Playing Without Limitations - The impact of canine deafness and visual impairment on dog to dog play, and human directed play. Presented by Morag Heirs

CEUs PPAB 1, CCPDT 1, IAABC 1

Can deaf dogs play like hearing dogs? What kind of toys work best for blind dogs? How can we help deaf and/or blind dogs play more safely with other dogs? All these questions and more will be discussed as we explore the world of play for dogs with hearing and/or visual impairments.

Whether blind or deaf from birth, due to an accident or old age, trainers and behaviourists are increasingly likely to be working with these dogs and helping them to enjoy a better quality of life.

Drawing on the available research plus personal experience of living with deaf, and deaf-blind dogs, and knowledge collected while supporting the Deaf Dog Network (UK) for over five years, Morag will help you see the world of play from a different perspective.

Objectives

• Understand whether deaf dogs can play like hearing dogs
• Understand the impact of canine deafness and visual impairment on dog to dog play
• Understand how canine deafness and visual impairment affect human directed play
• Learn what kind of toys work best for deaf dogs
• Understand how to help deaf and/or blind dogs play safely with other dogs
• Help improve the quality of life of deaf and/or blind dogs

Your Presenter

Morag Heirs PhD, Clinical Animal Behaviourist (ABTC)

Morag Heirs runs Well Connected Canine Ltd (York, UK) where they concentrate on building better relationships between people and their dogs through personal coaching sessions, behavior rehabilitation, activity classes and more.

Morag's deaf dog experience started in 2005 with her first deaf Border Collie, and since then she has lived with, fostered and trained many dogs with deafness and/or visual impairments.

Morag has competed in a range of sports (Rally, Scentwork and Canicross) and provides behavior & training support to the Deaf Dog Network (UK).