Deafness
My question...who out there has a deaf OES? I am fearful my boy will eventually lose his hearing due to all these meds in his ears. But what choice do I ahve? I am a worry wart but wondering if that should happen, how do you deal with it? How does it effect daily life for him? I'm jumping the gun...but just wondering... |
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Actually there are several here. I'm sure Jaci and Kathy will be very helpful as well as Oscar's mom (I'm sorry I can't think of her name  ) |
| Actually I don't think you are jumping the gun, at least
as far as teaching the dog hand signals early. I'm not implying your dog will go deaf - that's not what I meant. We had a samoyed who eventually did go deaf and we were really glad we had taught her hand signals. It's never a bad idea to start teaching them along with commands they already know, and eventually they will respond to the hand signal alone. Shellie |
| Just a personal opinion but I think hearing dogs should learn sign and verbal commands in case they should eventually loose one sense.
This is going to sound rather pathetic but I never did get my deaf puppy... four times now but it just hasn't happened. With our first try, I read up on training a deaf dog. There's a book called, "Living With a Deaf Dog" by Susan Cope-Becker and also the Deaf Dog Education Fund http://www.deafdogs.org I had it all figured out in my head how I'd do it.  When Wiley didn't arrive (we received inaccurate info from a trainer about the number of dogs allowed), we decided to use the training ideas on our hearing girls. All of mine know sign commands except Kaytee (she's legally blind  )
To help with the possible transition, I'd begin teaching your baby sign commands now before he ever looses his hearing. Use touch... the touch areas you will use if he ever does loose his hearing. Try to work through any startle reflex now. You can thump the floor to get his attention (unless you have concrete floors)... he can hear it now but if his hearing begins to fade, it seems he would transition over to the vibration easier. Also teach and encourage him to frequently look at you and reward him for doing so. Hopefully he will always have his hearing. This training will not be wasted... it comes in handy with hearing dogs too. Kathy and Laurie live with deaf dogs... Kathy has had 3 and Laurie was I believe writing a book! They'll be able to give you real life ideas on how to make this transition easier. |
| I've taught Tiggy some basic hand signals.
The "sit" hand signal comes in handy when she's barking like crazy, I can tell her to sit without having to shout over the top of all her noise.  Mind you, I'm not saying she obeys it everytime  but it beats adding to the noise.
It also means I can continue on with a conversation while getting her to sit down. Especially useful when I'm on the phone and she's up to no good. |
Quote: The "sit" hand signal comes in handy when she's barking like crazy, I can tell her to sit without having to shout over the top of all her noise.
Signing can be fun! I LOVE being able to point at a dog and secretly give the "come" sign while the others aren't watching. I can often quietly pull one dog from the group without everyone coming. Have you ever tried K-9 Liquid Health Ear Cleaner? You might ask your vet if it would be appropriate to try. It has alcohol in it so it would be painful to use when the ears are infected... just wondering if it would help keep the ears infection-free once they're healed up. http://www.vitacost.com/Liquid-Health-K-9-Ear-Solutions |
| We adopted our OES boy from rescue in January of this year. As he was a rescue they guessed his age at 2.5 years and we knew he was deaf before bringing him home to our 1 year old lab. Duffie is our very first OES. Duffie settled into our home quite easily (we felt). He now knows we are his "people" and watches us closely. He looks for us at the off leash (fenced) puppy park and it did take about 6 months but now he can go to my parents farm and he won't go out of sight of the house.
He only knew one hand signal when he came to us (shake a paw, of all things) but now will come, sit, stay, wait & okay you can eat now! He knows when I go to one cupboard in particular that its time to get into his kennel and always seems to know when we're taking them for a walk (we can't even figure out what the cue is for this one!) And our favorite - flash the outside light on-off and he comes in! Both dogs rely on each other & take cue's from each other, so if one starts barrelling towards us - watch out! People don't realize he is deaf. At a recent animal rescue fundraiser, we were approached & asked - "I was watching your dogs interact with the people and other animals and they appear to be very well behaved & listen well, have you ever considered getting involved with a therapy dog program?" Yes it was nice to be recognized because of my boys good behaviour - but it was the "listen well" that made me proud! My deaf boy listens well!
