I work at an amimal shelter and we recently saved a blind and deaf 4 mth old poodle from being put to sleep at the city "kill" shelter. They figured this dog would pretty much be unadoptable. This dog was dropped at the shelter as it was bought as a puppy from a pet store and didn't listen to anyone in the family and and that something was wrong with it. When they took it to the vet , they were told it was blind and deaf. (this dog is only 4 mths old) I am thinking about adopting this dog, as I have fallen in love with him. I have no experience with either blind or deaf dogs but have been reading up on this before I decide. I do have two medium sized dogs (one is a pit/boxer and one is a foster dog a shepard mix) My question is does anyone have personal experience with a blind and deaf dog? Any info you can give me would be great Thanks!
I have three deaf dogs, one of whom is also partially sighted, and I have a blind moggy. Not quite the same as being both totally deaf and blind however there are comparable things which makes life easier for them collectively. Gently introducing a deaf / blind around the home using scents works very well, and not moving furniture around or leaving things in the way which they won`t realise are there in time are quite basic aspects. Rather than me waffle on in my usual way, here are some links you will hopefully find very useful :smt001 http://www.blinddogs.com/tips.htm http://www.ukwebpages.co.uk/deafdogs/links.htm http://www.deafdogs.org/resources/otherlinks.php A vibrating [ not shock !!!! ] collar would be a very wise investment but ensure you introduce pup gradually to it and teach one vibration sequence to one training action at a time, [ as in make sure one thing is reliably trained and understood before you move on to the next ], or it can be too confusing - keep it simple in other words. This item [ link below ], would be very useful indeed for your pup - a hoop which acts like a blind humans white stick basically, to pevent bumping in to things - the page shows how to make one in very easy to understand detail, [ brilliant thing imo ! ] http://www.blindpets.com/harness/index.htm You will need to be sure that the dogs you already have won`t grumble if pup bumps in to them or tries to play and is a little clumsy because of course pup won`t hear or see any ` oy, gerroff` warnings, but so long as you are vigilant and your dogs are sociable you should be able to avoid hiccups with them. Let us know if those links are any help or if you need more, there are lots of resources we can find for you to help make life wonderful for this pup who is very lucky to have found you, and I hope you will keep in touch lots, [ with pics of the littl`un pretty please ], and to let us know how he or she, [ you kept saying `it` ], progresses :smt001
sorry I can't help, I've not had experience with deaf and blind dogs, but plase keep us up to date with this and I wish you luck if you decide to take him on.
Well the little guy is at my house. We haven't offically "adopted" him yet. We are seeing how well he gets along with my dog. So far so good.... He's a cutie and my dog is pretty gentle with him. I really don't think this pup is blind maybe slightly seeing impaired and most likely totally deaf. Thanks for trying to help and I'll keep you posted...
Years ago, as a child, we had a poodle as a pet, he was also partially sighted and deaf, he lived a good full life until we came down one morning and he had passed away in his sleep at the age of 14 As long as we didn't change things around in the home, and only went to touch him from the front, never behind, he was fine. Good luck
good luck hope all turns out well.... sounds like he will have a good home ...a potential owner with a heart full of love is a very good first step
Oh bless. Good luck I don't know of anyone with a blind and death dog (apart from very old ones) However I know a few blind or deaf ones. The deaf one she uses lots of hand signals, the dog is very responsive and runs around with mine, just always keeping an eye on her owner. It actually does agility as well. Wonderful to watch The friends I have who have blind ones I know are fine. I know they keep a very tidy house and the trick is not to move anything then they find they're way round. One of my friend has other dogs and the blind one runs with them and just stays near to the noise of the other dogs. I think you've got a lot of hard work coming up but credit to you. Dogs are very adaptable and I'm sure will adjust. The dog might be limited to walks on leads but I'm sure would have a happy life with you. A very special little dog and you are a very special person to take one on.
Awww thanks everyone! Here's a pic of him.... He had a seizure this morning... I hope he doesn't have major medical problems. We are taking him to vet this afternoon. Forgot to ask what kind of dog does he look like to everyone.... They are saying he is a Malti-Poo
so how did it go? Did you adopt him or not? I never knew that dogs that are both deaf and blind can be trained...But I read the links so... maybe his sight could be restored?
