Angel as a puppy.

Hand signals can be the answer to training and building trust

The owner of a rescued deaf Staffordshire bull terrier cross has urged others to consider adopting deaf dogs - saying it can be a highly rewarding experience.

Elaine Crowder of Crawley in West Sussex adopted staffie-cross Angel from the RSPCA Millbrook animal centre in Chobham in Surrey two years ago. Since then she has taught Angel 15 hand signals and says she wants to challenge the misconceptions around owning a deaf dog.

“The minute I saw little Angel’s picture on the Millbrook website I knew she was the dog for me. She was only seven weeks old and we were hooked in straight away. We had been looking for a companion for our other dog Charlie and we knew we wanted to re-home one instead of buying one. When I read her description I wanted her even more, she had been dumped at the centre in a cardboard box with all her sisters and brother, all of which were deaf apart from the one boy. Having never owned a deaf dog before I was a little worried but nonetheless I went to meet her anyway.”

Elaine met Angel and said she knew straight away she knew she would be taking her home.

 “She was mischievously running around pulling up weeds and shaking mud everywhere, being just as troublesome as any other puppy. For the whole time we were there for our first visit not once did I think about the fact that she couldn't hear me. I didn’t see her any other way than you would your average puppy. We took our boy Charlie to meet her and they got on straight away. Before we knew it we had passed the home check and she was coming home with us.

“I found a fantastic dog trainer and Angel seemed to pick up on the hand signals really quickly, she was even top dog in class. She still had her off days but doesn’t any puppy? The thing I loved most about training her was the way she stared at me with such content. The need for eye contact with me in order for her to understand what I wanted her to do meant she was fixated on me rather than what was going on around us which made it a lot easier to keep her attention. Now don’t get me wrong the first time I unclipped that lead to let her have a run I was panicking inside. Luckily I have Charlie to help recall her but to my shock she would constantly check where I was and came back as soon as I signalled."

She says she wouldn’t change Angel for the world.

“Yes she’s deaf but I can honestly say it doesn’t make her any less of a dog or faithful companion. I love her dearly. To be honest I will teach all my future dogs sign language as its fantastic for when they are a long way off in a field or you’ve lost your voice, and just makes them that much more clever.

 “Please don’t be put off just because they can’t hear you it really does have its advantages; they can’t hear fireworks, loud cars or people shouting of a nighttime. If the dog sitting next to you at training is whining it is no problem as they are concentrating on you and not looking/listening to everyone else. I have to say when I first took Angel home I really didn’t know what to expect but honestly once you’ve got the hand signals sorted - which is a lot easier than people think - its just like owning any other dog.”

Sadly it is often difficult for the RSPCA, and other rescue charities, to re-home deaf dogs. Lady, a one-year-old American bulldog cross, is currently the longest stay dog in the care of RSPCA Millbrook and has been at the centre for around 300 days despite appearing on ITV's This Morning programme and Channel Five's The Dog Rescuers. For more details on Lady please see www.rspca.org.uk/findapet/details/-/Animal/LADY/ref/102706/rehome/. 

Image courtesy of the RSPCA