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Post by wingeddogs on Jul 16, 2011 8:53:14 GMT -5
We recently learned our 5-1/2 mo old GSD is deaf. Prior to learning this he ran and played and followed our other 2: Max who was 17 months and zoey who was 8 months. max died recently of a brain infection . Zoey was a dog we had intended to rehab and rehome to a foster eventually so the Humane Society could place her. She came from a neglectful, abusive, breeder who kept her confined to a small space with 10 other pups, several adult dogs, several cats and several birds. The Bitch and Sire were aggressive. As a result, Zoey had severe fear aggression and ended up needing to be euthanized at 8 months old. That left Boone alone and that's when we noticed he wasn't normal. Without other dog behavior to follow, he pretty much responded to the hand signals we used. We have vibration collars here and we use sign language in the home.....we've also trained hearing dogs for deaf people. Boone always keeps constant eye contact so we thought it shouldn't be too tough. WRONG. I have found a few sites to help with basics, but would appreciate anyone's help who has actually had experience.
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Post by Admin on Jul 16, 2011 21:20:30 GMT -5
Sounds like you are on the right track with how you are training him. Has the vet checked him and said why he may be deaf?
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Post by wingeddogs on Jul 17, 2011 8:09:36 GMT -5
The vet said he believes Boone was born deaf. We've contacted the breeder (not to return him) Boone came from their last litter with the Sire and Dam
so we wanted them to know in case they were thinking of another litter with the two. We learned that out of 9 pups, 2 of them have been diagnosed as deaf. The breeder is spaying and neutering both dogs now. The biggest challenge is getting his attention.....the vibration collar is extremely distracting to him, we're hoping just because it's a new sensation. The other problem is he doesn't hear the equipment on the grounds when we're running it so we've had to restrict his access to certain places on the property. We have never used a leash as we do all our training early and off leash, so for both Boone and I this is a challenge.
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Post by wingeddogs on Jul 19, 2011 13:51:53 GMT -5
If anyone else ever has a deaf GSD........so far we have learned (in Boone's instance anyhow) that the vibration collar is a huge distraction, therefor ineffective. I took a small penlight and have been using it like a clicker. He instantly turns his eyes to mine and then follows a sign command. Step one!!
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Post by Admin on Jul 19, 2011 15:13:49 GMT -5
grats!! I have always taught my dogs signs but I have not worked with a deaf dog. I know my friend on this forum has trained a deaf great dane for someone but right now she is missing in action while she is moving.
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Post by wingeddogs on Jul 19, 2011 21:26:29 GMT -5
I'd love to hear from her when she resurfaces! This is definately a challenge, but very rewarding when I get a positive result.
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