tactile toys like crunchy water bottles, soft plush, and rubber teething toys give your dog a chance to experience new textures. just put an empty plastic water bottle inside a sock, then tightly tie the sock shut. i personally love “hide a treat” type puzzles (like #8) because they not only mentally stimulate but also engage your dog’s sense of smell. i have a dog with an incredibly high prey drive and destroying a plush toy helps alleviate some of …

and when we take the element of sound out of the equation, it can be really confusing to know where to start; for example, how do you get a deaf dog’s attention if they’re not looking at you? and how do you alert other people to the fact that your dog is hard of hearing when you’re out and about? amazon has some great ones that make it really easy for people to see that your pooch is hard of …

of course, this process is different from training a hearing dog and comes with its own set of challenges. that way, if your dog loses hearing in old age, he is already familiar with the signs for the various commands. there are a few things you can do to get a deaf dog to look at you, such as stamping your foot on the floor. you can train a dog to look at you by turning a flashlight on and …

today, there’s a good deal of information out there about living with a deaf dog. other dogs can go deaf from a variety of causes, ranging from chronic ear infections or injuries to drug toxicity and old age, says george m. strain, phd, a leading veterinary researcher on the causes of deafness in dogs and a professor of neuroscience at the school of veterinary medicine, louisiana state university. dalmatians seem to be the most at risk, he says, with 30% …

the most important aspect of the learning process is to introduce your puppy to the environments and situations she is likely to experience throughout her life. the brain of a puppy is like a sponge and every experience is stored away in her memory, building her personality. puppies are learning all the time, not just when they are being trained, so your behavior and the way you handle your puppy will influence her development. all puppies need boundaries, but these …