- Bennie Baby
Meet my dear bennie
Meet my dear bennie
My husband and I are owned by a rescue min pin and the 20th of this month we will be getting Bennie, a purebred 5 month old dachshund from the same rescue group. He is a doll! He has micro-opthalmia but has a little vision. They think he has hearing loss but they are not sure how much. I have heard I should use a harness for his walks and I like harnesses for dogs best anyway. My husband and I have talked about getting one of those leashes where it ends in a Y for both dogs if you know what I mean. That way katie could help him on our walks. i would love for him to be able to do this. Any other suggestions? I do have to work on his leash training. not sure how to go about it with the vision loss and some deafness. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks, Michelle
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GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily
- Posts: 5011
- Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2003 7:00 pm
- Location: St. Helena Island, SC
Re: Meet my dear bennie
Hi! Is your new guy a double dapple? Dilute Doxies carry the dilute gene as well as so many others. A double dilute means eyeball anomalies often and sometimes deafness in about 25% of the litter. Have you read the stickies in this forum? Christie Mullady's is exceptional. My deafblind came here at 5 weeks with microopthalmia and the beginnings of PPMs. As his head grew, his eyeballs didn't and what was left was covered by membrane in a short time. They can generally tell lights being turned on and off but that's about it. Is your guy homozygous? He doesn't look it, but MM aussies can look like solids or tris, as well. Does your doc know if he might be MM?
You can test hearing with the BAER test which can be pricey, or Karen's old standby, a can of coins shaken behind the head or to the side. With the double dilute, the deafness is caused by lack of pigment on the hairs of the inner ears. It is either there or it isn't. I have to tell you NO one believes Gabriel is deaf and blind. I have to prove it rather than the opposite.
Training your deafblind is not insurmountable. FIRST thing, sign up for puppy school. Socialization is the most important thing in the world followed by avoiding the startle response. Touch training. For me, a touch on nose is sit, pat on chest down, top of head stand on hind feet. My guy is treat motivated so I use the identical techniques for sighted dogs. Get him a vest that says I am deaf and blind and that way folks won't just walk up to him and touch him. Let him sniff their hands before they pat him. You will ALSO teach your teacher and pave the way for other deafblinds. I find reading Helen Keller the most INSPIRATIONAL thing to understand the world of the deafblind. I have a lot of her books and had to go back and buy the original Miracle Worker. When that light bulb goes off, stand back, because there is NOTHING our pups can't do except catch a frisbee on the fly. Yes, they can do agility. If I had to choose a defect, I think I would choose sight, because my boy will never hear me say I love you little guy. My blind only RACES through life. The two defects are separate when it comes to the dog. The challenges are separate and the answers are different. This pup will change your life. To read more about the homozygous defect,
http://www.aussielads.com/Trouble%20with%20Merle.htm
You absolutely want to get the Gentle Leader CHEST (NOT head) harness with the D ring at chest level. Puts pup in perfect lead and you in control. I had a spinner, a severe CCD (which ultimately killed her) who walked on perfect lead, even pranced on the Gentle Leader.
We rescue Lethal White Aussies. The defect is called homozygous. Double Merle. Double Dilute. We have a WORLD of info that you would probably find helpful despite the breed differences, at http://www.s8.createphpbb.com/lethalwhiteauss/
Welcome and we want PICS!
You can test hearing with the BAER test which can be pricey, or Karen's old standby, a can of coins shaken behind the head or to the side. With the double dilute, the deafness is caused by lack of pigment on the hairs of the inner ears. It is either there or it isn't. I have to tell you NO one believes Gabriel is deaf and blind. I have to prove it rather than the opposite.
Training your deafblind is not insurmountable. FIRST thing, sign up for puppy school. Socialization is the most important thing in the world followed by avoiding the startle response. Touch training. For me, a touch on nose is sit, pat on chest down, top of head stand on hind feet. My guy is treat motivated so I use the identical techniques for sighted dogs. Get him a vest that says I am deaf and blind and that way folks won't just walk up to him and touch him. Let him sniff their hands before they pat him. You will ALSO teach your teacher and pave the way for other deafblinds. I find reading Helen Keller the most INSPIRATIONAL thing to understand the world of the deafblind. I have a lot of her books and had to go back and buy the original Miracle Worker. When that light bulb goes off, stand back, because there is NOTHING our pups can't do except catch a frisbee on the fly. Yes, they can do agility. If I had to choose a defect, I think I would choose sight, because my boy will never hear me say I love you little guy. My blind only RACES through life. The two defects are separate when it comes to the dog. The challenges are separate and the answers are different. This pup will change your life. To read more about the homozygous defect,
http://www.aussielads.com/Trouble%20with%20Merle.htm
You absolutely want to get the Gentle Leader CHEST (NOT head) harness with the D ring at chest level. Puts pup in perfect lead and you in control. I had a spinner, a severe CCD (which ultimately killed her) who walked on perfect lead, even pranced on the Gentle Leader.
We rescue Lethal White Aussies. The defect is called homozygous. Double Merle. Double Dilute. We have a WORLD of info that you would probably find helpful despite the breed differences, at http://www.s8.createphpbb.com/lethalwhiteauss/
Welcome and we want PICS!
Karen, Andy's ^i^ mom
Lethal White Aussies Rule!
INTERACTIVE RESCUE SITE!
http://www.s8.createphpbb.com/lethalwhiteauss/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LethalWhiteAussieRescue/
Lethal White Aussies Rule!
INTERACTIVE RESCUE SITE!
http://www.s8.createphpbb.com/lethalwhiteauss/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LethalWhiteAussieRescue/
Re: Meet my dear bennie
Thank you for those words. Yes, I have begun to read the stickies! Bennie is a little go getter according to his foster mom and as she says "No one has told him he has a problem" I look forward to having him in our home. We don't know a whole lot about him yet, still working on that. I do believe he is double dapple and they are not even sure about his hearing. It will be good to get him home so our vet can check him out real well. I will check on those harnesses, sounds like a good choice for him. And I will make his vest when he gets home as well. Thanks for the links! Michelle