You have to hand it to deaf pup Rafa
When Rafa the Spanish Water puppy was taken home by his new owners, they didn’t realise he was deaf. But after finding out, Jo Le Page and family were determined not only to help him live his best life but even train him as a therapy dog to help other people.
Jo, 41, searched online to find sign language for dogs, and in just eight weeks Rafa learnt hand signals to sit, spin and lie down.
Now at seven months, Rafa has learnt nine signs including ‘watch me’, ‘spin’, ‘give paw’, ‘lie down’, ‘come’, ‘stay’ and ‘safe’ – where he walks under Jo’s legs, turns around and stays there.
Jo, a pre-school worker and author, from Guernsey, said being deaf won’t limit her dog’s life. “When we got him, Rafa would turn his head when other puppies heard noises and would follow all of them.
“Within a day of having him, we realised he wasn’t responding to any noise and he wouldn’t wake up when we came in. He didn’t notice loud drilling noise or the smoke alarm going off. We thought it would be hard or impossible to train a dog who can’t hear.
“But education and training has proved all of our fears false. We have been amazed with how often he watches us, checks in with us and trots along next to us.”
Jo is now hoping Rafa will become a therapy dog and wants him to be able to cope and navigate different environments. He has started therapy dog training to see if he can remain calm around things like wheelchairs and walking sticks. If he successfully completes his training, Rafa could become one of the first deaf therapy dogs.
Jo, who has two children aged five and 10, said she hopes Rafa’s story will inspire others to adopt disabled dogs.
“The training is all done with hand signals. It’s thumbs up for praise. You can’t use hands in a negative way, so showing something to be unacceptable is difficult.
“We take it a day at a time.”
‘We thought it would be impossible to train a dog who can’t hear’