BACK
Deaf Sheepdog Returns to Herding Her Flock After Learning 'Sign Language'
www.goodnewsnetwork.org

Deaf Sheepdog Returns to Herding Her Flock After Learning 'Sign Language'

Peggy the deaf English sheepdog has been learning 'sign language' so she can work on her Norfolk farm.

Social & Lifestyle

Whoever said, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” has obviously never met a 10-year-old Norfolk collie named Peggy.

A working dog, Peggy was unable to continue the job she excelled at—herding sheep—when at age 8 she lost her hearing.

No longer able to communicate with her, Peggy’s owner subsequently relinquished her to the care of a local RSPCA animal shelter.

Click to continue reading

But as it was near Christmas, the shelter was at capacity. That’s when animal welfare manager Chloe Shorten stepped in. Shorten and her husband, Jason, who had two other working sheepdogs, decided to take Peggy home.

While Peggy had lost her hearing, it was obvious her enthusiasm for sheepherding hadn’t waned.

The Shortens could see Peggy wasn’t happy woolgathering, so they came up with another solution for her.

“We knew Peggy wanted to be working, so we started the long process of teaching her how to herd and work with a shepherd without relying on voice commands,” Chloe Shorten told the BBC. “We started by teaching her to look at us for hand signals.”