Finding Out Your Dog is Deaf

by Courtney Mroch | More from this Blogger

09 Jan 2008 09:16 AM

Last night Wayne and I played volleyball with a group of folks who regularly meet on Tuesday nights at this one school gym. We'd had a little hiatus due to the holidays so everyone was excited to see each other and there was a lot of catching up going on.

One of my friends, Lyn, who I also play volleyball with in another league, had gotten a dog shortly after Thanksgiving. Princess Sophia. I want to say she's a Jack Russell but I'm not one hundred percent on that. I haven't had the pleasure of meeting her in person. I've only heard about her.

And last I'd heard, back at the beginning of December, was that Princess Sophia was adjusting well. She was smart, albeit hyper since she was just a puppy, but she played well with Lyn's boys, who were smitten with their new fur-sister.

But last night when I asked about Princess Sophia, Lyn shook her head.

"Turns out she's stone deaf. I don't know what I'm going to do. She jumps all over me all the time and I can't get her to stop. And then she starts whining and I don't know what she wants or how to correct her behavior. I was going to ask if you knew anything about training deaf dogs. If it's even possible."

I don't know anything about training deaf dogs. I've never had one. But I felt sure it was absolutely possible to train one. And that was before Wayne reminded me on the way home about our neighbor across the street. I believe his son and daughter-in-law have a deaf dog. Something I'd forgotten about until Wayne and I were talking.

I'm going to ask them how their son trained their dog. See if they did it themselves or consulted outside help. Then I'll pass whatever info I find out on to Lyn.

But first thing this morning I also hopped online and Googled "training deaf dogs." There's a slew of training tips out there.

And there's even an organization devoted to dogs with this disability: the Deaf Dog Education Action Fund. Their site has an entire section devoted to different training methods.

I learned a lot of new things today. I hope some of it will benefit my friend. And maybe you, too, Dear Reader!

Question to Readers

Have you ever owned a deaf dog? Do you have any tips I can pass along to Lyn? Either leave a comment below or share them in the forum. (See thread Anyone Ever Had a Deaf Dog?)

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Make Life With Hearing Loss Easier

Learn more about Courtney Mroch

Courtney Mroch is a wife, a proud pet parent, and a writer. She's been with her husband, high school sweetheart Wayne Pryor, over 20 years, married 11 of those. She's "mom" to Mr. Meow, a.k.

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butterflies77 (145) 09 Jan 2008 12:26 PM

I had a deaf ferret named Izzy. We actually were able to teach her signs for different things. When I would point my finger at her she knew she was doing something she wasn't supposed to. She would usually turn her head away so she couldn't she you pointing at her. She was a very sound sleeper but would know when we came in the room from our vibrations. She also LOVED mirrors! We even put one behing her cage because she loved to watch herself eat!

Courtney Mroch (9169) 09 Jan 2008 12:43 PM

How cool! So you found a way to train a ferret some sign language? This is such a neat thing to hear! I'm sure my friend will find solace in knowing if a deaf ferret can be trained, so can her puppy!

And how funny about the mirrors. It's neat you figured out she liked doing that and made it possible for her to indulge in her mirror time. =)

butterflies77 (145) 10 Jan 2008 09:23 AM

When I first got her I did a lot of research on deaf ferrets (unfortunately it's common among ferrets) I read about how you could teach them signs so we started right away when she was a tiny kit. We realized how much she loved mirrors the first time she managed to get up on my dresser and saw herself in the mirror. At first she kept trying to play with this other ferret! (So cute) After that she would do whatever she could to get up there. She would knock everything off the dresser and lay there and clean herself in front of the mirror. We put the mirror behind her cage so she could still play in the mirror but hopefully leave my dresser alone. It worked. :)

Courtney Mroch (9169) 10 Jan 2008 10:12 AM

Butterflies77, you figuring out your ferret's love for mirrors is EXACTLY what I was talking about in another article too! About "Knowing Thy Pet." This is a PERFECT example of having some kind of unwanted behavior, trying to figure out what's causing it, and taking steps to make both you and your pet happy.

What a great anecdote!

THANKS! I may refer to this comment in the future.

And thanks for sharing about your deaf ferret. I had no idea that was a problem common to them. Learned something else new today!