# Deaf Foster Dog?



## packetsmom (Mar 21, 2013)

The rescue has a couple of new dogs needing foster homes that are deaf, including about the sweetest 3 year old rottie mix you've ever seen. However, my gut instinct is that I may not be up to the challenge of fostering a dog who is deaf. For those of you who have owned deaf dogs, were there some things that helped make this easier? I'm thinking these dogs will need very special homes indeed, most likely ones that already have experience with deaf dogs.

Other than that, both dogs are relatively young, healthy, and have sweet temperments. I'm hoping they find the right families and don't stay in rescue long, but I'm also glad they got them out of animal control, where they likrly would have had a very limited time to find those families.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

I've never owned a deaf dog but I've been around some. There was a deaf Boxer in a training class I took with a previous foster and the Boxer did fine with hand signals and treats. I was going to foster a deaf pittie but she was very fearful (and fear aggressive) of my big dog's invitations to play, I think in part because she couldn't hear his play barks and wasn't used to dog body language, but with people and small dogs she was just fine and you'd never know she was deaf just meeting her. 
I don't see dog deafness as a big deal and there are some different facebook groups and online forums with training tips. CptJack has a deaf Boston terrier and she might have some good suggestions also.

You don't have a dog yet (correct?) so your home might be a great place for a deaf dog. I think the main things are keeping them on a leash or in a fenced area (which is a good idea for ANY foster since you cannot trust recall on such a new dog) and waking them carefully (so as not to startle them).


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## Tylerthegiant (Apr 5, 2013)

Lucas is deaf, and visually impaired (not blind) and was born that way. Sensory impaired dogs learn to compensate to the point that most people would never even know they have these impairments. Lucas is a very healthy, social, sweet, happy, friendly dog. Did you know many deaf dogs are culled at birth? And many people won't adopt them because they assume they are more work (it's different "work" with training and communication), they startle easy and bite when startled (yes, Lucas startles easy, he would never bite me for touching him when he doesn't expect it-things touch him when he doesn't expect it constantly), that they have poor social skills with other dogs and people because their mother's ignored them in their litters (Lucas has excellent social skills with both other dogs and people-including children) and they have cognitive problems due to their social isolation (Lucas is my little problem solver, he can open every door and drawer in the house and knows many commands-if Lucas wants something he can figure out how to get it-especially when pleasing me is how to get it-it makes him very easy to train in that way).

The issues I attribute to Lucas's impairments in his behavior is that he barks SUPER loud, because he can't hear how loud he is (most deaf dogs do this) so a quiet command or a dog that doesn't like to bark much is nice. He does not have separation anxiety but he is clearly more confident around his family (fur and skin) because I think he takes certain clues from us on whether things are "ok" or not. He is more aroused by smells than my other dogs, and more it's harder to get his attention because he's more hyper-vigilante about being aware of this surroundings (but we worked on a lot of attention exercises in our training), and I have to get up off my but if I want to give him a hand command and he's not looking at me, although I've trained him to constantly check in with me and he does, and that makes things easier. I also don't take him to dog parks because I don't have him under voice control, and I'd never let him off leash in the open. 

Training is not really hard, deaf dogs are very attuned to body language and facial expressions. All my dogs use hand commands, I just use a few more with Lucas. Marking the correct behavior in training is a little harder without sound, I have to wait for Lucas to look at me to mark what I want, but he's smart enough that doesn't slow his training down too much.

Everyone that has a deaf dog at one point was inexperienced. Many people will not adopt this dog simply because he's special needs. If you don't mind doing things a little differently, the dog is a nice dog and would fit into your household in every other way, please consider a deafie.


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## packetsmom (Mar 21, 2013)

I think we'll keep this handsome fellow on the list of potential fosters, after doing some reading and study. We plan on going to another adoption event on Saturday to meet dogs and get to know them and figure out who our first foster will be. We're planning on talking with the rescue staff and meeting each of the potentials and keeping an open mind.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

My Boston is deaf. It's very, very easy to train and live with a deaf dog. Most dogs read body language better than they understand words, *anyway*. The only real difference is you never introduce a verbal cue and switch. Recall and not startling the dog when it's sleeping are the only two 'challenges' really. We wave a treat, or stomp near her to wake her (vibration of the floor)

Recall, varies but it's mostly management. She's very, very good at recalling when asked and following directional cues, more so than our hearing dogs and she definitely is more 'eyes on'. We keep her in confined areas, in the house we go find her, and outside (at night) we flicker the porch light so she looks and can be recalled. We have, and have used, an electric collar set on vibrate to cue her to look at us, but it's rarely, rarely used. Only in HUGE open spaces - if there are barriers, even natural ones, we tend not to bother; it's big, ugly, and clumsy. We always, always have a leash or dragline on her, though.

ETA: Just remembered a couple of other things, one Shell kind of touched on.

Dogs use verbal cues to tell other dogs 'I've had enough, back off!' This is a problem for Bug. She can't hear the snark or the yelp. Any playing she's doing with the other dogs has to be supervised closely, because she misses those cues and things can escalate out of hand really easy. Kylie or Thud say 'Back off!' . When Bug ignores it and they get ticked. So, we do have to step in from time to time. 

The other is clicker training doesn't really work. You can use a signal or a flashlight as the 'click' but timing becomes very, very hard. Most training with Bug is luring, and the lure turns into the handsignal, even after the food in hand has been dropped. And obviously interruptors require you get off your butt and stop the dog doing something they shouldn't be - you can't just 'hey!' at them from the sofa. 

But seriously, all in all - no big deal, barely has an impact on how we interact with her. The biggest thing is I talk to her anyway and my husband eyerolls. "Like she can hear you". I honestly FORGET she can't, it's such a non issue.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

Tylerthegiant said:


> The issues I attribute to Lucas's impairments in his behavior is that he barks SUPER loud, because he can't hear how loud he is.


Bug isn't super LOUD, but she makes some REALLY odd sounds. Her barking is flat, which is expected, but she also moans, groans, and has the eeriest, most unearthly (and like alien, not like eerie neat of a husky or wolf) howl in the WORLD. Not super problematic, but you can't even identify the sounds she makes as coming from a dog.


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## Tylerthegiant (Apr 5, 2013)

Danes have quite the bark anyway, but Lucas unlike JJ only has one volume, and it's just earsplitting. 

Bug is super cute! Deafie are great dogs, and my experience echoes yours, it really isn't that big a deal for us. In some ways it's nice. He's sleeping and I can clang around the dishes and he doesn't wake up. Doesn't hear the doorbell, doesn't hear reactive dogs barking in their fenced in yards. When walking him and training him not be be excited when he saw his triggers it was easy to keep him below threshold because I always heard/saw the trigger before he did. And I think it's so cool what he _does_ know. He knows when someone is home before the other dogs because he feels the vibration of the house from the driveway (oh, yes he does), he knows if I clap behind his head because he's aware of the air moving around him, he knows if I open the fridge because he feels the draft, he knows if I have the intention of getting up and dealing with him just by the incline of my body, so I barely have to move to "correct" him or interrupt his behavior. 

packetsmom, good for you for keeping an open mind and not getting nervous about the thought of a deaf dog! I hope you find the perfect dog for your family.


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