Raising Deaf Dogs

Northern Express writer spends the weekend learning how to train four-legged friends who can’t hear

When I slammed the door of my Jeep and stepped onto the path leading to my friend’s house, the first thing I noticed was that the dogs on her porch didn’t wake at the sound of my car door.

Then I remembered. Katie’s dogs are deaf.

Katie Bott, who lives with her husband on a picturesque East Bay Township parcel affectionately called “The Bott Plot,” specializes in raising and training deaf dogs. The two pups sleeping on her porch weren’t the first dogs she’d adopted, and they certainly won’t be the last.

“Their names are Artemis and Icarus,” Katie had said to me earlier, revealing her penchant for Greek mythology and her admiration for two creatures she’d found worthy of celestial monikers.

As I approached the house, I noticed the dogs had large collars with grayish rectangular devices affixed to them, similar to the beepers I’d seen on hunting hounds in the Upper Peninsula. Later, Katie explained to me that the devices produce remote-controlled vibrations and, combined with sign language, serve as a training model that easily overcomes canine hearing disabilities.

I ascended the porch stairs, and by then, the dogs had smelled me, got up, stretched, and begun wagging their tails so vigorously their entire rear ends metronomed back and forth, bumping into porch furniture and reminding me of Three Stooges skits. I chuckled as I patted them on the head, learning quickly that deaf dogs aren’t so different from hearing pups.

Not So Different

“It was way past my bedtime in the early stages of the pandemic, and, like everyone else, I was doom scrolling,” says Katie, describing how she adopted the older of her two pups. “I came across an organization called H.A.N.D.D.S. to the Rescue [Helping Abused Neglected Displaced Disabled Souls]. They’d made a Facebook post featuring then-puppy Artemis and her littermates, and I just knew it was meant to be.”

Katie wasn’t kidding. On the day of the adoption event in which Artemis and other pups were to be offered to prospective owners on a first-come, first-serve basis, Katie took a thermos of coffee, a camp chair, and a novel to the adoption center and started waiting in line four hours early. (Icarus, who joined the family two years later, was also an adoptee from H.A.N.D.D.S. to the Rescue).

First up, Katie is quick to dismiss some common misconceptions about deaf dogs. “They’re not more challenging to train than hearing dogs,” she says, having trained both. “They just require a different training style.”

Early on in my visit, she demonstrated a few hand signals, signed commands that provide a simple equivalent to “Sit,” “Stay,” “Lie down,” and “Come.”

Second, Katie says deaf dogs are not more aggressive than hearing dogs, another common concern. “Deaf dogs startle more easily than hearing dogs, because they’re missing an important sensory perception,” she says. “But a startled dog doesn’t have to become aggressive. When you condition a dog to become used to being startled, they’re less likely to shoot first—or bite first—and ask questions later.”

Katie described a technique in which she and her husband would safely but intentionally startle their dogs as puppies until the pups became used to the experience.

Sadly, deaf dogs are euthanized at a rate much higher than hearing dogs due to a belief that deaf dogs will have a “bad life” otherwise. Katie says this is false and that deaf dogs can be given great lives.

Five minutes with Artemis and Icarus makes that truth abundantly clear.

Challenges and Benefits

As with all pet ownership, there are ups and downs. In this case, Katie says owners must get used to the fact that dogs who can’t hear are at risk of things that hearing dogs would be (mostly) safe from. Deaf dogs are statistically more likely to be hit by a car, to get into a surprise scuffle with wild animals, and to get lost. Also, reprimanding deaf dogs is more challenging, as they cannot hear you, so the traditional “bad dog!” is wasted on them.

But, according to Katie, all of these challenges can be mitigated. “Also, the benefits are too long to list. Deaf dogs aren’t bothered by fireworks, thunderstorms, firearms, traffic noises, raised voices, loud movies, or other dogs barking.”

Katie adds that deaf dogs tend to be big snugglers. She contends some of this is up to the personality of the specific dog and that she lucked out with her current pack of two, but also points out that because deaf dogs cannot place the location of their owner with their hearing alone, such dogs tend to be more attached at the hip, more likely to remain close to or even in physical contact with their owner.

“They just want to be your No. 1 buddy,” Katie says, smiling. “They tend to be more affectionate as a result of their disability.”

Over the course of the weekend, Katie showed me how simple life can be with hearing-impaired pups. For one, the dogs loved a good routine, which made caring for them surprisingly easy. Also, they typically wanted to be within sight of their humans, so they stayed within a reasonable distance. According to Katie, these traits are not unique to Artemis and Icarus and are common in deaf dogs.

Training and Socializing

Training deaf dogs looks a lot like training hearing dogs. Many of the same methods, treats, motivations, cues, commands, expectations, and boundaries are the same. They’re just implemented with different techniques. “You have to get a little creative,” Katie says.

“Vibrating collars, laser pointers, specific hand signals, good daily routines, a safe environment, and being able to anticipate their behavior go a long way in preventing harm,” she explains.

Deaf dogs don’t necessarily know they’re deaf, and other dogs definitely don’t. For owners, Katie recommends easing deaf dogs into social interactions with hearing dogs. Canine social cues like growling and barking aren’t discernible to deaf dogs. However, once socialized, deaf dogs can be great companions to other dogs.

“Deaf dogs require a close, personal relationship,” Katie adds after recalling an encounter she and Artemis had with a pack of coyotes. “They won’t hear wild animals approaching, so it’s up to you to keep an eye on your pup at all times. If you’re going to let them be outside alone, it’s best to keep them in a fenced yard.”

All of that time and support are part of what helps make the connection between a human and deaf dog incredibly strong.

“There are so many stories I have with the dogs, truly too many to count at this point,” Katie says in closing. “But I think my absolute favorite experience with them is a recurring one, but arguably one of the simplest. It’s when they wake themselves up from a sound sleep, just to see if I’m still there with them. As soon as they know I’m there, they immediately relax and drift back off. They don’t need anything; they aren’t getting up. They just needed to make sure I was still in the room with them. It melts my heart every single time.”

To learn more about adopting or fostering dogs, visit Traverse City’s H.A.N.D.D.S. to the Rescue online at handdstotherescue.com or follow their Facebook page for frequent updates on adoption drives and other events.

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