Sad news

Hi everyone. Some of you may have saw I posted that we thought Gwen was possibly deaf a month or so ago. I thought I was just being overly worried and she was just being a stubborn puppy plus it seemed like she responded to us making noises etc. Last week the manager at the daycare mentioned to us that he and several employees thought Gwen seemed like she couldn't hear. This worried me so I made an appointment for her to get a BAER test as this is the only way to know for sure if she is deaf. I'm sad to say that our Gwennie is deaf It's upsetting news but I'm trying not to feel bad for her because she could never hear and doesn't even know she is missing anything. I still feel sad for her though. I know training is going to be more difficult but I know we can do it because she is so smart! I love her so much and this really is just one more thing that makes her more speciaL.

Sorry to hear about that. She is lucky that she has you to watch over her. Best wishes from Bacon and I.

Thanks.  I noticed your dog is all white. Does he have any issues hearing?  He is gorgeous!  Cool to see you are from the US too.  My friend just moved out to LA last year, she loves it there.

Oh Cara im so sorry to hear this, but Gwen seems like an amazing little girl and clearly you love her no matter what, this is just one more thing that will make her that little bit more special! I have no doubt that your training with her will be successful Rocky is sending lots of hugs xx

Aww poor gwennie, but as you said cara, she such a special little girl, this just makes her more special. Big hugs for you all and I'm sure she'll master anything you ask of her she's a smart lil cookie

Poor Gwen , but sure she will be fine as she has a great mum and on the plus side she doesn't have to listen to all the crap that some people come out with whilst you are out , take it you've read the deaf dog link all ready

Ah I'm really sorry cara, try not to be too sad for her because Like you say she's never known any different and she has you to make her life wonderful without sound, you are quite right that this just makes her all the more special xxx

Sorry to hear that, I am sure she is a happy dog either way.

Oh Cara I bet you are gutted but please don't be, I know a deaf dog and he is amazing! Me being me asked if I could take him out for a walk (we where in the pub) I had no clue how to deal with a deaf dog and when he started to wonder off there was me shouting to get him back..............

He responded well to hand signals and once I had spent a bit of time with him it was just like having a hearing dog. Your Gwen is just as special if not more so and you will all cope fine xXxXxX

I suppose the thing to remember is that she doesn't care! She's happy, healthy & lively with a great human family to look after her, so why should she care? 

What you'll need to work on is getting her attention whenever you need to. Some people use a vibrating collar for this, and it's something to consider.

She will be fine, hand signals are great with deaf dogs. You will probably find she watches you a lot so she can read what you want from her.  

Im sorry to hear your news, shes lucky to have a great owner that loves her so much

Awww bless her but as the above said she is vry lucky to have u

I have 2 White dogs and neither are deaf, but our next dog is planned to be a White boxer and we are fully prepared to take on a deaf dog, as White boxers are at quite high chance of being deaf

Very sorry to read this Cara, found some things that may help you and Gwen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ee4Ago9v9-k

http://www.deafdogs.org/training/signs.php

Oh man. I'm sorry to hear about Gwen! She's in the right hands though Cara!

Aww Gwen but she is as you said probably never known any different, She is so lucky to have You Cara xx

Thanks everyone! The thing the I'm having the hardest time with is getting her attention. We have already used hand signals to teach her sit, lay down, off but when she is distracted doing something and I need to get her attention I find myself just saying "Gwen" over and over then I realize..what am I doing?? She can't hear me! This is going to be the hardest thing! I'm trying to teach her "watch me" Which is two fingers on my cheek but how do I get her attention? Caryll I think this is where the vibrating collar would really be a big help. However some reviews say they are really heavy and uncomfortable for the dog. I will have to do some more research.

Aw im sorry to hear that but glad she has you to rely on and not someone who would just dump her!

Thanks. I noticed your dog is all white. Does he have any issues hearing? He is gorgeous! Cool to see you are from the US too. My friend just moved out to LA last year, she loves it there. wrote:

No, he doesn't have any issues with hearing. I was aware about white dogs have a higher risk and thought he might have some issues. Turns out he didn't and was just ignoring me a lot.

