Our dog- the sassy boxer

For those who know, we have a female dog named Clover. Yep, thats her name. She is a white boxer that we brought into our home almost two years ago. The second we brought her home we banged on pots and pans discovered she was deaf. At first we mourned the thoughts of not having a hearing dog but we were confident in our ability to work with her specific needs( with some help of a trained professional). Heck, each member in this household has specific needs that we met so why not for our dog?

I forced myself to forget the daydreams of my boys running in a field while calling our her name. Throwing her balls and telling her what a good girl she is. Ha! I immediately shifted my focus on the good this could be. What are the attritubes you ask in having a deaf dog:

1. She is an amazing sleeper- no matter where or who is over, if she is tired she will go to sleep.

2. When someone knocks on the door she does immediately start barking- this rocks because she actually notices how we react to the door and then knows if someone is knocking. But, never does she bark. We actually changed the way we answered the door, in a "calm summissive state" as a well known dog trainer says. With that she actually watches how we react, and she does the same.

3. Uses her bark for commmunication- this might have some to do with her being deaf and her being just who she is as a being. She never has been a big barker. As a puppy she barked when she was frighten or wanted to play. As she has grown, she has decided to use her voice as a way to let us know that she wants to play. Which is pretty kick arse if I do say so myself.

4.Because she is our pet. Ya this has nothing to do with the subject but totally worth adding.

Of course there have been times that I have felt overwhelmed with her. But, it always seemed to be the energy and attention I presented to her. There was a time that I actually did not know how to communicate my needs to her as our pet. I gave myself a challenge, and told a few close people in my life so that it was set out in the world for all to hear. What was my goal you may ask?

To exercise, walk, or play with her for thirty days straight. With two kids under 5 and an active household, the family pet tends to get the short end of the stick. I, consciencely decided to react and engage with our Clover constantly.

Did it work? YES!

Now it is my time to brag on Clover. Here are all the commands this girl knows with signs I have introduced to her. You don't have to know sign language to talk to your dog. Actually you can make up your own signs, incorporate your children with signs that are easy for them or ones they came up with, and teach them to your dog.

Clover knows:
cookie/treat
walk
play
car
stop
gentle
sit
stay
outside
look at me
potty
food
"I'll be right back"- this is one we use when we place her in the crate for a specific reason. As a puppy she had pretty bad seperatation anxiety and crate fear. This helped calm her knowing we would come right back.

Shout out to a great doggie trainer, Wanda Woodworth, in her help and introduction to how we could speak to our girl:)