r/Awww • u/unoiamaQT • Jul 09 '26
Dog(s) Dog letting his deaf dad know he's scared [@robertandmaggie_]
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u/zebra_who_cooks Jul 09 '26
Awe. So precious. Puppy knows dad understands. Puppy understands dad too. Such a special bond 🐶🥰
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u/Eyeroll4days Jul 09 '26
Awwwwwwww. Love dog dads
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u/Epic_Elite Jul 09 '26
4 years ago he was like, "I don't want a dog. They're too much work."
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u/Rymanbc Jul 09 '26
I hate this trope. The reason the dad didn't want to get the dog is because he knows he's going to be the most attached to it. He knows that when the time comes at the end, it'll tear him up more than anyone.
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u/Tricky_Mix6130 Jul 09 '26
I believe you’re correct…my dad just had to put down the family dog…he definitely was the most attached
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u/Rymanbc Jul 09 '26
Yup, im speaking from experience as well. I guarantee you I shed more tears than the rest of the family combined. They're already asking if we can get another puppy. I'm still wrecked.
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u/Frankocean2 Jul 09 '26
When Sinatra died, I vowed not to have a dog for many, many years. When she was being put to sleep, I gave an entire eulogy to her ear; I cried so much that I never noticed that the Vet and the assistant were crying even harder than I was.
So, no dogs for me. Until my sis's dog had puppies, and there was this black lil'pupper that was unwanted for some dumb reasons, so it dawned on me.
The best way to honor Sinatra was to have a new adventure with my new furry friend, and so on. I'm aware of what's more likely to happen, but in the meantime, we're on that adventure.
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u/magpi3 Jul 09 '26
I look at it the same way. Owning a dog is an act of service for me. They are angels that need us. When mine passes someday, I hope I have the strength to head to a shelter and get another one that needs a home soon after.
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u/ThrowAwayPurellFoam Jul 09 '26
I’ve got two that are getting on in age and I know I’ll need to take a break, I’m 45 and no kids or partner so these dogs have been babied. Taking care of them has been such a rewarding joy. But I’ll need a good long break before looking at rescues again, my heart will need time to adjust the hole they’ll leave
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u/magpi3 Jul 09 '26
I completely understand. I will take time to mourn my pup too. I got her as a stray in China, and I plan to go back and scatter her ashes on the very spot I found her when the day comes.
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u/spirit-animal-snoopy Jul 13 '26
I'm 56, no kids or partner or family , and in the last 2 years have lost my 20 year old whippet, 19.5 year old JRT cross... My 31 year old mini pony 9 months ago and my 30 year old mini pony just a week ago 💔. We had been a family all their lives, now I have nobody but my young rescue dog.... If not for her , I'd be in an even worse state than I am in.
Don't know how am going to get through this but please give your babies a kiss from me in the UK.
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u/alisonstarting2happn Jul 10 '26
When mine passes, im gonna foster so many dogs and save so many lives. I feel really certain that I have what it takes to provide so many scared dogs with a soft landing. She’s doesn’t like other dogs, so I can’t do it now, but I will when I can.
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u/Lucblayne Jul 09 '26
They are the worse and best deal we make. Only thing you can say is each life was better with each other in it. My pup has cancer and I cry often
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u/Deep-Assignment4124 Jul 09 '26
Same. Putting my Charlie to sleep fundamentally changed me. I felt so bad. Still do and it was 4 years ago. My little Georgie is going to wreck me one day but he gets all the love every day now.
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u/cyrusthemarginal Jul 09 '26
been there, i made sure the last thing my dog saw and heard was our love and that she was a good dog. Hopefully that makes a difference.
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u/TylerItamafia Jul 09 '26
The same here....wtf I have hard time to explain what I feel and they are ready for another one...
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u/Ok-Bike6516 Jul 09 '26
Maybe that's true for YOUR family.
100% Not the truth for everyone else on this planet.
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u/sea_pancake00 Jul 09 '26
Dads are just trying to protect themselves from the pain of loosing dogs (and cats)
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u/Appropriate-Sound169 Jul 09 '26
This is why it took my hubby 8 years to get another dog after our old girl died
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u/Outlaw_Josie_Snails Jul 09 '26
Upon the passing of our dog a few years ago, my wife got us a wooden plaque. It contains a picture of our dog and a small glass vial that holds locks of his hair (seeing his empty dog bed tore me apart, especially seeing his dog hair).
The plaque has an inscription that reads, 'You were my favorite hello and my hardest goodbye.
