Ghost is turning into a very special puppy.
He is deaf.
Deafness in dogs and cats is associated with the genetics for the color white. The simple way it was explained to me is that when there are two copies of the gene that causes white color on the eardrum, it interferes with hearing.
We called him Screamer when he was younger because he would make more noise than anyone else. This was our first clue that he was different from his littermates. If you don't watch him very closely you can't tell any difference. He has days where training is easy and days where it if hard, just like other puppies.
Since the puppies came back from their christmas vacation on the ranch Ghost has become one of my favorites. Last night he slept in the bed with me, cuddling all night long.He is one of the gentler puppies in his litter and he is always paying close attention to me.
Look at this sweet face! Judith would like to use a vibration collar on him. We would train him that when the collar vibrates he should look around for his person. Then we have a way to get his attention without depending on our voice.
We have had several deaf families contact us about providing a home for him. Wouldn't it be great if he could learn sign language with a family that understood his world view so intimately?
Awe, I wish I could take him, I'd love him to pieces and more!! :) I hope he finds an amazing home!! :) Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI'm quite certain dogs would respond well to sign language, deaf or not! Interesting idea. Our deaf cat never had any problems because of a lack of hearing. He would respond to a clap of hands or a stomp on the wooden floor.
ReplyDeleteHi, I was looking around the Internet because we fear our four month old staffy cross pup Trixie might be deaf and her and Ghost really could be twins! http://i54.tinypic.com/10eod4y.jpg Thats my baby girl, we're going to get her checked out on Monday but if she is deaf, this post really helped me out. Thankyou very much, and I hope Ghost gets an amazing family, he is too cute!
ReplyDeleteRae.
Rae- We are real glad to hear this post helped you out! How are things going with Trixie? When we noticed that Ghost wasn't responding to noises we did some research. We found this book about living with a deaf dog by Susan C. Becker. While not revolutionary, it might be interesting for you to read as well. you can find it using this link
ReplyDeletehttp://www.amazon.com/Living-Deaf-Dog-Experiences-Deafness/dp/0966005805/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1301688704&sr=8-1