Deaf Dogs Really Don't HEAR!

It really is true!

Perhaps they may hear a high pitched noise. Perhaps they may hear a sound. But most likely they feel vibrations more than anything. So, beware of unfriendly dogs!

My deaf dog did not hear the big white German Shepard who was barking at him. His owner was freaking out because my dog had seen his dogs and was inquisitive and quickly ran towards them. We had seen them with the man's wife, we exchanged pleasantries when we saw one another but always took the dogs separate ways. Her husband was a young man with a big white German Shepard he could not control, the little wiener dog and the big white dog were walking away from the dog yard outside my back door. My friendly muscular two year old Boston must have been intrigued as he decided in a split second to run up to the Big White dog and his little wiener dog friend. My dog paws at them, jumps on them and then it went very wrong.

My dog clearly wanted to play, but with the owner was freaking out and backing away, the Shepard then into attack mode. Perhaps the Shepard was trying to protect his owner who was saying "no", "go away" - alas my poor deaf dog could not hear him!

I was putting out his clean wet crate tray outside to dry in our shared dog space at the apartment complex. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my dog run from our doorway. He is good and does not usually walk out I guess this temptation of two dog playmates was too inviting, another set of dogs to check out, another set of dogs to play with. In an instant I realized the dogs and their owner were about to walk out of sight behind a bush in front of my back yard patio. I saw my dog run off out the corner of my eye, I quickly kicked off my slippers. Slipped on my Keds and ran after my dog.

The Shepard had backed up into the owner further into the dog yard, my dog had moved forward and pawed the Shepard. The Shepard lunged at my dog,snarled at him, barked and lunged in for any part of my dog. The Big white dog grabbed my dog by his hind quarters and threw him on the ground. A splash of water came down as my dog hit the ground. It was raining. I knew the water had saturated the ground, I could not avoid the puddles and I ran as fast I could. It was  cold, but I could not feel the cold. I slowed down and walked between the owner and my dog as my dog went down on the ground again. The big white German Shepard and the little wiener dog were snarling, the owner could not control his big dog. I  quickly scooped up my dog.

Told the young man. "My dog is deaf he cannot hear." I had my dog in my arms, and walked away with my Boston Terrier as mud dripped off his body onto my sweater and pants.

Adrenaline works mysteriously when you see your furry child attacked. I was horrified to see blood dripping down his leg as I walked toward my back door. Did not know where it was coming from nor how badly my dog was bitten. I walked in the apartment, threw the back door closed. I yelled at my husband.

"The dog was bitten."

"Capone" was attacked. I walked down the hall grabbed the dog shampoo in the closet as I walked past the hall on the left. Walked in our bedroom and into the bathroom, threw him in my shower. Washed his muscular little body down, as the mud washed off his body I saw his leg was torn and bitten. He was in shock. I dried him, he was confounded.

Showed his leg to my husband. He went to look for the other dogs and owner. They were no where in sight. I was horrified. I explained to my husband what had happened, he was cleaning the crate area.

Capone was taken to the vet, he was shaved, wounds irrigated. Given pain meds and antibiotics. I was scared the dog was going to stress out and worried about him having an epilepsy attack. He was fine. His meds have been increased and his blood levels checked.

All I can say glad he is OK. Yes, he has been bloody, oozing everywhere, but we have a washer and dryer and is healing. But, tell you one thing. I do not like that White Shepard, we are on the lookout for the big white dog and will stay away...hope my furry child remembers not all dogs want to play and not all are friendly.

The owner and his wife have been out of sight since that time. Disappeared into their apartment.  Have not seen them on the patio which is catty corner to us. Strange, I keep thinking to myself. Couldn't control their White Shepard. That dog is gonna bite someone, maybe their young son. It is too big to live in a small apartment.

I grew up with a German Shepard, they are as mean as the owners will let them be. German Shepards need to be trained. Made me wonder about that dog and the owner...who kept calling his wife to come down and help him. Perhaps the White dog was her dog? The man never said a word to me.

(NOTE: I thought it was a German Shepard, it was dark - the white dog was a white Boxer looking dog which I saw repeated in the daylight hours after that, always avoided each other). This made Capone very protective of anyone he was walking with.

