Deaf dog will not catch anything

[DENENE MILLER]

How do I get my deaf dog to catch treats or a ball??? It sounds like a easy answer but I’ve sat there for hours and tossed kibble to him from close and far, low and high, and I’ve tried tennis balls, even small tennis balls, a balled up sock, treats, toys, he will let them hit his nose or sometimes land on his face and he goes cross eyed looking at the treat, but he will not catch anything…. He’s even watched me toss treats to his mom n dad and they catch fine… or is this something he’s just never going to do?

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hi there!

I hear you. Not all dogs are blessed with great retrieving skills.

Sorry if I missed it, in case you mentioned it elsewhere, but what breed is your dog?

How old is he?

Does he ever play or chase things?

Do you have his mom and dad with you in the home? Do they try to steal the things he doesn't catch?

Thanks for the extra info!

[DENENE MILLER]

He’s American staf and bully, and he is 8 months old.  Yes mom n dad are both here.  Yes they do steal from him, but he also steals from mom and dad just as much. When he doesn’t get the treat, sometimes he goes after it and will get it, and sometimes he just lets them get it.  When I give them all treats, they all want what the other one has, so they drop what I give them and go take the others…. and it goes down the line, and it will always be the very same thing they all got. 

BUT he is finally getting it as of tonight!!!!!!

 

 

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hi, thanks for the update, the video doesn't open for me.

Careful with all dogs trying to steal each others' treats, sometimes this can elicit fights.

I will try to see if the video will open later as my connection isn't great at this time. May need to shut off my VPN and see if it works.

In any case, it sounds like your persistence has paid off and he's finally figuring it out. 

Lots of fun to come!

[DENENE MILLER]

Oh and yes he loves chasing his brother, mom and dad, and he loves getting chased also!! That’s his favorite thing to do, is take whatever someone else has, and run!!!  He will turn around and look to see if he’s getting chased, and if not, then he goes and shows off his stick, ball or toy by strutting around in front of them, and….. that’s when he will take off again!  He runs with his head high up in the air!  Sometimes Brian ends up getting taken out by one of the other dogs, when he looks back and doesn’t see them coming from a different direction that he didn’t expect.  but he always has that prize, still in his possession, when they get back up again.  
sometimes I wonder if I should step in cuz his brother ( who is about 5 lbs heavier then Brian) uses his weight to over power him and knock him down.  But brian seems unfazed by it….. BUT never loses the prize possession!
 I will take video and send it.  I’m going to resend that other video now from my last post

 

 

[Adrienne Farricelli]

3 hours ago, DENENE MILLER said:

Oh and yes he loves chasing his brother, mom and dad, and he loves getting chased also!! That’s his favorite thing to do, is take whatever someone else has, and run!!!  He will turn around and look to see if he’s getting chased, and if not, then he goes and shows off his stick, ball or toy by strutting around in front of them, and….. that’s when he will take off again!  He runs with his head high up in the air!  Sometimes Brian ends up getting taken out by one of the other dogs, when he looks back and doesn’t see them coming from a different direction that he didn’t expect.  but he always has that prize, still in his possession, when they get back up again.  
sometimes I wonder if I should step in cuz his brother ( who is about 5 lbs heavier then Brian) uses his weight to over power him and knock him down.  But brian seems unfazed by it….. BUT never loses the prize possession!
 I will take video and send it.  I’m going to resend that other video now from my last post

 

IMG_6647 2.MOV 21.48 MB · 1 download  

 

Oh, how lovely! It's nice when we can have dogs side-by-side waiting patiently for their treats! Nice training you have done there. When we do this, we also create positive associations since, one dog getting treats, predicts the other one getting them too very soon. On top of that, we are instilling impulse control and reinforcing patience.

The only risk with tossing is if we aim wrong and the treat gets right in between. I have trained dogs though to learn that if, the other dog happens to get the treat they were trying to get, to give it up and look to me rather than react and I would promptly remedy and provide the treat. 

Your lovely boy is catching nicely!

if Brian seems unfazed by being knocked down, I don't think it's a problem, especially if right after that, he continues playing and it all seems good. Many dogs play rather roughly and if we remove them from the play, and do what's known as a "consent test" (to see whether they feel relief from our intervention or are eager to go back to playing)  they'll often want to go right back, which tells us they don't mind. 

Now, of course, this is just a moment in time, dog-to-dog interactions are rather fluid, and  things may always change as he gets older and may decide one day to no longer allow certain things, so monitoring their play is always good.