Top 10 Reasons To Adopt a Deaf Dog

1.) You are forced to learn something new. Me? I had to learn how to TRAIN Aurora. It was new for both of us, and that was very rewarding and very bonding.
We got to "know" each other as I learned ASL (american sign language) and taught her the meanings of the hand signals. I became so passionate about ASL that someday I hope to be able to become an interpreter for people, as well as continuing to train other deaf dogs.

2.) You realize you don't know as much as you think you do. I thought I pretty much knew everything 'basic' about dogs that there was to know. How much is there to know, really? Well, a LOT to be honest!
I've realized the subtleties that exist in the way dogs communicate. When you work with a deaf dog, you realize it's NOT all about the voice, but about the energy, the body movements and body language and facial expressions. Nothing is trivial. I never realized it as much as I do since Aurora came into my life.

3.) Life is never boring with a "deafie". I can't think of a day that has gone by in the past 2 years with Aurora that she hasn't made me giggle, smile, our outright laugh hysterically at some of her behaviors. I have no idea why she does it, but when it's lunch or dinner time for Aurora, she runs around my living room, chasing her own shadow and barking at it. Why? I have no idea...but it sure is kind of cute.

4.) You WILL be challenged. You have to THINK, you have to learn, you have to really work 'out of the box' when training and working with a deaf dog. You have to be creative. I've come up with some pretty interesting and silly hand signals and movements to help me communicate with Aurora. I guess you could say that at this point, I could become a pretty good mime. I've learned to not just smile and look happy when she does something right, but to OVERexaggerate so she understands that my reaction to what she does is Positive. I have to overact "angry" if she does something wrong, while doing a "no-no" ASL hand sign. It seems like everyday I'm honing my non-verbal communication, but it's really been rewarding and helped me in other areas of my life as well. Don't underestimate the importance of NOT speaking!

5. You will be amazed at what they can do. There's a saying in the deaf community, "the deaf can do anything you can do, but hear". I always say Aurora can do everything hearing dogs can do, except hear.
To date, Aurora knows over 25 "words"/hand signals, she knows tricks like dance, speak (she's learning individual words now- like saying "aurora" and "mama"). Aurora graduated from Basic Obedience at the top of her class, along with a 3 legged dog. The two of them put all the hearing dogs in the class to shame several times! Soon after graduating, Aurora also passed her therapy dog test and is now going into her 2nd year as a certified/registered therapy dog with Therapy Dogs Incorporated.

6.) You may find yourself volunteering more and becoming an activist! (and that's a good thing!)
Personally, I've found myself spending more and more time educating everyone I meet about deaf dogs. Did you know that many breeders, when they find they have a deaf dog in a litter, euthanize it, not even giving the dog a CHANCE at any type of life? Knowing and loving Aurora, I give thanks everyday that her original breeder didn't know she was deaf before shipping her out to her new home. If things were different, Aurora might not be here today, and anyone who has met her can tell you that the world would be a little emptier without her in it. Don't think that it's only UNethical breeders who breed & euthanize deaf dogs- Aurora's parents were champions and she came from an excellent breeder. Aurora's mom was a Canadian champion and her dad is a champion from Norway. It just so happened that her sire & dam were both white and Aurora got the 'deaf white' gene as I call it. I know breeders personally who have shown at Westminster regularly for almost 10 years and have shown dogs myself. Breeders at shows (Detroit Kennel Club) and conformation classes have told me point blank that if they bred a deaf dog they'd have it euthanized- and these are breeders who are very political about their ethics! They are NOT backyard breeders or puppymillers.
I just wanted to add that because of a comment that I received (thanks Lynn!) that gave me some food for thought. I do speak from experience when it comes to talking about what most breeders do. I'm not making generalizations or broad sweeping judgements, and I'm in no way saying breeders who bred and euthanize deaf dogs should be punished- I think they need to be EDUCATED. Big difference! I want them to realize there ARE options...they can adopt the dog out, get in touch with purebred rescues (Crest-Care has adopted out SEVERAL deaf chinese cresteds, but there are many other rescues out there for every breed) for help, or they can contact deaf dog rescue for help or advice. Anyway, that said, I check craigslist, kijiji, petfinder and other classifieds for people listing deaf dogs. I try to get them in touch with the deaf and disabled dog rescues. In the future, I hope to meet more and more dog breeders and let them know that if they breed a deaf dog, I would love to get it from them and give it a fighting chance at a wonderful life.I think they all deserve a chance.