Watch out for unfriendly dogs!

Epilepsy seizures in dogs lasting over 1 hour long

Months two, three and now four have passed us by. Time has been instrumental in getting Capone settled into the family. He is truly a "member of the family" now.

It has been over 24 hours since he had a grand mal or Status Epilepticus seizure which last over 1 hour and 30 minutes. This happened  yesterday early in the morning about 4 am. While he has been on Phenobarbital 1/2 grain (32 mg) (1.5 tablets 2 x  day) it has not been effective at controlling his seizures. After the severe Gran Mal seizure followed by a series of small seizures he went into a coma and I was able to get him to the vet who started him on IV fluids. He was given Valium (apparently that prevents seizures) and the vet brought forth the topic of putting him down if needed.

I asked the vet "How long do we wait until we know he is out of the woods?" To which she replied "24 to 48 hours. perhaps I spoke too soon."

I thought to myself, 'yeah, '. "Let's wait", I said.

Well, in Alabama the vets send us elsewhere to have our dog watched overnight, that being said, we transported Capone to the Emergency overnight clinic and noticed that the charges were high ~ $140 to stay overnight with an upward range of $ 400. But had to pay the bill as we wanted our dog watched overnight and do not have the meds and supplies to do so ourselves at home.

My husband and I just walked into the Emergency after hours clinic this morning, the vet there happily told us he had recovered and was awake!  We were preparing ourselves for the worst. Wow, miraculous recovery! It was a shock to see him, alert, chewing on his catheter (they had to change it) and we took him to the local vet yet again.

I just got off the phone with the vet, seems there are alternatives to Phenobarbital, when it is not enough to control his seizures. So, he is starting on Potassium Bromide (appears to be a very stable drug which has been used for epilepsy in dogs in the past). Loading the drug into the dog for 7 days (that means we give it to him 2 X's a day then taper off to 1 X a day. Not sure why he was begun on Phenobarbital if Potassium Bromide exists and does not affect the liver or cause liver damage. But the good news is - there are other drugs which these dogs can take to control seizures. We now know the following:

1. If your dog's seizure lasts more than 5 minutes call the vet
2. If the seizure is longer than 1 hour, spray him with water to protect his brain as his temperature will increase and call the vet or after hours care
3. If the goes into coma after a seizure it is to protect the dog
4. Severe attacks will cause brain damage, may affect the dog, and post phase waiting after a severe attack will take 24 - 48 hours to see if the dog recovers. So wait it out!

Second attack I have seen, glad I asked questions!

Going to run a few errands, pick up some Valium gel (apparently good thing to keep at home when the epilepsy attacks are severe, but it is expensive, like 100 dollars per syringe and we have found it helps to have 2 syringes on hand) it helps stop them  - then pick up the dog! 

Well, we have moved on into fall. The autumn leaves are turning colors, with each rain pour more leaves are falling to the ground. Halloween is over and Thanksgiving is upon us. I have taken Capone for walks in this mild weather, so glad summer is over - that means no more walks in just early morning or at dusk. Today is the date to turn back the clocks (Spring Forward, fall back) due to the changes in Daylight savings time. It is a glorious time for gorgeous weather, changes in time and light will mess around with the dogs schedules. Best thing to do is rise early today, take them for a walk and let them ease into the new schedule.

I also make a point to walk my dogs before I leave to run my errands. Found it is best to exercise them before I leave them alone for any length of time. They act better when they have been exercised and the place I live is not as messed up versus when they have NOT been exercised. Capone is getting much better now that I have laid down the law of living with my husband and me. He is usually asleep when I return from my errands, he is not awakened by the sound of my entering through the door but by the flicker of the light turning on. He sleeps late sometimes, provided I don't waken him when I get up off the bed. I have also learned to flick the light on and off when I want him to leave a room. I also have noticed that using a flashlight to signal to him when he is the in another room will make him turn around and look at me. In order to get his attention I wave my arms as he sees me out of his peripheral vision. I have noticed also that since he is so visual and is also oral (out of necessity I) must keep the blinds partially open as he has chewed more blinds up and I have re-strung the blinds so many times I am becoming really good at mending the blinds quickly.

