# Deaf Dogs: Just as good as any hearing dog!



## Deaf Dogs (Apr 10, 2012)

I have 3, and have fostered 2. They're so much easier than most give them credit for. I adopted Scout, my first deafie, thinking she'd be a challenge. Boy was I wrong!!! She was 4 years old when I adopted her, and within 10 weeks she knew almost 40 signs and we were doing demonstrations! 

Here's Scout's first demo, 10 weeks after I adopted her... keep in mind, the only things she knew (that I could find) were sit and shake. And this isn't nearly all she knew at that point.





I did this video last summer. It has all three of my deafies, but Mouse and Boo only have one trick each, as we ran out of time to video their tricks.





Here's a video of Mouse learning to get herself in the laptop case... only took her 10 minutes to learn the trick, start to finish.





Here's Samson, A deaf and almost totally blind Great Dane I rescued, fostered and transported to Spokane 3 years ago.









And here's Buck, a Deaf Border Collie, I rescued, fostered and flew to Ontario, last January, where he is now awaiting adoption (again! long story, but if anyone is interested, he is at a rescue in Ottawa, PM me for details)









You'll notice that 4 out of 5 of these dogs are all double merle... this is what happens when idiots breed merle to merle. It's a horrible issue, and causes deafness, blindness, and studies are showing that epilepsy can also be linked.

Scout is deaf due to the ticking in her coat. A common problem in JRT's, Cattle Dogs and Pointers/Setters.

But deafness does not make them aggressive, or even hard to train. I find I get more focus out of my deafies. they're alot less distracted than any hearing dog I've worked with! If you ever are looking to adopt, and see a deafie that needs a home (and would be appropriate) dont pass them by just because they're deaf!


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

Wow, you are an excellent trainer, my dog can't do half those tricks and she can hear as right as rain! Good on you, I'm really impressed. Your pups are so cute and obviously think the world of you.


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## Donna Little (May 31, 2011)

Great job you've done with these guys! Any dog with special needs deserves to have people like you in their corner showing others they are just as adoptable as a "normal" dog. 
I've had both deaf and blind and deaf is much easier. Blind can get a little tricky. My Min Pin is losing her sight and it's been a tough transition for both of us. My Dachshund is deaf now from old age and it's no problem. I had another in the past that was deaf and they are definitely not easily distracted so I actually liked that. 
Love, love, love what you've done with and for these guys!


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

They are all lovely dogs. Being a dachshund lover I especially like Mouse and the suitcase.

I consider deafness another genetic mutancy, like the back legs of German Shepherds. 

I had a deaf Dalmation and he also keeled over dead at three years old. Just a shame. Snorkels is very close to deaf but it's because she's old and got medication with something that causes old dogs to lose their hearing, not because of breeding. 

By the way, I like your boots!


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## danecolor (Nov 22, 2010)

i have a special love for great danes so it made me smile that you helped Sampson find his new home. i have had the pleasure of interacting with several great danes that were deaf or blind or both and they have all been amazing, well-adjusted dogs. 

i helped transport a deaf and mostly blind dane puppy to her foster home once, and i got to enjoy spending the day with her. it was amazing how well she adapted to an unfamiliar environment. when she would lose track of where i was she would actually stand very still and then follow the vibrations of my footsteps to find me. it is incredible how they compensate for their missing senses. 








she was such a cute, playful little thing. 

i too, am against the idea of merle to merle breeding. unfortunately, the breeding of harlequins to other harlequins (merles with a modifier) is still seen as perfectly fine among many otherwise ethical breeders in the US. it is a shame, as these breedings end up producing whites with sensory defects when it would be simple to avoid doing so.


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## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

I have looked at petfinder and there are so many Australian Shepherds who are from double merel breeding and deaf, blind or both. I have considered it, but I'm just not sure about the training. My husband Wayne knows sign language as well as speaking because his mom is deaf. So he grew up with it. I think he would do well teaching one sign language. But the blind part, I really don't know how to go about that.

It takes a special person for such special dogs, and you are doing a great thing!


