Deaf sheepdog learns sign language so she can continue herding sheep

A 10-year-old Norfolk collie in the UK is winning hearts after learning sign language. Peggy, who was a working sheepdog, was given  to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to care for after her owner could no longer communicate with her after she lost her hearing at the age of 8. 

With the shelter already full, animal welfare manager Chloe Shorten and her husband Jason, who is a shepherd and already owned two sheepdogs, decided to adopt her. The initial plan was to foster her temporarily  but after spending a few days with her, they decided to keep her permanently.

They soon realised that Peggy seemed keen to return to herding. In an interview with the BBC, Chloe said, “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. “We started by teaching her to look at us for hand signals.” Using the training methods of repetition and “positive reinforcement,” and assisted by a sheepdog trainer, Peggy has now learned to respond to hand signals and body language rather than aural commands. 

The entire process of training took two years, but Peggy has come to recognise various hand signals including that a ‘thumbs-up’ means ‘good girl’.

According to Good News Network, Peggy leads a semi-retired life, but still heads out with Jason to herd the sheep from time to time. She wears a GPS tracker for her own safety. "It's amazing to see her with this new lease of life, and enjoying her life with us," said Chloe.

She says the most important lesson Peggy learned had nothing to do with sheep. It had to do with trust: “It took time to learn that we love her, and understand our praise.”