Our Labrador puppy had been diagnosed with congenital deafness and we received a lot of unsolicited advice, especially in the vein of having to have the dog put down because it would turn violent as it became older. Since we had already bonded with the puppy and did not consider this to be an option for us, we started looking for someone to assist us with training for both the puppy and ourselves. After consultation with several other trainers, we were referred to Claire as someone who had previous experience with the training of deaf dogs.
At first we went to her for a private training session and then joined a puppy socialization class with a variety of other dog breeds. Both the private session and the puppy socialization course helped immensely in improving our communication with our dog and the way we make ourselves understood with the basic commands and instructions of everyday life.
Since the course was very hands-on and interactive, we learned quickly and the combination of hand signals and verbal commands used in the class made us feel as if we were just the same as everyone else. Even more complex orders and techniques to train other instructions (with lots of patience and repetition) were taught, equipping us with the tools needed to further train him with commands that may be needed in the future.
Claire’s ease with the puppies, acceptance of the special needs of our puppy and the adaptability of her instruction to these needs has truly impressed. My beautiful boy may be deaf, but with Claire’s assistance and lots of patience and repetition, we hope to enjoy each other’s company for many more years to come.
Marika van Noordwyk