canine
Positive Associations
Debbie Bauer discusses the key roles of empowerment, confidence and protection in raising
a blind or deaf puppy
T
Photo © Debbie Bauer
Blind and deaf puppies need to create positive associations to build up their confidence, just like other puppies
here they were – two of the fluffiest, most adorable, white collie puppies that I had ever seen. They were barking and wrestling with each other on the summer grass. I sat on the ground with my camera trying to capture their innocence, and laughing out loud at their antics. To all the world, they looked like all the other playful puppies. But truth be told, they were very fortunate puppies. They were double merles, and both had been born with significant sight and hearing impairments. One puppy was completely blind and deaf, while the other was blind with a hearing impairment. Many puppies born like these two would not have been allowed to live, or would have ended up in less than ideal situations. I knew how important these early weeks and months would be to the rest of their lives and to whomever their new families would be and a lot was resting on what I could teach them in the next weeks and months in my home.
Empowerment vs. Protection
When teaching blind and deaf puppies, it is always a fine line between empowering them and building their confidence, while also protecting them from getting hurt. Just like any other puppy, one less than ideal experience can imprint on them and affect how they will feel about and respond to that experience in the future. This required that I take extra steps to protect them. I had to think ahead in every circumstance and set them up for absolute safety in their exploration. Even giving them freedom to run in a safe area required some planning – were there trees they could run into? Bushes with low branches that could poke their eyes? Holes or drop-offs they might fall into? Of course, safety considerations are important with puppies that can 30
BARKS from the Guild/July 2018
Photo © Debbie Bauer
Although one might need to slightly adapt training techniques for deaf and blind puppies, the concepts remain the same
see, also. However, blind puppies cannot see the things that other puppies are aware of and can avoid. Thus, when they run into an obstacle, it can cause injury and pain, and also cause fear that can be detrimental to their confidence to explore new places. They may withdraw within themselves and be afraid to run and play or venture very far from a particular spot. Protection is key, without going overboard. They still need to explore and be puppies. If I had babied my foster pups and not let them have the same experiences as other puppies, their world would remain much smaller and perhaps scarier. Setting them up for success raised their confidence in themselves and their trust in me and their environment. I set up many learning experiences in my home where I could provide a safe environment while also introducing new socialization opportunities. The puppies used surfaces and textures to give them information about their environment. It was important for me to show them that different surfaces were safe while they were still young. Obstacle courses allowed me to put down surfaces that were slippery, squishy, rough, carpeted, and even surfaces that moved when they stepped on them. They were never coerced in any way – the choice was always theirs to explore. Sometimes they stepped on a surface that they didn’t especially like and they moved off of it right away. That was fine with me. I allowed them to experiment and learn. Had I pressured them with treats and trying to lure them closer, they may have gotten more stressed about the surface. I let them decide as they were ready about each one. And they would always come back to revisit the ones they weren’t sure about. It was fascinating to watch them gathering information in the way that made the most sense to them. They also gained confidence from each other in some situations. When I first brought the puppies home, they were very reactive to