performance. We want Luna (and every dog we train) to succeed without any pressure. I guess Luna was tired of all our caution because she was playing consistently, clearly showing us she was ready to run! Luna was a Rock Star!
We were so involved in Luna's success, we often forgot to inform the Head Judge that Luna is deaf. NAFA doesn't require this but, it is a good practice anyway for judge's discretion calls.
I admire Luna's owner for seeking out a deaf dog and proving to the world that they are trainable and can do something as complicated as flyball. AND have fun! I am proud that Luna is part of our team.
Good Luck and Good Racing!
We had our ups and downs as most teams do. ....but, one outstanding achievement was watching the deaf dog run.
"Luna" is a white Border Collie who is completely and profoundly deaf. A lot of dogs born with this condition are put to sleep without ever having a chance at life because it is assumed that nobody wants a deaf dog. That isn't true, of course. It is a lot of work to find a willing home for a dog with such a handicap. Luna's owner not only was willing to take on the challenge of owning and training a deaf dog, she went looking for a deaf dog purposely. Luna was "wanted".
Luna is approximately 2 and 1/2 years old. She was born in Idaho and came to Michigan through Utah by way of a wonderful group that rescues deaf dogs of all breeds.
Training a deaf dog to play flyball is a challenge but achievable. You need to decide ahead of time what hand signals you are going to use for each desired behavior. The signal for "NO" or "STOP what you are doing right now" needs to be taught very early. Since Luna can't hear, the handler needs to jump up and down or use other exaggerated moves to create excitement for the dog. You should also decide on a simple gesture to indicate the dog's name. It doesn't matter if these signals are accepted sign language gestures or not. The point is that if you are training a deaf dog, you need to easily remember how to signal your dog for the basic things. Luna's name is signed by holding your right hand, palm down and fingers together and waving. Just the hand moves, not the wrist or arm. I really don't know what, if anything, this means in sign language. BUT, Luna knows it means HER and she'll come bounding over to see what you want.
Anyway, this weekend was supposed to be warmups for Luna. Our policy is to train with proofing for consistent performance. We want Luna (and every dog we train) to succeed without any pressure. I guess Luna was tired of all our caution because she was playing consistently, clearly showing us she was ready to run! Luna was a Rock Star!
We were so involved in Luna's success, we often forgot to inform the Head Judge that Luna is deaf. NAFA doesn't require this but, it is a good practice anyway for judge's discretion calls.
I admire Luna's owner for seeking out a deaf dog and proving to the world that they are trainable and can do something as complicated as flyball. AND have fun! I am proud that Luna is part of our team.
Good Luck and Good Racing!
Oh my gosh. We are ALL proud of Luna and her mom. I have not seen Luna since she was a pup. I have her litter mate, Sage, also a white BC but not deaf. Her third white brother lives in Oregon and another B & W brother on our farm in Utah. Strong resemblance, that's for sure. Luna is definately a star!
ReplyDeleteMy roomie and I are fostering a deaf border collie puppy right now. HE IS ADORABLE, but what a challenge! I speak ASL and the roomie knows a little (and by far enough for doggy purposes) so we have started with STOP (because NO just made him bite our fingers more, I think it looks like a playful dog mouth to him, and STOP is much easier to look firm.) and just calling him DOG since we don't get to keep him. I *wish* I could. I am already in love.
ReplyDeleteWe are in Orem, Utah and may place him with a rescue group specifically for Deafies if we can find one. (We took him home because the man selling the other pups was about to kill him)
Thanks for the inspiration. My deafy has been in flyball since she was 4 months old and it's been challenging but lots of fun (she's 1.5 years now). You make me think of how fun it will be to see her race one day soon. Deaf dogs are awesome! They are the only puppies who fall asleep in their crates at flyball tournaments! Every other puppy barks their brains out :)
ReplyDeleteHi
ReplyDeleteSo good to hear of a deaf dog competing so I'm starting to give up on mine! I have a deaf collie cross, and we have been doing flyball since Jan08, and she was doing really great up until about 6 weeks ago and she now wouldn't pick up the ball in training at all, she'll go up to box look at ball look at boxloader and come back to me! She plays with tennis balls all the time at home and in park but just wouldn't pick it up at training! Any ideas cos would love her to run someday, as know when she gets it she will love it even more. Thanks Magz
Dear Magz,
ReplyDeleteYou say your collie WILL play w/balls at home? Do you bring your box home w/you and work on box techniques w/ your deaf dog? If not, I would start doing that. Ask your Club or Team Captain for permission to bring the box home.
I would also take the box out of the picture at practice. Do some "dead ball retrieves" at practice.
Also, make sure your box loader is really animated and trying to keep your deaf dog's attention focused on the ball. Bounce the ball again and again BEFORE your deaf collie gets to the box/ball. Boxloaders are allowed to help a deaf dog with hand signals during a race. It's the only exception to the "no visual" help rule. Deaf dogs CAN get visual cues from the boxloader. Just remember to alert the Head Judge that your dog is deaf.
Let me know if these suggestions help at all.