Acorn’s 14 Fundamentals of Good Behavior

Once you get the hang of it, you’ll probably find yourself wanting to teach the deaf dogs in your care all kinds of tricks. (Acorn now knows over 35 signs and entertains crowds with his performances, especially his unique Lipizzaner approach to jumping through a hoop.) Our concern here, however, is preparing deaf dogs to live happily as members of their families and the community at large. To that end, we will focus on the signs for the 14 fundamental behaviors most potential adopters want to believe their dogs can achieve with reasonable effort — including the Good Job sign and the most important behavior of all for a deaf dog: Watch Me! For more information on how to teach the signs, see Acorn's DEAFinitely Awesome Dictionary of Signs.

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Click on each illustration for a video demonstration of how to teach the sign.