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## bridget246 (Oct 26, 2011)

I've learned a lot from watching your videos. I'm always looking for new ideas so thank you for posting this.


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## swolek (Mar 31, 2011)

Great post . I adopted a deaf dog (a senior Cocker who also can't see too well) last year and was pretty nervous about the training. I don't know why I was concerned, she's been just as easy to train as the other dogs. Sometimes it's harder to get her attention initially but once you have it, she's very focused and not distracted easily.

Gracie, the deaf Cocker, is 13 years old and has arthritis so I'm limited in what I can teach her (no agility or anything, ha). I always wonder what we would have been able to do had I met her earlier .


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

Fantastic post, and awesome videos! You're a really great trainer, I must say- and what special dogs! I have a soft spot for the deaf and blind pooches, we have a blind and almost deaf cocker that lives at my daycare. Most people that come are so surprised that a deaf and/or blind dog can be so well adjusted and happy, I love that there are so many prime examples of this out there and hope that it opens people's hearts to more readily/ willingly take them in.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

swolek said:


> Gracie, the deaf Cocker, is 13 years old and has arthritis so I'm limited in what I can teach her (no agility or anything, ha). I always wonder what we would have been able to do had I met her earlier .


Well, Gracie and Snorkels could start a deaf/blind/arthritic agility class. That way everyone would be about even! I crack up at the thought of Snorkels doing something like agility. Maybe with one inch bars.


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## swolek (Mar 31, 2011)

xellil said:


> Well, Gracie and Snorkels could start a deaf/blind/arthritic agility class. That way everyone would be about even! I crack up at the thought of Snorkels doing something like agility. Maybe with one inch bars.


Haha, maybe we can just lay the bars on the ground and put food on the other side!


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

swolek said:


> Haha, maybe we can just lay the bars on the ground and put food on the other side!


That's perfect!


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## Donna Little (May 31, 2011)

swolek said:


> Haha, maybe we can just lay the bars on the ground and put food on the other side!


We all know Snorkels would be the star of the show if food was involved!


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## xchairity_casex (Oct 8, 2011)

wow! great job with them they are adorable! i especielly liked mouse in the suit case too adorable!!
my sister had a blind/deaf lhasa apso i worked with a little bit (i was very young and had never dealt with training before and made up as i went along)
i taught her that if i touched her in certian places it meant certian things like if i tapped her butt lightly it meant sit if i tapped her front left paw it meant to pick it up.


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## wolfsnaps88 (Jan 2, 2012)

Sigh. Well your deaf dogs know more than my hearing dogs. They have a great owner I am thinking. What a great job.


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## Deaf Dogs (Apr 10, 2012)

Well, I'm not going to reply to everyone individually as there was just too many posts! LOL

I am not that great of a trainer, there are many that are way better than I am. I enjoy trick training, though, as do my dogs. It's a great brain exercise for them!

And honestly, I am not special for adopting the deafies... I do it for purely selfish reasons... I like them better! I truly do find them easier than hearing dogs! I have never once wished my deaf dogs could hear... but I constantly wish my hearing dogs were deaf! Besides... they're so pretty! LOL

My little Doxies get a ton of attention from everyone we meet! I take them anywhere, and I get stopped constantly, and end up talking to people about them for most of the time we're out of the house. They're little magnets!

Unfortunately, deaf dogs have a very bad rap. people think they're hard to train, or aggressive. They truly aren't. Just look at the doxies! Mouse is a little trickster, who knows tons of tricks (not quite as many as Scout), and not only is she deaf, but a Dachshund, who're notoriously stubborn and hard to train! Though she was a bit of a pia when she was a puppy (understatement!) but that was just dachshund puppy behaviour... with a side helping of having a runaway nose! She could find a single piece of kibble in a quarter section! (and I'm not embellishing much there!) 

I've seen a couple of deaf/blind cockers posted in the last few weeks... one old, one born that way. So they're def. more common than you'd think.

As to Harle danes... dont get me started on that one!!! I've seen more white harle danes than double merle or merlequins! It's just so wrong!


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