The difficulty in training a deaf dog comes in when you have to communicate with it. However while you can’t use verbal commands, hand signals can work just as well and allow you to give all the commands you need.

Just like when you use verbal commands for a dog, the hand signals need to be clear and precise. You also need to make sure all your hand signals are different enough from each other so there won’t be any confusion. The simpler the better in most cases – just make sure your signals are distinguishable at large distances.

Training A Deaf Dog – The First Step

Because your dog won’t be able to identify the pitch and tone of your voice to know when it’s done something wrong or right the first thing you need to do is teach the dog the “well done” or “yes” signal.

This is usually simple enough, just associate the signal with a treat that you give your dog for good behaviour. It will soon learn that the signal is good and he should try to see it more often!

Training A Deaf Dog – Getting Attention

As your dog is deaf you won’t have the use of his name to get his attention, so you need to come up with a hand signal for that too. This signal can be anything you like as long as it is clear and simple.

To get your dog to look at your just use a treat again. When the dog looks up perform the hand signal.

These first two steps are the foundations of training a deaf dog. Make sure you and the dog are comfortable with the “well done” and attention hand signals before moving on.

Training A Deaf Dog – Actual Commands

Now your dog knows when you’re pleased with it and you can get its attention, you have everything you need to start training. Once these basic steps are out the way, training becomes much like it would for a dog who has prefect hearing.

In short, you get the dog to perform the action you want it to and then reward it for doing it while issuing a specific hand signal.

Telling off or reprimanding the puppy for crying isn’t going to do any dog either. Think of your puppy like a new born baby. It has little control over what it feels and its actions, and if it gets shouted at it is only going to become more confused.

It’s completely natural that first night puppies feel scared and alone. Dogs love to have a routine, and if suddenly everything they’ve known the whole of their short life – their home, mother and siblings – is taken away it is no doubt they get upset.

So what can you do to help your puppy? First of all, make sure you have a safe place for your puppy set up. This could be in the form of a crate (which will be very useful later on in the puppies life) or a fenced off area of the house. I would recommend a crate as a puppy feels safer when enclosed and it will help when you start to house train the dog.

You might also find that covering the crate with a sheet or cloth (with adequate breathing holes) helps to keep the puppy calm. It will also teach him that when the blanket is put over the crate it is sleep time.

It can be difficult to know what to do if your puppy is continues to cry every night. You can’t go to it to stop it crying, but you don’t feel you can leave it either. If this is the case, as a last resort you could try having the crate in your bedroom when the puppy sleeps. This way the puppy knows it is not alone as you’re near.

The first few nights of having a puppy are often the hardest, and they usually set the ground rules for a long time to come. If you come to your dog when it cries, or allow your dog to sleep in your bed this could quickly become a routine that is difficult to break. It is fairer on the dog to treat the first night puppies as you will treat them for the rest of their life. This will also help in the future with general puppy training.

If you would like an indepth guide to house training, have a look at “House Train Your Dog“.

So here are a few tips on housebreaking puppies that might be useful to you:

• First and foremost, give the pup all the love and attention it needs. This probably won’t be difficult for most owners! However, it’s important to not make it feel unwanted and unloved. You have to make the puppy feel loved, comfortable and at home before you start the housebreaking routine. This is one of the most important tips on housebreaking puppies.

• Another essential tip on housebreaking puppies is to remember to include the entire family in the process of housebreaking. Everyone should contribute in their own special way and make sure that the puppy is never left unmonitored. But a special mention about the method of housebreaking should be made here. The whole family has to follow the same procedure and train the puppy accordingly. If there are too many instructions in too many different ways, the puppy will get confused.

• The next tip on housebreaking puppies would be to remember not to be too harsh with the puppy. You have to realize that accidents happen and that the puppy won’t always eliminate in the house on purpose. If you keep on scolding the puppy or yelling every time there is an accident, you won’t achieve anything and the puppy will only get scared of you. This can permanently damage the puppy/owner relationship.

• Puppies usually urinate or poop at the same spot, which they identify by sniffing. So if an accident occurs inside the house, clean the are properly and deodorize it as well so that the puppy can’t locate it the next time around.

• Praise and award the puppy every time it responds positively to the housebreaking process. This will do wonders to the confidence of the puppy and will pick up the training faster.

Keep these tips on housebreaking puppies in mind and you will not have any difficulty in training your puppy to keep the house clean! Shower the little guy with a lot of love and be patient and success will be yours.