Hearing often fades gradually, and preparation done while your dog still has some hearing left makes the change gentler, because signals learned alongside sound remain available after sound goes. The goal is a home and a routine she can read through sight, touch, scent and texture, with every person around her handling her the same predictable way. Mention the change to your vet as well, so the ears themselves can be examined and any treatable cause can be considered there rather than guessed at home.
Teach the Visual Language First
Take each cue she already knows by voice, such as sit, stay, come and dinner, and give it a large, distinct hand signal, shown as you say the word. Reward her for glancing at you on walks and at home, since a dog who checks in visually every few seconds is a dog you can reach without sound. Choose signals that differ clearly from one another at a distance: an open palm for stay, a sweeping arm for come, a pointed finger brought down for sit.
Teach an attention touch next. Tap the floor firmly with your foot or hand so she feels the vibration, or rest a gentle hand on her shoulder, then reward her for turning towards you. Use that same touch, in that same way, every time you need her; invented variations confuse a dog who is rebuilding her map of how people reach her.
Waking, Approaching and Handling Rules
Never wake her with a grab. Touch the shoulder or the bed lightly, wait for her to lift her head, and let her see your hand before stroking her. Approach within her sight where you can, and stamp lightly on the floor as you enter a room so the vibration announces you before your shadow does. Teach children and visitors the same sequence, and ask guests not to stroke her from behind or bend over her while she sleeps.
Handler habits matter outdoors as well. Keep her on a lead or a long line, or inside secure fencing, because she cannot hear traffic, livestock, another dog's warning or your recall. Clip an extra note to her collar information stating that she is hard of hearing, so anyone who finds her understands why she does not respond to a voice.
Scent, Texture and Layout Landmarks
Hold the layout steady: food and water bowls, bed, doors and furniture stay where they are, because a familiar floor plan is information she navigates by. Add landmarks she can feel and smell. A runner rug along her route to the garden gives her feet a texture map; a mat with a different surface marks the feeding spot; a scented dab of a safe household smell on the door edge can mark the way out, refreshed as it fades. Scent games, with treats hidden in boxes or under cups, exercise the sense that now does more of her work, and they suit a dog who may feel less confident in the wider world.
Keep walk routes familiar too, and let her sniff for longer stretches of each walk. For a dog losing hearing, sniffing is not dawdling; it is how she reads the street.
One Routine, Shared by Everyone
Write the household rules down: her signals, the waking touch, the landmarks, who feeds her and at what times, and what to do if she slips out. Consistency across people is what turns adaptations into confidence, because a dog who can predict her home stops startling at it.
Posted for the whole household through KinsLe, the duty board inside Care Teams carries those feeding slots, walk duties and shared notes, letting a partner, a teenager or a visiting sitter follow her routine without learning it from scratch.