After Being Abandoned 5 Times, This Deaf Pup Finds His Home And Learns Sign Language

[geardaddy]

https://www.boredpanda.com/deaf-dog-learns-sign-language/

A ten-month-old deaf Staffordshire puppy Ivor had a rough start in life. Due to his disability, he was abandoned by 5 families before even reaching the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals).

The pup had trust issues, but the staff at the RSPCA Centre showed him enough love and attention and Ivor turned a new leaf as a trusting and sweet dog.

In December Ivor found his forever home with Ellie Bromilow – a woman, who fell in love with the dog despite his deafness. “He’d already learned the sign command for ‘sit’ and ‘come’ from the staff at the RSPCA center, but now he knows lots more like ‘lie down’, ‘stay’, ‘all gone’ and he’s learning ‘roll over’,” she said to express.co.uk.

“Having a deaf dog is just like having a hearing dog. We still speak to him as we sign and I chat to him a lot – even though he can’t hear a word.”

Ivor has a huge personality. He loves to go for walks and has a great sense of smell. “We use that for games to keep him occupied. We hide lots of treats around the house for him to find.”

It’s so nice to know that after such a rough start, Ivor now has his loving forever family.

That is one cute pup!

[janterry]

1. Why would anyone abandon a dog for deafness?

I just can't imagine. I'd never do that.

(Plus, he's so cute!)

[geardaddy]

4. I know, right?!

He's adorable!

[ailsagirl]

5. And it happened five different times!!!

Last edited Thu Apr 12, 2018, 02:23 PM - Edit history (3)

Wow-- that's really cold

I'm so glad he's found a worthy home

[thesquanderer]

20. My guess is the big problem was that it was very difficult to housebreak him. (n/t)

[Rhiannon12866]

21. I know!

And I've had more than one dog become hard of hearing when they got older - we learn to adjust. I actually used some sign language with my cocker spaniel.

[awesomerwb1]

2. Gorgeous pup!

Go Ivor!

[Lil Missy]

3. (*sniff!*)

[procon]

6. I had a deaf cat, she had long, luxurious, beautiful white fur, and I trained her to come

with a strobe light. My DH bought an emergency flashlight that had a strobe light and she was very interested in the bright flashing light. She always wore a bell on her collar to help us keep track of her whereabouts, but sometimes she would go hide and I'd be all worried that she'd slipped out until she popped up again.

I filched DH's flashlight hoping to use the strobe to call her because I had seen how deaf people rely on flashing lights instead of sounds for things like answering the door, andit worked! It wasn't hard to teach her to come, just a lot of time and patience for her to associate the strobe light with her favorite treat. If she could see that strobe light go off, even from another room, she would come trotting right to me, tail up and singing the song of her people, eager for a tidbit.

Her name was Pearl and I still miss her.

[fleur-de-lisa]

10. What a sweet story! You are an angel.

I have a blind cat named Echo. She was a feral so she doesn't really want much human interaction. My friend who found her also gave me the mom and sister cats and all 3 are inside-only now. But that's another reason why Echo doesn't need me. She has her feline family. The sister is now very friendly, the mother probably never will be.

I really need to figure out a way to bond with Echo. When I pick her up she pees all over the place.

[procon]

13. I've had a few feral cats, too.

We have a big barn and over the years I've adopted a few special barn cats to be indoor cats by making sure that they had to stay in the rooms we were in, no hiding spots. That way they could get constant exposure to people activities and frequent interactions with lots of hand fed food.

You might never be able to hold your blind cat as she probably instinctively associates that sort of contact with being captured and about to be eaten which triggers her fear response of peeing. Since she wasn't socialized with people as a baby there is no bond to humans and her fears are constantly being reinforced because she has her feral cat family teaching her to be afraid.

Try just sitting near her, always speaking softly and offer petting and scratching. I've had good success in taming barn cats by feeding most of their wet food from a spoon while petting and talking to them. If the cats have places to hide to stay away from people, it makes it harder to change their behaviors and she may never trust you enough to let you have more than a brief contact.

Socialization will take a long time, not just because she's blind, but because she has learned to be afraid of people from the behaviors of the feral mother cat, a lesson that is constantly repeated. Be patient, the goal should be for her to want to come to you as the primary provider of good stuff. Even if she never comes around, you provided her with a safe home and that's what's important.

[red dog 1]

14. Good advice!

[Laffy Kat]

7. I've rescued two deafies.

They are wonderful pets and make up for the deafness by being the most intuitive pups you will ever meet. They were so tuned-in to my body language, the deafness is actually a non-issue. My first girl learned about 30 signs (she died at 15) and my current dog,my soul-mate, is a 10-year-old deaf catahoula=mix, knows about 10 or 12 signs, and honestly IMO, that's all you need. They are so eager to please and they are Velcro doggos, never leaving your side.

[geardaddy]

8. That is so cool that they learned sign language.

Dogs are so damn smart!

[Laffy Kat]

11. When you think about it, it's not really different from verbal commands.

A lot of trainers think that even hearing dogs should be taught sign as well as verbal, as it is so common for older dogs to lose their hearing as they age. On edit: It's not that hard to simply add a sign with the word as you train.

[geardaddy]

12. We do that with our dog

Both the verbal and a hand sign.

[niyad]

9. yayyyyy for ivor and his wonderful human--and boooooo hisss to the five horrid people.

[red dog 1]

15. He's beautiful!

Thanks for posting this story

[shenmue]

16. Squee

[onethatcares]

17. I have a deaf boxer

and she's the smartest, sweetest dog I ever had the pleasure to share life with.

sadly, she's 14 yo and failing slowly.

[Duppers]

18. Bless you & your baby girl.

(All dogs are babies to me.)

[Duppers]

19. Too many people are heartless assholes.

I prefer the company of most pups anyway.