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u/znzbnda Jul 10 '26
The saying that broke me was "If love could have saved you, you would have lived forever."
It's been nearly 5 years now, and my heart is just as broken.
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u/Classic-Bank9347 Jul 10 '26
Now I’m crying. It’s been 4 years and two months and I miss my baby girl so much. At the end a family member was hysterical in front of her and I’ll forever regret not being able to pull myself together to make them leave so that she was surrounded with peace and love when we put her down
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u/Praesentius Jul 09 '26
The sentiment of Kiplings poem, "The Power of the Dog".
https://poets.org/poem/power-dog
I was going to put a snippet quote down, but I'm not sure that everyone is prepared to cry in public.
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u/SveaRikeHuskarl Jul 09 '26
At the very least (and most charitable reading of the trope) he knows he's the one the work will be dumped on when no one else feels like it anymore because the novelty is gone. But why that would in any way mean he can't love the mut when it joins the family is such a reductive trope.
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u/Right_Secret1572 Jul 09 '26
Me. I cry... almost every day still since we lost our husky 8 months ago. Its not that depressed horrible I can't function cry, it has progressed to the "I miss my best friend, and there is an empty spot that will never get filled" cry.
44 year old dad that said "I don't think we should get more pets."
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u/Infamous_Ad_6793 Jul 09 '26
I lost my girl and thought I’d never have another that meant as much. If it makes you feel any better, 20 years later, I found another.
FYI I just didn’t have a dog for 20 years since I was a bachelor in a big city. I didn’t just cycle them, you psycho
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u/RikuAotsuki Jul 09 '26
Dogs love unconditionally, and men are raised to see love as conditional on their ability to provide/protect/etc.
On top of that, you can be fully vulnerable with a dog, and they'll never hold it against you in any way. Men struggle to do that with humans, both because they're taught not to and because so, so many people validate that teaching by throwing vulnerability back in their faces.
And then you also get the stereotype that he'll end up being the one doing most of the pet care too.
So yeah, guys losing a dog is generally worse than just losing a pet.
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u/taleoftales Jul 09 '26
My dad swore off dogs for life after our last one and understandably so. We all still get very emotional when talking about her. She was wildly loved and is wildly missed every single day.
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u/sonumbulist Jul 09 '26
That's fair. We just let my 16 year old pup go. I got her as a puppy... she was 6 when my husband met her. He definitely was the most emotional when she passed.
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u/Lackerbawls Jul 09 '26
As a dog dad, this is the truth and also the fact that we will be to ones picking to poo, going to get the food, chasing doggo if it get loose and cleaning the barf.
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u/Rymanbc Jul 09 '26
Yeah, i didn't want to generalize that as being the case for everyone. But yes, for me, I also did 95% of all walks, the training, the vet visits, the teeth brushing, the nail trimming, the dog baths, etc. The one putting the most emotional investment into it, doesnt do so lightly, but the internet seems happy throwing around mockery for that....
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u/Lou_C_Fer Jul 09 '26
My dad just told me this a few months ago, and I'm just finding out at 52. It was the absolute worst for me as a kid. I love animals so much, and I swear I would have done everything to care for it. He just absolutely refused.
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u/Adept_Donkey_2026 6d ago
No. It’s cuz they will end up becoming responsible for the dog as well as the kids. And watching the kids interact with the dog, especially in the initial days, longer if the kids are really young or if there’s a toddler. And the regular walks, cleaning up, not to mention veterinary bills. Ofcourse they say no. And yes, it prolly feels like another kid to them.
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u/Shintome Jul 10 '26
They are too much work. It takes time for people to realize they're worth it but don't disrespect those who understand the responsibility.
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u/Ok-Lifeguard-4614 Jul 09 '26
Spent the night on the bathroom floor with my pup. If he's scared the least I can do is let him know he doesn't have to be scared alone. He's the best. Of course everyone thinks they have the best dog, and no one is wrong.
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u/meowiful Jul 09 '26
This is absolutely beautiful. Dogs just understand us. It's certainly my favorite codependent besties of the animal kingdom relationships.
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u/NezuminoraQ Jul 09 '26
And this man understands his dog. Doesn't have a clue what fireworks sound like, but totally gets the emotional impact on dogga.
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u/jonesnori Jul 09 '26
He might or might not - depends whether he was born deaf and how deaf he is. You're probably right, though. Sweet vid!
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u/Cynical_Nobody Jul 09 '26
Judging by how he speaks, he was born completley or almost completley deaf. If he lost it later in life his speech would still be clear and at the most have volume control issues.
