Deaf and blind dog performs impressive tricks with her owner who uses touch to give commands
- Double merle dog Calamity was born deaf and became blind aged just one
- Despite her impairments owner Amanda Fuller has been able to teach her tricks
- The footage was filmed at her home in Baltimore, Maryland
A determined dog owner has trained her beloved pet to perform tricks – despite the pooch being both deaf and blind.
Two-year-old pooch Calamity, from Baltimore, Maryland, was born deaf and lost her sight when she was only a one-year-old puppy.
Despite her impairments, on December 16, Calamity was filmed performing some impressive tricks together with her owner Amanda Fuller, 27.
In a video that has since gone viral with almost 500,000 views, Calamity is seen doing spins, shaking hands, jumping into Amanda’s arms and even walking with her paws on top of her owner’s feet.
Amanda said: ‘Calamity is a double merle dog, which means her parents were two merle dogs.
‘In a double merle, the lightening effect is doubled, and the coat becomes predominantly white, they also have a high chance of being deaf, blind or both because they lack pigment where it would normally be.
Two-year-old pooch Calamity, from Baltimore, Maryland, was filmed performing some impressive tricks together with her owner Amanda Fuller, 27
Calamity was born deaf and became blind when she was only a one-year-old puppy
‘Calamity has been learning tricks since birth and we work on new ones all the time.
‘Sometimes we figure things out that I never thought were possible, like off-leash rally obedience.’
According to Amanda, while training a deaf and blind pooch can sometimes be tricky, it is not necessarily harder from training a seeing and hearing dog.
According to Amanda, while training a deafblind pooch can sometimes be tricky, it is not necessarily harder from training a seeing and hearing dog
Amanda said: ‘Training a deaf-blind dog is different, but not much harder.
‘She learns things in the same way all dogs do, we just have to give our cues in a different way.
‘Our cues are all given through touch, so unlike a seeing or hearing dog, I can’t give a cue through verbal or hand signals.
‘Calamity still has a lot of potential to learn many new tricks, and we work on that every day.’
‘Our cues are all given through touch, so unlike a seeing or hearing dog, I can’t give a cue through verbal or hand signals. Calamity still has a lot of potential to learn many new tricks, and we work on that every day’