Deaf Dogs
The common "thought" is that deaf dogs can not lead full and happy lives as a normal dog! They are often euthanized - or abandoned. There are so many MYTHS about them. One of the more common ones being that they are more aggressive. This is not the case! There are thousands of deaf dogs living among us - many you would not even realize were deaf! They compete in agility and obedience, they work as therapy dogs, and they make great family pets! I urge people to go to www.deafdogs.org for some great information on the Deaf Dog Education Action Fund. They are a great resource for the deaf dog community and have helped find loving homes for dogs that would otherwise be euthanized! I would also urge you to visit a website of a Deaf Dane Rescue site which recently took in a wonderful, loving 16 month old Deaf Great Dane that had been SHOT and left for dead by his owners (in an attempt to self-euthanize) - the reason - because he was DEAF! http://gracieland.org/DaneRescue/available/dakine.html Deaf dogs can lead normal, happy, healthy and wonderful lives! If you want proof, take a look at the life Sydney has as displayed in her pictures... http://hometown.aol.com/ttkristen/myhomepage/index.html If you ever have the opportunity to open your home and your heart to a deaf dog - you would not regret it! Believe me - the joy they bring to your life is immeasurable! Thanks for listening! Kristen |
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Thank you Kristen! 
It wasn't long ago that I was reading on petfinder about a deaf OES puppy. The owners were selling because they didn't think they could take care of the pup. It was an adorable little sweetie. I have taught different hand signals for my commands so that when Jack or Annabelle are further away, instead of yelling I will use the hand command. I would assume that a lot of hand signals are used in communicating with Sydney. I think it is wonderful that you have opened your home to Sydney and that you are helping others to understand that she is just as wonderful as any other dog. Give your furbabies a hug for me. Stormi and co. |
| Hi,Been reading all your info about OES,and I would love to thank everyone,I have learned a lot.We got our boy Dec.17 and just found out today he's deaf,this only makes him more special in our eyes,his trainer is working with us on hand and face moves for training.My vet and Augie's trainer feel that the breeder knew he was deaf befor we got him,guess my question is,does this happen a lot?no we did not check out the breeder,and I would not give my boy back for any amount of money,he's so sweet,at 40lbs one blue one black eye,he love's to sneak in the shower with me,I guess he's call a snowcap?The love this boy gives,I have always wanted a OES,and my husband found him online.Again,thanks for all the info.on this forum. |
| Unfortunately, deafness in this breed isn't all that rare anymore. I got my Steed after he'd been passed from family to family and was considered "stupid and untrainable". It took us about 10 seconds to figure out he was deaf. He was the MOST loveable and even tempered guy and we loved him to pieces. We lost him last year and it's a very sad time as we near the anniversary of his death. I miss him terribly. He was VERY smart and learned hand signals quickly! You'll form a really deep bond with hand signal training! Once he catches on how to communicate with you and you with him, you'll see that he'll never take his eyes off of you (unless it's something he REALLY doesn't want to do!! LOL!! My big lug had an aversion to baths, so he'd lay down and squeeze his eyes shut! : ) If he couldn't see me, he couldn't "hear" me!) Steed was glued to me from day one.
You may want to have him Baer tested to see if he's totally deaf or if there are certain sounds that he can hear. Sometimes the knowing helps with the training and offers you both more options. For future puppy hunting reference, there are tons of articles and tons of info on this list and others about finding puppies and what to look for and ask breeders....just in CASE you ever want to get a buddy for your guy some day! : ) Best wishes and happy puppy raising! Cathy who believes some OES are deaf and some have feign deafness...! Steed was the only one of my 4 who truly "listened" to me! LOL! |
| hi,just joined,thanks for the info.we are going to puppy school,and Augie's trainer works with deaf dogs.I love my boy!and all my love and time will be spent loving and working with him.Changed vets today,he wanted me to debark my boy,just because he's deaf! Augie's not a barker.and I cant see doing that to him.I will get another OES in a year or so,and check out the breeder 100% Augie's Mom and Dad are AKC register, so we thought the breeder was on the up and up. |
| I'm SOOOOO happy you changed vets!! That's just plain silly to want to debark a dog because he's deaf!!