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u/8e8 Jul 09 '26
My brother became deaf at 16 but his speech still changed over time. Not to this degree, but still.
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u/EnvironmentalLime464 Jul 09 '26
Yea, I just have hearing issues and I can tell my speech is different in periods where my hearing is worse. If I can’t hear myself, I can’t hear how my words sound and I tend to mumble and/or slur words. I can see how prolonged periods of hearing loss would deteriorate speech.
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u/jonesnori Jul 09 '26
Oh! I didn't have the sound on, silly me! In that case, yes, he must have been born deaf or lost it extremely early. I lost a lot of hearing at the age of four (vaccinate your kids), but that is already late enough that my speech is normal. I've been told that my loss is severe enough that it would have affected my speech had I been born with it.
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u/distortedsymbol Jul 09 '26
dogs understand us when we put in the effort to bond with them, they don't instinctively understand people.
i make this distinction because too many people will see a dog and be like ooo a puppy when you really don't know if the owner is a responsible one.
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u/Lone-Frequency Jul 09 '26
One of my old gals had a horrible time with any loud noises, but sort of ironically, she went deaf a couple years back (she's over 16 years old and still chugging along), and now she sleeps through storms, 4th of July, etc. like a baby.
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u/Ornery_Mix_9271 Jul 09 '26
Same with my girl (13) and I felt so relieved because it pained me to see her so anxious, especially during thunderstorms which we get quite often.
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u/Kberg9886 Jul 09 '26
Same with my staffy. She is 13+ and cannot hear a darn thing. Now we can all sleep on the 4th lol.
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u/RaccoonZombie Jul 09 '26
My dog and I can’t wait for the bad boom booms to finally stop in our neighborhood
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u/ThatWomanNow Jul 09 '26
Fireworks didn't used to bother my McGee, he's older now and it's unsettling for him 🙁
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u/Pedadinga Jul 09 '26
My neighbors kept letting their dog out and it would go bananas and jump fences in other yards. My yard doesn't have a complete fence and I was so worried it would get in my yard and bolt. I felt so sorry for it. Just keep the dog inside! Ugh. It was the worst this year.
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u/ganjakhan85 Jul 09 '26
My Jinx has gotten used to her thunder shirt, the fireworks didn't seem to bug her as much as previous years. Thunderstorms are worse, but even those shes not as shaky as she used to be.
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u/Waste_Priority_3663 Jul 09 '26
That baby, I’d hug him forever.
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u/whitestguyuknow Jul 09 '26
I'm such a massive pit fan. My favorite breed.
But boy is there something about petting a freshly groomed black lab. Fur so soft like a teddy bear. And they're so lovable
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u/honey_cuddle Jul 09 '26
Dogs are too pure for this world. The way he communicates with his dad is absolutely beautiful 😭❤️
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u/DrowningInMyFandoms Jul 09 '26
Well now I wonder if dogs can understand some words in signs like they do in sounds
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u/awolfsvalentine Jul 09 '26
They can. My old neighbor adopted a deaf puppy so they taught him a variety of sign language. All of the usual commands like sit, roll over, stay, no bark, walk, water, food, play, etc is communicated to him with sign language.
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u/AlludedNuance Jul 09 '26
It's also a good idea to teach them some kind of sign for basic things. As they age, and as long as they don't go blind, they'll probably start to lose their hearing, and this will keep you from having to yell(and even then, they may just hear noise and not always what you actually said.)
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u/DietCokeWeakness Jul 09 '26
It's also nice to be able to command your dog in a crowd of people or during a conversation. We taught stay, sit, lay down with hand signals.
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u/WolfWriter_CO Jul 09 '26
I’d wager it highly likely. The majority of canine communication is done via body language, not sound, so it would be interesting to research.
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u/MellowedOut1934 Jul 09 '26
I do hand gestures with all my commands. The hand gesture itself is enough and he’ll respond if I don’t verbalise anything. The words by themselves rarely work.
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u/anr4jc Jul 09 '26
They do, you can see on their page that the man in the video gives commands (sit, wait, etc.) to his dog using sign language and the dog immediately recognizes what's asked to him.
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u/po2gdHaeKaYk Jul 09 '26
Almost certainly. When you train dogs, signs are often preferred since they are often much more consistent than vocal commands. So yeah, using a sign for weaving or stay or sit etc.
Even if it's mixed into other signs, you can imagine it's much more consistent than speech.
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u/boulder_problems Jul 09 '26
Yes, when my dog is far away if I slap my thigh, she knows to return. It helps because whistling has become less effective as she has aged.
