Deaf OES Help
My name is Melissa. I am posting for help. We recently aquired an OES. I have never had one and here is his story. We were getting our cat his shots and saw a post on the vet bulletin board Deaf old english sheepdog free to good home. My youngest son wanted a dog. (mind you we have two big dogs already 1. a 4 yr old blueheeler collie x and a 10 month old sheppard wolf x) I called about this boy and got what history I could. He is pure OES and completely deaf. The breeders were going to shoot him until a neighbor grabbed him. Mind you She is a very sweet woman, however she was unable to find him a home and he sat in her garage for 5 months. He was fed and shaved down to prevent matts. Anyways she was going to have him pts. Well we picked him up from her house. We found that he is wonderful with our boys and us. We did have two days of testosterone flexing between Comet and Coda (my male shep wolf x) but that has seemed to calm down. Now here is my problem. How do I train this poor puppy. I was advised against a vibration collar because they can cause health issues. We want to keep him because we know he would be given another death sentence at a shelter and I could never really know if we gave him to another family. After xmas he will be nuetered. and receive his shots. We are not irresponsible pet owners. I just have no clue about this breed or how to train a deaf baby. If anyone has any advice I would love to hear from you. Sindel@uomail.com |
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| Hi and welcome to this forum!
That's an amazing thing you did - good for you!!! There is a site called http://www.deafdogs.com (I hope that's the right url as I'm doing it from memory.) If it's incorrect just type deafdogs and you'll find the right site I hope. The site is for posting and the rescue of deaf dogs but is also used to educate people on how to train these dogs. I'm sure if you contact them they will be of enormous help. Please keep us posted and the best of luck to you! Marianne |
| Im sorry I dont have any advice since I have my 1st OES myself,and I have never dealt w/ a deaf dog. I did however want to say what a wonderful person you are for taking this poor little guy in.Your an amazing person,and IM sure through your intellegance and your love you have for life Im sure you will figure this out,also you will get great advice here,so be paitent youll get the right answer..... Merry Christmas |
We don't have much advise on deaf dogs either  But we want to welcome you to the forum and wish you lots of good stuff with your brand new adopted OES.
I'm pretty sure there will be lots of people in the forum with advise on how to get along with a deaf dog. Melissa, you're an angel for saving your doggie and taking the time to care for him. Saul & Dani (The Uprights) Lennon & Sofa (The Doggies) |
| Melissa,
Welcome! That's a great thing you've done - rescuing Comet. Unfortunately, many people feel that deaf dogs shouldn't be in society and they are often euthanized. Deaf dogs make wonderful pets and do great in obedience, agility and therapy! Go to the Deaf Dog Education Action Fund website www.deafdogs.org and you will find some great information on training, etc. You should enroll Comet in a Training class (positive reinforcement ONLY!) - and use "hand signals" for commands (most normal classes will show you this method). Deafness is becoming increasingly common in OES due to poor breeding practices! Many puppy mills not only produce deaf puppies but they are using deaf dogs as breeding stock. 
OES are a difficult breed - only because they are large, toddler like dogs and need alot of training and grooming. Training can be a little more difficult with a deaf OES - but it's not impossible. You need to be consistent and develop hand signals (www.deafdogs.org will have hand signals for you) instead of verbal communication. I continue to speak to my deaf dog - because they are very perceptive and can pick up body language and facial expressions as well. Comet will pick up a lot from your other dog as well. I'm sure you can do this - but if not - please contact an OES Rescue - they will help you place him in a wonderful home - you wouldn't have to worry about him being euthanized. Please feel free to email me - I'm more than happy to help anyway I can. I also have some great contacts if you would like (people that do a much better job than I do at training a deaf dog!  )
There's a great book, "Living with a Deaf Dog" that you should get! Other than that - you're going to raise him like you would any other OES puppy (which isn't always easy in itself! ).