You already have the bond between the two of you & IMO it will only get stronger if he were to start losing his hearing. As you already know they are amazingly smart creatures and quickly adapt. He probably already know a couple hand signals and you don't realize it. Work more hand signlas into your daily routine & you'll be amazed how quickly he'll pick up on them. As mentioned there is Susan Cope-Becker's book and the Deaf Dog Education Fund. Lots of great reading, advice, tips and information. |
6Girls wrote: Signing can be fun!
I LOVE being able to point at a dog and secretly give the "come" sign while the others aren't watching. I can often quietly pull one dog from the group without everyone coming. I WISH!!! My two are so jealous of one getting more attention, that there is NO WAY I can get one to come without the other. Even if I use a hand signal they both check on each other all the time and notice what's happening. |
| If you have any specific questions please feel free to ask!
I love my deaf dogs 
Kismet was my first deaf gal, then my baby boy Finn , Georgie Girl next and then our deaf foster..aussie Dawson. They are very in tune with hand signals and facial expressions. I posted recently as we thought our recent foster coming was deaf. It is not always the easiest but, it is not a big deal once you are used to it! The hardest part is they can NEVER be off lead! My pups would love to run at that beach and that is just not an option... I don't think Finn would ever wander from me but, I can never take that chance. Fiinn is a counter surfer BUT, he knows when he gets caught to drop it, just from my look! (he is catching on though, he had some pizza and a burger )
Please feel free to ask anything! Jaci(6girls) has read so much up on deaf dogs you would be set! |
| Gosh, I forgot about Dawson the wonder dog.
That dog has simply blossomed under your care. |
| From a training point of view, teaching a dog commands with hand signals is actually easier than with voice. Think about how you start teaching a dog a sit or a down - you lure with your body, and those lures eventually become hand signals. That's why you can think your dog knows what sit means. But if you stand stock still and say it, he may just stand there and look at you like: "WHAT?" What do you do then? You take your hand and lift it in front and up over his nose and, magic!, he sits. Eventually you fade that cue. But if you don't it smoothly becomes a hand signal.
We use voice mainly for us, since we're the verbal critters. And it's handy when they're not looking at us (or can't). But generally speaking dogs naturally read body language and in their world it trumps mindless human chatter any day, as anyone who has ever run an agility dog on course will know when they tell a dog to go jump, but their feet and hips are pointed right at the tunnel and the dog ignores their verbal command and dives right into the tunnel
At which point you grab a cookie and a rolled up newspaper. You give the dog the cookie for doing what your body told him to do and slap yourself over the head with the paper while you repeat: "I will keep my mouth shut, I will keep my mouth shut..." two hundred times
Though I don't want to wish deafness on any dog, I seriously doubt this is a sense they miss to any noteworthy degree, and some of our hearing dogs probably wish they could tune us out as easily
Kristine |
| Everyone here has given great advice.
Oscar has been deaf since birth, and we brought him home at ten weeks old, so he has never known anything different. But here's what I have learned as he's "matured" (he is a sheepdog after all ). Like all dogs, he reads body language and facial expression very well, and is especially focused on us visually as he doesn't have any verbal cues to rely upon. I'm sure your pup has gotten really good at reading you already, without you even realizing it. (Oscar has no trouble discerning my dad's signals from ours, even though my dad's don't resemble ours at all.)
In order to prepare your dog for potential hearing loss, it is always a good idea to start hand signal training. I would start now, while he can still hear, and you're able to reinforce your hand signals with verbal commands, as Jaci suggests. And then you can drop the verbal cues (with newspaper) as Kristine mentions. Also, you might want to start touching your pup while he's not looking, and giving a tasty treat immediately, in order to get him used to being surprised. We used this "startle therapy" with Oscar as a pup and it has helped tremendously. He NEVER whips around aggressively when touched when he's not looking, as he simply knows we're trying to get his attention. If your dog does lose his hearing, you might need to change a few things in order to help him adjust. If your dog sleeps in your room at night, you might want to add a few night lights so that you can communicate with him during the night. Mainly though, your dog can never be off leash again unless it's in a fenced-in area. If you have any other questions, please feel free to PM me. Laurie |
| OMG! You guys are the BEST Thank you all for all the suggestions and words of support. I am a bit of a worrier and when this whole illness started, the specialist warned me my baby could end up deaf. Not that he would. Just that he could. I am hoping he doesn't but have gained a lot of good suggestions from all of you and THANK YOU so much.