The greatest part about having a deaf dog is the absolute necessity for "hands on"! Lots of hugs to give and kisses to get! Just as a point of interest...AKC is JUST a registry. Nothing more, nothing less. Basically, if you fill out the paperwork and send in the check, you get AKC registration. It means nothing more than that someone had a litter somewhere and they're assigned numbers and says nothing to the reputation of the breeder or the health of the animal. There are some great tools out there to use where you can check pedigrees and tests, etc. So when you're ready...holler! Tons of people are here to help you! : ) Have tons of fun with your guy! Cathy |
| Thanks for this great site. It's been very helpful to me, as our second sheepie child has been so much different then our first. We currently have a bilaterally deaf OES puppy (now 11 months), that we adopted from a breeder when he was 10 weeks old.
Oscar and I have found a great trainer, and we are having success using a pager collar with remote. He is trained so that a constant page is a "Come" command, and an intermittent page is a "Down" command, so he'll down wherever he is. It's working very well, and it's given me a way to call him when he's not looking at me. We recently made a cross country trip with him from Chicago to Florida, and it really helped ease my anxiety to know he was wearing the pager collar and I could call his attention to me when he was focused on something else. Just another tool that might help. Congrats on your sweetie. I wouldn't trade my Oscar for anything. (He's nudging me right now...) |
Welcome to the forum, to our new posters, and thank you Kristen for posting this topic. As it is becoming more and more common in the breed, it is vital that resources be available to those who need it so that these pups don't end up in rescue as so many do. It's great to see people making the effort, and with it they realize that a limitation need not be a hinderance if training, socializing, and tender loving care are handled properly.  |
| hi,thanks for all the great info.question,what is a pager collar? sounds great! My Augie is great,we have three yr old twin grand kids.He watches over and plays with them,he knows with his size he could hurt the kids,I really glad I found this forum on OES.after I got my boy,there is so much info.and most of all love for the OES! |
| Hi Augie's Mom! A pager collar is one that uses vibration, rather than tone, to get a dog's attention. The actual collar contains a box that vibrates when you hit a button on the corresponding remote control. After searching online, I only found three with vibration, as 99% of collars use tone instead. One is vibration only, and the least expensive of the three, but it is not waterproof and runs through batteries very quickly. The other two models are more expensive shock collars, with vibration capability, but both are waterproof and come with rechargeable batteries. I tried both and kept the one he responded to more quickly. I have taped over the shock controls in order to prevent accidental triggering, so we are left with a very good, waterproof pager collar. All of these are available online at K9electronics.com.
Training was as simple as hitting the page button and giving Oscar a treat over and over. Then I let his focus waver and hit the page button again. If he looked at me, he got lots of praise and a treat, as I knew he understood what I wanted. If he didn't, I went and gave him a goodie and kept at it. He figured it out in one training session. Then I stood a bit away from him, and gave him a "come" hand signal while depressing the button. Eventually I was able to stop the hand signal altogether, as he views the constant page as a formal "come" command. In all honesty, he has been no more difficult to train than my first hearing sheepie, he just requires a little different methodology. And lots of love, laughs, and positive reinforcement! I hope this info is helpful. Enjoy your sweetie! |
| thanks,I will order one to try,Augie was almost housebroke,now we are starting over,he gets lots hugs,and love,and I know its bad but he sleeps in our bed at nite,day,its his crate, only with the door open,I walk he's right there,he loves everyone,but MOM is # 1 in his eyes! And he knows that Mom is top dog with him and his brothers. Augie thinks he's a lap dog and I am trying to stop his showers with me,He only wants to please,and the look in his eye's with all his trust and love,what can I say I LOVE MY AUGIE. Did the breeder know your Oscar was deaf? Our trainer said we should try and recive 1/2 of our money back,Augie was three months when we got him,and (trainer said)that they had to know.My husband wants to try,I dont know, Augie's brothers -a-St.Berd-Gold Retriever mix 11yrs.old and a Shepherd-chow mix 6yrs.old both boys. |
| Oscar's breeder discovered he was deaf when he was only five weeks old. In all fairness to your breeder, it's possible that Augie was modeling after the hearing puppies in his litter, which makes it difficult to diagnose. (Most people have no idea that Oscar is deaf until we tell them.)
Our breeder made it clear that if we chose to take Oscar, that he would be a gift, as she just wanted to place him in a good home. (We got our first OES from her, and he had passed away unexpectedly, so she knew us well, and knew we were looking for a puppy.) It certainly can't hurt to request a partial refund, or whatever remedy your contract provides. Good luck! |
| hi,just spoke to AUGIE'S breeder,and as I felt in my heart they did not know he had a problem,she was just as upset as we were,Augie starts puppy school middle of june,and I work every day with his commands.he was fixed last week.ordered his collar today,that should help,YES I still think he's the best dog! |
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