It's great to get more US people on this forum for sure. Staffy's are rare here in the US. Everyone we meet on the street seems puzzled as to why my Pitbull is so small!  

Lovely pup you have there as well!

Hi Cara, sorry to hear about Gwen but she is obviously a very happy doggie and has a wonderful home and with a little adjustment to your training she will be fine. As Caryll said a vibrating collar would really help in getting her attention, you may have already seen this but I came accross this site which has info on the various different types of collars out there, it even tells you how you can make your own one! Which may be an option if the standard ones tend to be very heavy.

http://www.deafdogs.org/resources/vibramakers.php

Sorry to hear that Cara, but like you said, it makes her even more special. She's lucky to have you

sorry to hear that, no matter what she will always be a lovely dog. Now that the training could be a challenge you could try it in sign language? one of my neighbours have a deaf daughter and her dog has been trained in sign and it is abs amazing to watch, no words and the dog is able to understand everything she says.. so cool!

ahh bless her,it is sad news but now you know for sure you can work with her hand signals,she has you to care for her so she cant ask for more,and your right it does make her so much more special x

BIG SBT wrote:sorry to hear that, no matter what she will always be a lovely dog. Now that the training could be a challenge you could try it in sign language? one of my neighbours have a deaf daughter and her dog has been trained in sign and it is abs amazing to watch, no words and the dog is able to understand everything she says.. so cool!  

We have started with the sign language already! It works great! Thats awesome about your neighbors dog. I have watched a few videos and it is truly inspirational to watch!

sab44 wrote:Hi Cara, sorry to hear about Gwen but she is obviously a very happy doggie and has a wonderful home and with a little adjustment to your training she will be fine. As Caryll said a vibrating collar would really help in getting her attention, you may have already seen this but I came accross this site which has info on the various different types of collars out there, it even tells you how you can make your own one! Which may be an option if the standard ones tend to be very heavy.

http://www.deafdogs.org/resources/vibramakers.php

I will definitely check out this website! I have heard the collars can be very heavy so the website sounds very interesting. Thanks!

Im so sorry for Gwen. Im sure everything will work out with her training. Keep us updated xx

CaraElizabeth wrote:

BIG SBT wrote:sorry to hear that, no matter what she will always be a lovely dog. Now that the training could be a challenge you could try it in sign language? one of my neighbours have a deaf daughter and her dog has been trained in sign and it is abs amazing to watch, no words and the dog is able to understand everything she says.. so cool!  

We have started with the sign language already!  It works great!  Thats awesome about your neighbors dog.  I have watched a few videos and it is truly inspirational to watch!

Glad to hear it. Best of luck to you, hope it all works out for you

I'm sad to hear your news Cara, but at least Gwen doesn't know any different so will be perfectly happy. And now you know for sure you can adjust her training to hand signals.

The recall is going to be the hardest part (let's face it, it's the hardest part for any Staffy!) and we all say "they go deaf" without thinking. I wish you all the luck in the world in finding a method of attracting Gwen's attention when she is not looking at you.

Do let us know how you progress; as well as obviously caring about you and Gwen, it will be an education for most of us.

((((Hugs)))))

Thanks Lynda! We have already started with the hand signals and she is learning so fast! Struggling with how to get her attention when she is distracted and not looking at us! For now we just go to her and touch her and do the watch me signal!

CaraElizabeth wrote:Hi everyone.  Some of you may have saw I posted that we thought Gwen was possibly deaf a month or so ago.  I thought I was just being overly worried and she was just being a stubborn puppy plus it seemed like she responded to us making noises etc.   Last week the manager at the daycare mentioned to us that he and several employees thought Gwen seemed like she couldn't hear.  This worried me so I made an appointment for her to get a BAER test as this is the only way to know for sure if she is deaf.  I'm sad to say that our Gwennie is deaf  It's upsetting news but I'm trying not to feel bad for her because she could never hear and doesn't even know she is missing anything.  I still feel sad for her though.  I know training is going to be more difficult but I know we can do it because she is so smart!  I love her so much and this really is just one more thing that makes her more speciaL.

Awww poor Gwen, I'm sure she'll be well looked after and live a full and happy life.