Dog hard of hearing...any help out there???

[susie_2000]

I adopted a dog yesterday from some people that were rehoming him and he seems to be not be responding to any sounds or noise....just wondering if anyone has any experience with a training a dog that has hearing issues...i have contacted his owners to try to get some feedback but they hadn't mentioned this...i will also get him to the vet...

[rescuekitty]

I don't have an answer for you, but I am very interested in this as well. My dog is now 10, and seems to be getting hard of hearing. He barks a lot more now, and goes in his dog house outside and barks at himself. It would be nice to know how to teach him that he doesn't need to bark, but I don't think he hears us anymore when we tell him no.

[susie_2000]

Well this boy is only 1.5 years old so i don't know...the owners made no mention of this...it is very bizarre..i am not 100% sure...but i did try making noise and he didn't respond at all...i will keep you posted...

[Bill & Bob]

Maybe try different pitches. Try some deeper sounds, and some sharper sounds like clapping or whistling. Might be only affecting different ranges of sounds. I'm sure you've done that, but I thought I would mention it. My friends old Black Lab has lost the ability to hear lower frequency sounds, but has maintained the ability to hear more shrill noises. As well, she's just plain grumpy (although very sweet) sometimes, and we're all sure she plays selective hearing too!

[Lucky Rescue]

When people want to get rid of their pets, they lie!!

Anyway, here is a site with a lot of resources for deaf dogs.

Deaf Dogs

[woodbyter]

I ran into a similar situation several months ago. A friend called me to evaluate a dog he had taken in from a gentleman who was going to a hospice. The hospice would not allow the dog to go with the gentleman until they could determine the dog was safe. It would not respond to any commands and loud nosies did not faze him. I tried tuning forks and found the dog could hear and would respond but was more confused than responsive. Finally I asked to meet with the owner (who was dying and no one had paid any attention to his condition). The gentleman was a mute. He could not speak and his vocal cords had been removed years earlier. The dog would respond only to hand commands by his owner. The gentleman was almost too sick to go through the commmand signals but with a video camera I was able to capture enough of his movements and the dogs responses to classify his command signals. The gentleman died but his dog now lives with a new family and is doing well. The dog had lived in the silent world of his owner for years and wasn't deaf - he just ignored anything else. He has learned some commands and while he still misses his owner he is trying to please his new owners and comes when called- sits if he feels like it and is really a fine animal-just lonely even with his new family.

As for selective hearing - My wife has accussed me of that for years and I have to admit it is handy-but don't tell her that...LOL

[woodbyter]

As a dog loses some of it's hearing ability they don't really understand what has happened and the loss of hearting is robbing them of one of their best sensory feedback channels. By going in the house or a closed in area the barking echos and produces a familar sound that is comforting to them.

[mona_b]

Have you taken your dog to get evaluated by a vet?

They can do tests to check to see for sure if he is deaf.

I have a 7 month old kitten who is deaf.I realized this 2 weeks after we adopted him.He was 8 weeks at the time.It has been a challenge for us.When he jumps on things,it's not like we can say "NO" or "down" or even "off"....Training has not been easy for us....BUT he is our baby.And I'm sure if someone else had adopted him,he would have been brought back to the SPCA.