My buddy has gone deaf

[Byrd]

Noticed some gradual behavior changes in one of our dogs (Aus. Cattle Dog).  He's about 11 (maybe 12).  Seemed to not be obeying verbal commands and other small clues (i.e. barking louder, etc).  He's a really good boy, and probably the most emotional dog we've ever owned.  He gets very upset (almost depressed even) if he thinks he's in trouble or been bad.  He's a very sensitive fellow.  Started realizing he was reacting more to our other dog and body language more than verbal.  I think it has been coming on gradually for a while, so gradual we didn't notice it at first, but recently he seems to have gone completely deaf.  His ears have always passed vet checks with flying colors, and he's never had ear issues (infections, etc.), so it must just be old age more than anything else. 

We started testing him with various methods to see what he could hear and couldn't hear (there are some tricks for doing this).  It can be tricky sorting this out because dogs are sensitive to a lot of stimuli, and vibration is one of them.  So, while he can't hear, he can sense vibration, so he still reacts to a loud noise but mainly because of the vibration from the noise, not the sound from the noise.  We realized that he was equating vibration with louder voices which he interpreted as him being in trouble when he wasn't.  He thought we were mad at him because he can't hear (and we totally are not).  So, we've started using more visual cues with him which he's responding to very well, and he's really perked up now that he knows he's not in trouble.

They say that it's harder to train a dog visual cues if they could hear at one time in their life, and that it's much easier to train dogs who have been deaf since birth (makes sense I guess).  One of the hardest things we've found so far is trying to figure out how to tell him he's a good boy without touching him (like from a distance).  "Come" and "Stay" has been pretty easy.  He's rarely ever a bad boy, but "Bad" required no training at all; all we have to do is just look cross at him and he gets it.  So, the challenge is how to say "Good Boy!" from a distance.  Up close is easy because we can just give him a nice scratch or rub and he's all wiggles.  I laughed when one source said to use the 'thumbs up' symbol.  ACD's aren't known for their good eyesight to begin with (not like the Labs I used to raise and train, who have excellent vision), but it sure does feel silly giving your dog a thumbs up hand signal.  I'd like to find something better than this.  Love to hear some suggestions!

Thx

My daughter uses open arms with hands wiggling.  That's easy for the dog to see.

Also, leaning forward a bit with your arms wide looks a bit like the "play" pose to a dog, and that may work as well.