I never would ahve thought of the thumping on the floor to get his attention, nor the touching of him to get him used to surprise. The hand signals we already know from our obedience training. I also never realized how many forum members have deaf dogs. I am relieved just knowing if it comes to be, I will get lots of help here. Love this place....now if I could figure out how to get my pictures up so you guys can see my babies |
| oh the poor baby. ear problems hurt. that is a good idea to teach them signs. mine know some from obedience/ now will focus on more.
good luck! |
| Have you run the multi-drug sensitivity test from Washington State on your OES? That is the test to determine whether your dog has a mutation in the multi-drug resistance gene (mdr1) which results in the dog having an adverse reaction to certain medications. This happens in 3 out of 4 Collies. Studies indicate about 5% of OES are affected.
My blind girl seemed to be losing her hearing over the summer. One of the vets at the clinic I use prescribed otomax (similar to gentamicin) for both ears and that seemed to make the problem worse. Her deafness went away about 2 weeks later after I stopped trying to treat it with otomax. A couple of weeks ago I discussed her case with another vet I know who was a pharmacist before she became a veterinarian. She told me otomax was one of the drugs which caused an adverse reaction in dogs with the mdr1 mutation. Apparently it causes temporary deafness in dogs with the mutation. You can get the test from Washington State by going to www.vetmed.wsu.edu/depts-VCPL/index.asp They send the drug kit for free but it costs $30 to have them run the test once you've submitted the saliva sample. FWIW.... Sharon |
| Sharon, just to clarify, the price is now $70 per test unless you're sending in 5 or more at a time, in which case it's $60 per test.
The SE WI OES Club held an MRDI clinic last year. Mainly so those interested could get the lower rate since we didn't need our resident kindly vet/club member to do the cheek swab - it's real easy. Kristine |
| Thanks for catching that, Kristine....didn't have my glasses on and read the wrong line from my check register! |
| I just sent for two kits and thank you very much for the link.
As I say, right now he is showing no signs of deafness. He is on Oti-Calm with gentimicin mixed in. But, how would I know if he starts to show signs of deafness? He always did have 'selective hearing"  on obedience commands...never on "cookie time" however! |
| Here's the thing about deafness. It can be bilateral, total loss in both ears, or unilateral, total loss in one ear, or partial loss in one or both ears. It's much easier to tell that a dog is bilaterally deaf, as they tend not to startle when you think they should (loud, sudden noises), or startle when you think they shouldn't (surprised when you come up from behind).
Unilateral deafness is much harder to discover, as most dogs can compensate fairly well, unless their "good" ear is covered. Even if your boy does have hearing loss related to these infections, it's quite possible that you might never know, unless he loses all ability to hear. (Unilateral deafness is also why congenital deafness can be hard to weed out in a breed - a breeder might never know that a dog is unilaterally deaf, unless they do a BAER test on all of their breeding stock.) Also keep in mind that deaf pups have other senses that keep them informed of what's going on, which may trick you into thinking they are actually hearing something. They feel floor vibration, and may look up when you walk by. They notice air movement, so when you shake keys behind them, they may feel the breeze. A dog's sense of smell is so much more acute than ours, so they may smell the cookies before you're done closing the bag.
Laurie and Oscar |
| my boy, Sprocket, is deaf. He was 2 years old when we rescued him and they let us know that he was completely deaf. I have never had a dog let alone a DEAF dog, so I was a little worried. He was an abused dog so that was something I was worried about too. He didn't appear to know ANY hand signals when we got him. We worked hard with him on teaching him hand signals, and honestly he has been a joy to work with. He is so smart and picked up on things so fast. We didn't teach him any real sign language, just stuff we made up as we went. I have no training on working with a deaf animal, but patience and persistence is key. Nobody even knows Sprocket is deaf when they meet him. It hasn't affected our lives at all. And because he is deaf he gets the best night's sleep of any animal I have ever seen |
| Hello. Our Einstein was a deaf boy and our Bentley is deaf. Both were/are trained to hand signals and wonderful, wonderful dogs. |
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