Having a deaf dog presents other challenges as well. Like, you have to be extra careful with open doors. If she runs outside, she won't hear you tell her to stop. I was thinking about adding a tag to her collar that says "I'm deaf." And her voice has changed. When I get home from work, her usual "OMG you're home" bark has turned into this weird sort of yodel. Before she lost her hearing, even if you tried, you couldn't sneak up on her. Now, you have to be careful not to startle her when you come from behind. That's a little weird. She used to wag her little nub like crazy when you laughed! But she still knows that a smile is a happy thing, so she wags if she sees you smile at her. Also, she panics a little if she can't find you, so you have to be sure she knows if you leave the house. And, while she can still hear a little bit, we yell when we say, "good girl" and give her a thumbs up. I'm hoping that she'll catch on to that pretty quickly - so she'll know that we still think she's a good girl, when we give her a thumbs up :-)
I was wondering if that stresses her out, that she can't hear. I asked the vet and she said she's never known a dog to exhibit signs of stress because they were deaf. That it usually happens so gradually, they don't really notice. I don't know. I think she notices. My fella says she's perfect on the leash now. Not that she wasn't good before, she was! But now she doesn't pull, ever! I don't know if it's because she's getting old or if it's because she can't hear so she sticks close to him to feel safe. I think she sleeps more now. But again, I don't know if it's because she's getting old or if it's because she's not on guard all the time now, because she can't hear.
It's a little sad.
No comments:
Post a Comment