Puppy and Deafness

jwalters84

We have a 13 week old puppy and we have felt over the past few weeks that he doesn't listen and dismissed it as puppy behavior. As time has gone on, we have slowly started to realize that he only responds to what he sees. After searching our memory banks and doing our own experimenting, we are pretty confident that he is deaf but plan to see the vet this weekend and get a referral for Baer testing. I started looking online for resources and came across a wide array of opinions on deaf dogs (quality of life, suitability of a deaf dog as a pet, etc.) and I came across a site that said Deaf dogs don't make good pets and I also came across some information that said having a deaf dog is no different. I don't know how either of these opinions could be accurate. I feel like we have lost so much time not knowing that there was a problem that I now don't have the time to sort through misinformation. We really want to be able to train him in a way that he understands and right away since he has not known this whole time that we have been trying to connect with him verbally.

Anyhow, Just feeling a little overwhelmed and looking for good resources anywhere to help advise us with our puppy. Any advice would be appreciated.
Also, if you have experience with deaf puppies or dogs I would appreciated your best advice.

Grimlock

I have a deaf Great Dane! That's ridiculous to say they don't make good dogs. Ryn will be 4 this fall. She was born blind in one eye as well so we have a host of problems. We've trained her much like any other dog, and I don't treat her any different than other pets we've had in the past. Obviously it takes a little more time, but we do everything by hand signals and touch.

We show our palm to sit when facing her or a tap on rear to sit when walking. Palm pushing down to lay etc. It's very similar to talking with your hands. Alot of people make it seem alot harder than it is. Find the dogs drive (food or toys for us) to keep the eye contact and train just like you would doing anything else.

Be patient, most dogs like to learn, especially if it's fun. I wouldn't trade our girl for anything in the world.

BulliesofNC

There are quite a few people who have posted on our Facebook Group page who own a deaf Bull Terrier and have had no issues with their dog at all. They learned to train the dog with some sign language and they all explain how their dog is more attentive to them.

Oddly, about a year ago I had someone call me asking if I ever had any deaf puppies for sale or for adoption. I thought it to be a crazy question so I asked her why she wanted one. She explained that her 12 year old Bull Terrier recently passed away. She went to say that he was the best dog she ever owned. He was a deaf Bull Terrier. :x

jwalters84

Thank you for the advice and encouraging words. I really appreciate it. It has taken a lot to let this sink in. I think we have some ideas about moving forward with training.
Another aspect of this that we’ve been mulling is, once we have the BAER testing done, how to go about having the conversation with the breeder. We are not giving the dog back and arent asking for compensation or anything, but we did expect and pay for a healthy dog. What should we expect, if anything, from that conversation?

BulliesofNC

I didn't realize you paid for your Bull Terrier. I assumed you adopted him because no responsible breeder would have sold you a puppy with hearing impairment. Most reputable breeders would have conducted BAER testing on the litter prior to the pups leaving to their new homes. One thing I can guarantee is that your breeder would have known if the puppy was deaf or not. I would certainly contact your breeder and explain that the price you paid for the puppy was for one that was free from genetic health disorders. Based on his handicap you should be compensated. The breeder may feel the puppy is worth an adoption fee of 200 - 400 dollars but the balance should be returned based on validating the health disorder via BAER testing.

jwalters84

So, update, almost two years later is that neither party from this breeding felt that they were responsible for our puppy being deaf. We did the Baer testing and sent them the proof. We kept following up with them and they said that we were harassing them because we reasonably expected a response in some form. We gave up any pursuit of that and wrote them off. A short while later our pup developed sudden onset aggression and there was nothing that we could do for him. He had to be put down, which was heartbreaking. I tried to inform others who Were interested in dogs from them about what happened but of course my posts were immediately taken down and I was blocked. I couldn’t be more adamant about telling people not to get a dog from Devious Bull Terriors of a Ohio. (Whether or not I’m allowed to say that here, I don’t know. )

BulliesofNC

@jwalters84 - If you really want to exploit your story and warn others the best thing you could do would be to initiate a new post and title it "Devious Bull Terriers - WARNING." In your post state your experience with them and the outcome. This way anyone researching this breeder will come across your post.