Deaf Dog Hand Signals
10 January 2012
24 Comments
These signs are not special or official sign language for dogs. They are not from a book of signs. They are simply ones made up to use with my deaf dog Berkeley.
For more information about living with and training a deaf dog, please see Deaf Dogs.
Deaf Dog Hand Signs
This is only a very small sample. You can add to them and adapt them in whatever way you like. The main thing to bear in mind is that whatever signs you choose you must be consistent. Make a note of the signs you intend to use and maybe draw or photograph them. Put them on the fridge door or somewhere easy to view and stick to those signs.
To get their attention | Lie down | Come here |
Stay | Go in the garden / do a wee | Walkies |
I'm going out (without you) | Lets play / Get your toy | Drop |
Down | Bring it to me | Eat / Dinner time |
No / Stop it | Someone is at the door | Sit |
Quiet / Calm down | All done / Finished | |
By Jenny Prevel
© D for Dog www.dfordog.co.uk
This article belongs strictly to D for Dog and we do not authorise the copying of all or any part of it.
I found this so helpful 'as am hoping to take on a dog who is def and partly sighted. The sighs seem not to hard for a dog to pick up. The only one I don't see a sigh for is to get him to go to bed.
For got to bed on our partially sighted deaf dog we simply point to the bed. She pick this up quite quickly
Our dog knows what it means but shakes her head no and lays down.
Is there a sit sign
Yes, sit is shown above. We used a fairly standard sit sign but don't forget you can use whatever you like, these were just examples of ones we made up. Use whatever you like, just be consistent :-)
need help as our german shepard is going deaf
Hi there, I’m looking for a trainer for our deaf puppy.. do you have any one to recommend? We live in London SE4. Thank you Monica
Can I ask if these are American sign language signs? I have taught dogs with hand signals but not these. If I should do it differently I would like to know!
These signs are not special or official. They are not from a book of signs. They are simply ones made up to use with my deaf dog Berkeley.
At first I thought Bj didn't like his name, he is my forth generation I had his great great great grandparents his great great grand father his great grandfather(who was the best dog I've ever had) and his Daddy RIP to all my babies my babies are straight up hienz 57s but there so beautiful! My 3 babies were saved from the mother's owner who only was looking to make money off the babies there short haired and were made to stay outside in 40° weather in a tent and I'm curious if that played any roll in bj being deaf I don't know if any other than the three I have are deaf I just know my white one blue eye one brown eyed baby can't hear at all but his sister and brother help him he learned to sit by watching them and he recognizes my hand sign to sit
It is quite common for white dogs to be deaf, not all.
What about signs for good boy or good girl? Positive reinforcement is important.
Hi Kelly, thinking about it, we didn't have a specific sign for good boy. He could tell when he had done well. I think people naturally grin, pat them, give them a treat... you know, all those kinds of things, when a dog does well and maybe we exaggerated them more without thinking about it. So no, we never had a particular sign for "good boy". I did sometimes used to use a head tap to say "yes" but that kind of just evolved as he was very ball intent (staring at his ball) so I needed a sign where I touched him. If you want one, you can make up any one you like :-)
Wow, I'd have thought it was obvious...thumbs up sign for Good Boy/Girl. I do it with our hearing dogs already, as they will likely go deaf with age, when they will need it most!
I use both thumbs up in a wiggly way for extra emphasis. And a big smile, they really read your expressions.
My 8 year old dog went deaf after being treated for a yeast infection with Claro Otic. The signs you picture, for the most part, are IMO useless.
And why is that Gretchen?
All seem perfectly logical, Gretchen - However, as stated by DForDog, they are suggested, not mandatory. I hope you are not so negative with your canine companion, who probably doesn't understand your opinion either.
I have a deaf dog and we are both learning hand commands. It's definitely a new language and my dog and I work daily so we can understand each other. Keep an open mind. Dogs are smarter than us in many ways and pick up cues we don't.
This is a great sample but they also stress to use what works. I think we "talk"more with our hands than we think and with my deaf pup, it's really been easy BUT you have to be consistent. For taking a ride, I pretend having both hands on a steering wheel moving back and forth....dinner time is putting my fingers to my mouth and then I "chew"....Most all signing can be same as you'd use for your toddler.
I just adopted a 14 y/o cockapoo who is deaf. I picked up some pointers from this article. We communicate pretty well for only being together two weeks but he is a barker. It is good that he barks to let me know he needs to go out, needs water or food, get on the bed, or wants to play. But he barks long after he gets my attention and I am in route to meet his needs. He also barks every time I go in the kitchen to get something, clean, or just sit at the table. He also barks when he can't find me. Any tips to control the barking?
This is wonderful! I rescued a little Pomsky, no hair, terribly malnourished, abused, etc. Turned out he is also deaf, 3/4 blind and not potty trained. If I touch him when he’s sleeping, he goes crazy; also if anyone comes near me. Crazy meaning frantic, terrified, snarling, snapping. The rest of the time he is a loving, sweet angel. Any extra suggestions for me, or what I should look for in a dog trainer (he is so bad with strangers I’m afraid most would be mean to him and that’s part of his problem, the prior abuse). He’s almost 10 yrs old. Thank you for sharing this good info with us.
Thank you. Helpful information to talk to my recently adopted 12 year old Lab. Some of the signs we have already been doing. It's just hard when he pretends he's blind too so he can keep doing his own thing!!
Does anyone have ideas of how to communicate with a deaf dog in the dark? She can't see.my hand signals when we walk at night.