Lisa May
October 5, 2012
Dogs and Sign Language
Stop and consider how many times you have heard the
following scene play out with a passionate dog owner: "What a pretty
girl! Come over here and sit for mommy!" This scene begs the
question as to whether dogs understand the conversations we have
with them. It also begs the question whether a deaf person would
make a good dog owner. The answer to the latter question is an
unequivocal YES! In fact, the deaf community probably makes better
dog owners than the hearing community. The reason is that dogs do
not understand the words we speak to them. What dogs learn to react
to is body language and gestures. What the dogs "learn" is, in
effect, sign language.
Renowned dog trainer Cesar Milan says, "dogs don't
understand the meaning of sit any more than they understand the word
birthday" ("Cesarsway," 2012, para. 2). He encourages people to
teach commands like 'sit' with silence and body language before ever
adding a sound or saying the word 'sit' ("Cesarsway," 2012).
Coincidentally, sign language is also used to
communicate when the dog is deaf. The website for the Deaf Dog
Education Action Fund states, "Training a deaf dog is really not so
very different from training a hearing one, you just 'talk' in a
different language" (Deaf Dog Education Action Fund website, n.d.,
para. 1). The website explains that, "Because we depend so much on
speech, we tend to think that dogs communicate that way too, when in
fact, they don't" (Deaf Dog Education Action Fund website, n.d.,
para. 1). It further notes that, "Dogs who compete for obedience
titles are required to learn hand signs to receive their UD (Utility
Dog) title" (Deaf Dog Education Action Fund website, n.d., para. 1).
With regard to the use of hand signs, the website indicates that any
sign or gesture can be used; however, many people choose to use
American Sign Language (ASL). An advantage of doing so is that
anyone who knows ASL can communicate with the dog. Another advantage
of using ASL with the dogs is that it eliminates the challenge of
making up all your own hand signs (Deaf Dog Education Action Fund
website, n.d.).
Another article on barkingbuddies.com relays
information on testing that was done to determine if dogs respond to
words when obeying human commands. The researchers found that dogs
that obeyed verbal commands from a human standing directly in front
of them did not perform as well when the same verbal commands were
issued over an intercom system. Additional researchers found that
dogs responded to mixed up words such as "fly clown" instead of "lie
down" when given with the same hand gestures. Overall, the article
concludes that body language is a very important key to a dog's
ability to understand what we are communicating (Marshall, "n.d.").
Given dogs do not understand the words we use, sign
language eliminates the frustration and conflicting negative emotion
that can arise when we speak directly to the dogs without success.
The act of signing delivers a physical gesture the dogs can see and
be conditioned to respond to. It is common for people to use
gestures when giving verbal commands; however, the dog is far more
attuned to gesture itself than any words that may be spoken. This
gives the deaf community a distinct advantage in communicating with
their four legged friends. Deaf persons and others fluent in ASL
already communicate by using a combination of hand gestures and body
language that play directly to the dog's conditioning and
communication strengths. For the rest of us, what the dog hears is
blah, blah, blah which helps explain the tilted head quizzical looks
that are so common from my own "best friend".
References:
Deaf Dog Education Action Fund website. (n.d.).
http://www.deafdogs.org/training/signs.php#training
Dog Training Tip: Teaching the "Sit" Command. (2012). Retrieved from
http://www.cesarsway.com/tips/yournewdog/teaching-sit
Marshall, K. ("n.d."). Do Dogs Understand Words? Retrieved from
http://www.barkingbuddies.com/content/view/45/26/
You can learn American
Sign
Language (ASL) online at American Sign Language University ™
ASL resources
by Lifeprint.com © Dr. William Vicars