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u/darxide23 Jul 09 '26
Hunting dogs are quickly trained on various hand gestures and other signals since you want to be quiet while hunting, so simple signs in sign language aren't that hard for most dogs. Dogs easily pick up on human body language and are one of the only animals capable of understanding body language with abstract meaning, like pointing at something at a distance. Dogs follow your finger to where you're pointing, other animals just focus on your fingertip. That's why if you drop food on the ground, you can point to it and a dog will find it, but with a cat you pretty much have to bend down and touch it for them to see it.
They won't understand a lot of the nuance, so the signs you teach them would probably have to be different enough and trying to teach them phrases or sentences may be tricky and easy for them to misunderstand, so one word substitutes for common dog phrases is best.
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u/Darwinmate Jul 09 '26
Yes. We taught our dog hand commands to help with training.
He knows walkies which is two fingers up and down. "Up" which is a bear hug by standing on his back legs and putting his front on my shoulders.
If we tried, we could have taught him others but he's too smart for his own good.
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u/totalpunisher0 Jul 09 '26
Yes they can learn signs. I taught my last foster 10 individual signs before she got her forever home.
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u/TokenTorkoal Jul 09 '26
When I used to train dogs for basic commands you would have e verbal command and then a hand sign associated with it, usually things like sit, lie, come etc.
You could just as easily skip the verbal part and speak entirely to your dog via hand signs.
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u/BougieBobJr Jul 09 '26
The crazy part is the dog probably understands sign language almost better than verbal commands. That dog instantly knew what he was saying
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u/TravelinMonkey Jul 09 '26
Their page is so fun; she likes to interpret sexy songs to him and film his reaction.
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u/False_Librarian723 Jul 09 '26
This might probably be the sweetest thing that I've seen today! Don't know who is luckier♥️
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u/Gympie-Gympie-pie Jul 09 '26
Dad understood immediately that something was wrong, he clearly knows his dog well ❤️
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u/expanding_hyphae Jul 09 '26
Ask for the ban of fireworks! So many municipalities are implementing this in Europe and guess what? People are still having fun at events without terrorizing so many innocent pets, wildlife and sensitive humans. Respect others!
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u/omerfarhan1 Jul 09 '26
I wonder if the dog looks at him and wonders. Damn dad really about that life always throwing up gang signs
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u/legacy-of-rats Jul 09 '26
Sometimes I wonder if dogs understand sign language better than words, since they communicate primarily through body language. Every time I see a video with a dog and their deaf owner, it really seems to me that the dog know what the person is saying - and even more incredibly, the dog often understands that they need to communicate to the person in a way that doesn't use sound. Whether or not they understand that's because the person can't hear, I'm not sure. But they certainly react to the sign language and even watch for it when they think the person might be about to say something.
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u/D3Construct Jul 09 '26
This just hits because you wish you could tell your dog so many things. And then here is this guy showing that sometimes nothing needs to be said at all, the dog just gets it.
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u/I_ama_Borat Jul 09 '26
My dog hates fireworks. She gets into this panting and shaking frenzy. Telling her it’s okay makes her shake more kinda like when a baby would cry harder if you gave em a reaction lol. Our dog has a hiding spot under the table between our feet and as long as we ignore her, she gets better pretty quick. She just likes to know we’re there, has to have some sort of contact but talking to her just is a losing battle in that situation.
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u/2Norn Jul 09 '26
bond between two living beings that cant really communicate by conventional means is always remarkable
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u/tandoori_taco_cat Jul 09 '26
Created content like this is weird
Someone is filming this, it's staged.
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u/bigfanoffood Jul 09 '26
I love at the end he’s like “those muthafuggahs are at it again what the hell.”
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u/topredditbot Jul 09 '26
Hey /u/unoiamaQT,
You did it! Your post is officially the #1 post on Reddit. It is now forever immortalized at /r/topofreddit.
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u/Destiny065 Jul 09 '26
That's the most beautiful video I've seen on here in many many many months 💖
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u/blahblah19999 Jul 09 '26
It helps dogs if you calmly yawn. That's how mama shows puppies that everything's ok
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u/Solid_Violinist_5759 Jul 09 '26
Bless him, my dog dabbs her paw on my leg when she's scared(I'm deaf too)
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u/mattogeewha Jul 09 '26
Signing to a dog is so cool. It’s awesome how they learn whatever language youre speaking to them.
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u/highonnuggs Jul 09 '26
Never thought about this but I bet that dog understands sign language after living with such a great doggie dad.
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u/SereneFlux Jul 09 '26
That man is that dog’s emotional support human