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ATTLEBORO -- When a litter of English cocker spaniel puppies Lori Skinner bred eight years ago resulted in two deaf dogs, she didn't turn her back on them as so many others might have.

Instead, Skinner took the puppies back, and so began her immersion into the world of deaf dogs.

`` I sort of looked at it as a challenge,'' she said.

Skinner now teaches American Sign Language to dogs. She has taught breeds ranging from border collie (hers is named Tilly) to a bull terrier she recently rescued. And her efforts have saved dogs headed for death largely because humans do not understand these animals can make wonderful pets, the former dog breeder and trainer said.

In order to teach deaf dogs, Skinner first taught herself the American Sign Language program, drawing from books on the subject. Actually, she realized at one point that she was making some of the sign motions incorrectly. For the command for come, she rolled her lower arms and hands in a circle away from herself, when she should have interpreted the picture to roll toward her.

The dogs didn't know any better so they now always come when Skinner rolls her arms away.

The important thing is not so much the correct sign in dog sign language, she said, but consistency, along with body language.

`` You can never screw up with a dog,'' she laughed.

Most people never know her dogs are deaf unless she tells them, she said.

Some of the hand signs she uses are the same that dogs with normal hearing would see along with their verbal cues, though some she made up along the way, she admitted.

It takes some time, however, for owners of deaf dogs to adjust to not simply hollering at their pets when they do something incorrectly.

`` You have to stop and go over to make a correction,'' Skinner said.

Still, a deaf dog catches on quickly.

`` I can teach a deaf puppy to sit and come in an hour,'' she said, `` the same as a regular hearing dog. `` A dog is a dog first, its breed second and deaf third.''

Deafness among dogs is typically caused by faulty breeding, Skinner said.

It is largely determined by the hair cells in the ear that act as receptors. A dog's inner ear hair cells convert mechanical energy into electrical, or nervous, energy. They must contain a pigment cell to do that.

Some dogs can have deafness in one ear because the other has some pigment. There can be just partial deafness when there isn't enough pigment in the inner ear.

Breeds with striking white-and-black color, such as Dalmatians, are prone to deafness. Eight percent of Dalmatians are born deaf. Other breeds at a higher risk include the Australian shepherd and bull terrier.

Skinner is a member of the Deaf Dog Education Action Fund based in Florida. Its Web site, www.deafdogs.org, provides a wealth of assistance and advocacy for deaf dogs, noting that `` every year thousands of dogs are killed simply because they are deaf.''

`` If you breed a deaf dog, let us know,'' Skinner said. `` We'll find a home for it.''

Skinner has found numerous homes for deaf dogs, and not only with deaf people. `` Deaf people aren't the most likely to ask for deaf dogs,'' she said.

Deafness in a dog can also occur with old age, and Skinner has helped families deal with that problem. Often, an older dog can go deaf overnight.

`` For those dogs, it's a lot harder,'' Skinner said, as they can become depressed about losing their hearing.

In addition to the resources online from the DDEAF, Skinner is a one-woman crusader for the animals, who are still loving, loyal pets with sweet dispositions.

She has even spent time researching gene pools of the most prevalent breeds that develop deafness in hopes of finding the links that can cut down on the handicap.

Skinner is starting to get more calls from breeders who have deaf puppies.

`` They're not keeping it under the rug,'' she said.

Her hope is also to change the American Kennel Club's thinking about deaf dogs. Currently they cannot compete in agility or sporting events.

With more breeders and a larger gene pool than ever before, Skinner said, more puppies are being born deaf.

Her main goal is to educate people initially about responsible breeding and then, if a dog is deaf, how to deal with that handicap.

`` If you're a breeder, be responsible,'' she said.