Dog Loosing Hearing

[dukedogsmom]

Hello all. Critters suggested I come here for help. I have a 13yr old German Shepherd/Chow mix dog and he's started loosing his hearing. He used to follow me everywhere but now he's not hearing me when I'm getting up. And if I go to pet him, I scare him. It is breaking my heart. So, if you could give any tips or advice, it would be greatly appreciated. I love him so much. Here he is on the beach

[critters]

Hi! What a GREAT pic!! I wouldn't mind being there myself!

Karen will probably be along in awhile; I'll post some other ideas later.

[critters]

Oops--I forgot.

http://furbabs.freeservers.com/
http://www.lsu.edu/deafness/deaf.htm
http://www.deafdogs.org/resources/vibramakers.php (vibe collars)

signing http://www.deafdogs.org/training/signs.php#signs

There are more sites; Karen must not've seen your post. You will probably find LSU and Deafdogs to be worth lots of further exploration; I've just been through several pages myself!

[GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily]

I'm sorry, the little unread link didn't show up !
I have a deafblind pup. I know you are heartbroken, a lot of newly blinddogmom's are as well.
Deafness is probably preferable to blindness, in my experience. You can compensate with scent, with thumps, with laser light, or flash light.
You want to avoid the startle response at all cost. Let him know you are there before you touch him, blow on him, or walk in front of him, or stomp the floor, and as he becomes accustomed to his new state, you will be able to gently float your hand down to his fur and he won't jump.
He's an old boy, so you won't have to deal with obedience training, but I do recommend translating your verbal commands into touch commands. www.aussielads.com has a Q&A and dos and don'ts. GabrielDeafBlindPup sits when you touch his nose, lays down with tap on chest, and up on hind legs when you touch top of his head. Allicksblindpup is sit with touch on nose, down is tap on foreleg and stay is the verbal :O.
You can put Duke's head right under your chin, his skull to your throat, and hum at different levels, and he will hear you. And delight in it. Also try one of the training whistles. Gabriel is profoundly deaf and did not hear a thing, but perhaps Duke will. It can get his attention, along with the flashlight, or light switch. There will be new dangers, which you will have to anticpate. Like walking him on lead in a parking lot or sidewalk. He will be oblivious to heretofore recognizeable "watch outs". I do recommend you tour www.aussielads.com as there are so many deaf pups there...
My baby boy is precious to me. My blindpup is as well. Their disabilities ony make them more special...