Best of Luck! Kristen, Presley and Sydney (deaf) |
| Melissa,
Kristen is right. Deaf dogs make great pets, and they are pretty much like any other dog except that you talk to them with sign language. My second OES, Pandora, was deaf; and I wouldn't have given her up for the world. One secret is to train the dog to look at you about every 10 seconds or so - just checking in. Also, keep the dog on a leash when away from the yard. Trust me, you will develop a very special bond with this dog. |
| I have had 2 deaf old english sheepdogs and 3 with hearing. Honestly, the biggest difference is that the deaf dogs don't hear the door, bell, the garbage truck, the UPS guy, etc. We found that because of the deafness the dogs are more visual - they can't hear you so they need to see you to know what is going on and since they are more dependent on their sight hand signal training is easy. OK puppies are tough no matter hearing or no. BUt if you touch their face to make them look at you when you are giving a hand signal - and smile or frown accordingly - they will get the message. Also, we found that there was a deeper physical bond that the deaf dogs form with their owners - since they can't hear you say 'good dog' , you need to be more touchy-feely with them. They respond like crazy to touches of affection. I have loved all our guys and girls - but the 2 deaf ones were just so amazingly wonderful that we wouldn't think twice in adopting another. they may take more time but they are certainly worth every minute. |
jacquie wrote: I have had 2 deaf old english sheepdogs and 3 with hearing. Honestly, the biggest difference is that the deaf dogs don't hear the door, bell, the garbage truck, the UPS guy, etc. We found that because of the deafness the dogs are more visual - they can't hear you so they need to see you to know what is going on and since they are more dependent on their sight hand signal training is easy. OK puppies are tough no matter hearing or no. BUt if you touch their face to make them look at you when you are giving a hand signal - and smile or frown accordingly - they will get the message. Also, we found that there was a deeper physical bond that the deaf dogs form with their owners - since they can't hear you say 'good dog' , you need to be more touchy-feely with them. They respond like crazy to touches of affection. I have loved all our guys and girls - but the 2 deaf ones were just so amazingly wonderful that we wouldn't think twice in adopting another. they may take more time but they are certainly worth every minute. You described them so wonderfully! We currently have 4 deaf OES...two of ours and two of our foster puppies. They certainly do respond well to a loving touch! I hope the original poster had lots of success with her baby! |
| Just wanted to add that we hope you join the forum! It's a great group of people and you can learn a lot about OES as a breed and about dogs and dog behavior in general, and really, make some good friends. Some members have deaf OES and some of them have already responded to your first post. They will be excellent resources, as well as the site recommended earlier. I don't have deaf OES, but I can say that my dogs respond very well to hand signals and body language and are very perceptive at picking up mood. I talk to them all the time, but I have always also used gestures as well, so they are used to knowing certain hand signals and sometimes watch more for the signal than they do listen for my voice. There are some things you need to know about OES: grooming is very time consuming if you keep them in long coat, but lots of people have theirs cut down to what is known as puppy cut (about 4 inches long) and some even shorter. This does make grooming easier and less time consuming. It's not considered a bad thing at all. Also, OES are herding dogs, which means that they tend to herd and can have an instinct to do things like: nip at heels of bicyclists or people running: that sort of thing. You can teach them not to do that, even deaf dogs! Also: these are dogs who are not independent: they like their people. Sometimes we call them velcro dogs because they like to stick close by. Many/most still consider themselves lap dogs even if they get to be 100 lbs or more (big for an OES). A well bred one is not agressive towards other dogs or people but yours has a pretty checkered past so you can't count on that. But you are experienced with dogs, and bigger dogs at that, and that will help you. If you have been able to head off aggression issues so far, that's a really good sign. Probably your baby will not be aggressive at all but instead will be a very sweet dog who loves you and is devoted to you. |
| It's important to teach sign to both deaf and hearing dogs. I remember Pam, a trainer who taught both verbal and hand signals, telling me, "If your hearing dog (Maggie, my Border Collie-mix) ever goes deaf, she'll already know sign." Maggie turns 14 this month and has lost a lot of her hearing. It's been a very easy transition. |
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