Kindergarten teacher Jo Le Page and her family welcomed a Spanish Water Dog puppy named Rafa this past June but quickly realized there was something different about the dog. The white-haired dog does not respond to loud noises, even the shrill sound of a smoke alarm.
While the rest of the family wants to return Rafa and find a new puppy, Jo has other plans. She did a Google search for dog sign language and “it opened up a whole new world.”
Rafa is now seven months old and Jo has taught him nine sign language commands, including “sit”, “stand”, “watch me”, “turn”, “put your feet”, “lie down”. “come here”, “stay” and “safe”, refer to him walking at Jo’s feet, turning around and waiting for further instructions. The smart dog mastered all of this in just eight weeks!
Rehomed Deaf Pit Bull she will definitely return to the shelter again
A dog with different abilities
The Le Page family, who live on the British island of Guernsey, discovered their new puppy was deaf just a day after bringing it home.
“He didn’t react to any noises and he wouldn’t wake up when we walked in,” Jo said. “He didn’t respond to loud drills or smoke alarms.”
Despite being deaf, Rafa has learned to rely on her other senses. Jo found that he studied his surroundings closely, picking up visual cues in the absence of hearing.
She said: “Rafa will turn around when the other puppies hear the noise and will follow them all. “He was always good at following the cues of other puppies.”
As a white dog, Rafa was likely born deaf. Like AKC explain,
“The cochlea is the most common cause of deafness and is related to coat color patterns. It is commonly seen in dogs with the piebald color gene or the merle color gene. It can cause deafness in one or both ears and is more visible when combined with blue eyes and a white coat. This type of deafness can be seen for the first time between 1 and 3 weeks of age.”
An important lesson
Although deaf dogs can be more difficult to train, Jo is up for the challenge.
“Our initial thought was that it would be difficult or impossible to train a dog that cannot hear,” she says. “We thought it would certainly not be possible to lose his lead on a walk. Education and training have proven that all of our fears are false.”
Rafa proved to be an excellent student. He is inquisitive and very responsive to toys and rewards for a job well done.
“Training is done with hand signals. Agree is used as a compliment,” explains Jo. “You can’t use your hands in a negative way, so it’s hard to show something unacceptable.”
The puppy’s incredible progress in just eight weeks proves that deaf dogs can do anything that dogs hear, albeit differently. Jo said the experience “was a huge lesson for the whole family.”
“This is just the beginning of his journey and we just take it one day at a time,” she said.
Watch Rafa and Jo in action!
