All my dogs are taught hand signals at the same time they learn voice commands.
Comes in handy when they get really old.
You can’t get a deaf dog’s attention if it’s not looking at you. If it’s sleeping, you can’t get its attention without startling it.
My dog sleeps in front of my FIL’s chair. He can barely stand up, yet he has to navigate around the dog with his walker, or run into it, which, come to think of it, is probably why the dog is so startled when I wake her.
If I couldn’t hear, I would want a dog who could hear, so nobody could sneak up on me. It’s a home security issue. I sure as hell wouldn’t get a deaf dog out of some kind of handicapped solidarity, even if sappy emotional people went goo goo over it.
I’ve recently taken in a dog, he’s very smart but in a manner that can be frustrating at times. He looks for all the world like a miniature Chocolate Lab but many of his behaviors say Border Collie to me. He’s extremely attuned to gestures. I’ve never, ever heard him bark, not once. Sweet, smart boy, and my female Walker Hound loves him, even when he’s trying to herd her about, unless he nips her ears too hard, then he gets schooled and hard, lol. He walks up behind me when I’m walking, goes in between my legs and walks along with me there. No idea what that’s about, but he seems quite pleased about it.
All my dogs are taught hand signals at the same time they learn voice commands. Comes in handy when they get really old.
Makes sense. But if I were deaf, I'd want a dog with excellent hearing (and eyesight).
Re your post 9, that’s a good idea.