using ASL with animals...

dereksbicycles

dereksbicycles

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I was talking to few friends.I wanted feedbacks on whether it'll be easier to teach a rabbit or a ferret ASL. No one seemed to care. They said that it was a moot point. One person told me that I would go as far as making my own alphabet manual for them. But am I supposed to use the same alphabet manual that people use???

It would be nice to make a deaf ferret and deaf rabbit feel at home in Deaf World and not left alone to fend on their own in hearing world. You know they would drink beer, eat carrot, laugh and have a good time in Deaf World with other deaf ferrets and rabbits. They would benefit from ASL.
 
Deaf Ferret

I think Ferret would pay more attention to owner. Rabbit just like to hop around and eat. But nice to think about!:lol::wave:
 
I don't have a ferret so I can say, but my rabbit and cat both respond to hand signs I taught them long before I learned asl.
I think as long as the commands are short and you have their attention they should have no problems with asl.

As for getting along in a deaf wold, the verbal languages we use with pets are foreign to them anyways so I think them learning asl would be roughly the same effort, maybe a bit more because you need them to look at you to pay attention.
 
dereksbicycles said:
I was talking to few friends.I wanted feedbacks on whether it'll be easier to teach a rabbit or a ferret ASL. No one seemed to care. They said that it was a moot point. One person told me that I would go as far as making my own alphabet manual for them. But am I supposed to use the same alphabet manual that people use???

It would be nice to make a deaf ferret and deaf rabbit feel at home in Deaf World and not left alone to fend on their own in hearing world. You know they would drink beer, eat carrot, laugh and have a good time in Deaf World with other deaf ferrets and rabbits. They would benefit from ASL.
Click to expand...

This is MY thread!!! I really am a rabbit expert.

I have 4 rabbits. (And you all will learn soon enough that I LOVE to talk about my rabbits!) My one rabbit actually has her own form of "sign language" that we use to communicate with each other. She has a "sign" for food, a "sign" for water, a "sign" for hay, a "sign" that means "I want petted NOW!", and so forth. It's not ASL, but it's pretty darn cute! She understands my signing, but some of the signs she can't do, so we have created her own versions of the signs. My other three rabbits have their own signals that they use to let me know that they want something.

It would be MUCH easier to teach a young rabbit how to sign then it would be to teach an older rabbit. You know, "old dogs can't learn new tricks", or however that saying goes. It certainly CAN be done, though. I don't have very much experience with ferrets at all, but I know that rabbits are VERY smart, and they are very capable of learning simple ASL.

That's it! I'm going to go try to teach my bunnies ASL, and post a video of them signing! :D Wish me luck!
 
MintyOreo said:
This is MY thread!!! I really am a rabbit expert.

I have 4 rabbits. (And you all will learn soon enough that I LOVE to talk about my rabbits!) My one rabbit actually has her own form of "sign language" that we use to communicate with each other. She has a "sign" for food, a "sign" for water, a "sign" for hay, a "sign" that means "I want petted NOW!", and so forth. It's not ASL, but it's pretty darn cute! She understands my signing, but some of the signs she can't do, so we have created her own versions of the signs. My other three rabbits have their own signals that they use to let me know that they want something.

It would be MUCH easier to teach a young rabbit how to sign then it would be to teach an older rabbit. You know, "old dogs can't learn new tricks", or however that saying goes. It certainly CAN be done, though. I don't have very much experience with ferrets at all, but I know that rabbits are VERY smart, and they are very capable of learning simple ASL.

That's it! I'm going to go try to teach my bunnies ASL, and post a video of them signing! :D Wish me luck!
Click to expand...

Good luck!!! Hope you do post the video. Have fun!!!
 
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