7.) The bond you have with a deaf dog is for life and is unbreakable. They count on you to show them what to do, they watch you to see how YOU react to things, so they know how to react. They follow you and look to you for help, support and love. They trust you 100% and give you everything they have. To me, THAT'S priceless.

8.) You get to meet a lot of truly incredible, amazing people. Go to the deaf dogs yahoo group, D2Care.org, deafdogs.org, or my absolute favorite new rescue I've discovered: http://www.petswithdisabilities.org/
Read some of the stories, meet the people who run these rescues and sites. They're ANGELS, saviors, caring, loving people who do so much and sacrifice so much to help dogs who no one else will help. In this sometimes selfish, scary world it's comforting to know that individuals like Joyce Darrell and her husband Michael Dickerson are out there. They founded Pets with Disabilities. Support them and do all you can, because they do! We should all be so lucky as to have people like them on our side.

9.) It wouldn't be me to not put something funny in here, so here goes! You don't have to worry about your dog barking at the doorbell, being afraid of thunder or fireworks, and they won't run to the kitchen when you open a bag of chips. For more, visit the humor page here: http://deafdogs.org/faq/humor.php

10.) Your life will never be the same: it will be BETTER. If I have to explain that, you haven't been paying attention. ;)

I think the best way to keep a dog mentally healthy and stimulated is to keep teaching them new things. My way is kind of a building block approach.
I first taught Aurora to speak about a year and a half ago. It was somewhat accidental!
The only noises she ever made when I first got her was her ear-shattering SCREAM when she couldn't find me-also known as "MOOOOOOoooooommmmm!!!" But that was a negative noise- she was doing it because she had separation anxiety (more on that later!)
Aurora would sometimes bark when she was playing...also crazy-loud. Imagine not being able to hear yourself talk- you YELL, right? Same with a deaf dog and barking. You can't get mad at them for it, they can't tell how loud they are.
Again, that's a topic for another time, as I did teach Aurora to talk/bark/express herself quietly!
So how did Aurora learn to speak on command?
It wasn't that difficult. I used a training technique called "Shaping". Essentially you are shaping the dog's behavior by rewarding them when they do what you want them to do, most of the time when you haven't asked them to do it - that worked best with Aurora.
One day, she was watching Rusty eat. (Rusty is my tiny 7 lb. italian greyhound). Aurora (and my other dogs) know they aren't allowed to touch or steal food from anyone.
Aurora, being a good girl, didn't touch Rusty's food, but she DID lay right next to Rusty and make these little 'talking' sounds. Aurora whined a bit, made little 'woof' noises (super quiet ones) and other little expressive sounds. It was ADORABLE! She was basically talking, saying "can I have some? you gonna' finish that???"
Well, I pounced on the opportunity to teach Aurora something new. I knew what she WANTED was the kibble in Rusty's bowl. I knew she was making noises trying to beg for it. So what did I do? I quickly looked up an ASL (sign language) sign for "talk/chat" and began to do it, ONLY in anticipation of Aurora making a noise. The SECOND her mouth would start to move, I'd make the sign, then give her a "good girl" sign IMMEDIATELY afterward along with a piece of kibble. If you look at it all together, she began to see that "that sign mom does=me making that noise=me getting that kibble!"
You can teach a deaf dog SOOOooo many things using this process, aka, shaping behavior.
Aurora is now moving on to learning to say actual WORDS!!! She can say "mama" and her name on command. How I did that is in part 2 of teaching a deaf dog to talk...stay tuned!