Capone is fascinated by the fact that I cook. Below you will find a photo of him laying in the hallway/entrance to the kitchen. He loves to watch me cook, he also loves to see what I am doing when I am chopping fruits or vegetables. He loves spaghetti, carrots, tomatoes and pieces of apple.  He is perfect gentleman when waiting for his turn for snacks, and for his dinner or breakfast. He loves to play, to smell flowers along his walks and to sit in the sun.

Capone is not allowed to go to the bathroom in the apartment we live in in Alabama, nor is he allowed to do so at the house in New Mexico. The house training which was rough in summer has made it easier for him to ease into fall with minimal mistakes. The challenge will be winter. So, I am stocking up on sweaters for Capone so I can take him out!

The good news is that walks with him are causing me to lose weight. I have lost 17 lbs walking him more. So, having a deaf dog makes you get up, play with them more, walk them more and as he is younger -- also play with him more.

October is upon us, Fall is here and it is time to prepare for Halloween!

Spent much of last month traveling. Drove over 3000 miles from Alabama to New Mexico, went to Jamaica and then again to Cayman Islands and back to Alabama. I was unable to take my dogs with me while traveling out of the country - so they were boarded for 10 days.

Determined that driving with a Auto Front Seat Safety Pet Barrier is a requirement when traveling with a deaf dog, as is a Seat Belt restraint due to the fact that deaf dogs cannot hear you. You also can't sign effectively when the dog cannot see you and you cannot see them.


If you are interested in purchasing a pet barrier or a seat belt restraint, go to this site to get the cheapest deal on them: http://www.dogsupplies.com. The Safety Barrier is great for keeping the dogs in the cargo or backseat area.  Highly recommend them, do not know what I would have done with out it. Capone did try to stick his head through the barrier when it met the seat but never could push through the barrier - which was good!

Very happy to say that Capone is totally house trained now. Capone had a few accidents at our home, I learned I have to take him for walks and assert myself as the "leader" so he and Rocky  will sleep while I am gone. Washed many floors, cleaned the garage floor and the pet crate daily as well gave him a bath everyday for a week while I did the majority of the final house breaking. Defecation in the house was the worst problem to break, but was addressed finally. It has taken quite a long time (almost 3 months) to get him completely trained to go outside, he came to us partially trained. He has been good since then and we have not had one accident since his last accident about three weeks ago. I have also learned that he gets antsy when he needs to go outside, he goes to the door and barks - does not touch the door but he goes to the door and looks out (looks back at me and barks and turns back to the door)...it is my cue to let him out and so I get the leash and take Capone out. It was REALLY nerve racking while traveling to make sure he was able to get out and do his business, as I had to make a point of stopping every 2 hours to let the new dog out so he could do his business. I used positive reinforcement and have noticed that it worked more successfully than negative reinforcement. I reward and lavish affection upon him when he does his business. I keep his areas to relieve himself clean and free of his previous droppings. 

I think the dog is worried that he will lose his home, so when I do tell him "NO" he gets mad, then backs off and comes back and submits to me. Gives me kisses and I forgive only after I repeat the action of "NO" with respect to what he tried to "destroy" or if he was rough with me or the older dog.

Persistence pays off. Positive re-enforcement is key as well when training a deaf dog. As is disciplining the dog so they can learn what their boundaries are in your home.

Month 1 with a deaf dog

Completed reading all the literature I can find on living with a deaf dog,hit the local library to check out books, researched online and pulled all the information I could find! Downloaded books onto my kindle and decided that should begin blogging about my deaf dog from the start.

It has taken Capone more than a month to bond with my 10 year old rat terrier. While my deaf dog Capone has stretched my patience, I find that I have connected to him in deeper ways than expected and we are learning what each other's limitations are. Read the Cesar Milan books and have used Cesar's principles to help with his crazy rush of unsettling energy. He and I seem to be able to communicate in different ways, he watches me, learns from our hearing dog, has changed himself to fit in with my life, he communicates with me in ways I never imagined.

He is very nosy, inquisive and barks when he wants my attention which is often, even though he cannot hear me speak to him he looks as if he does hear me. He continues to make strange sounds, but they too are becoming more familiar. I still talk to him, remind myself and my husband that Capone cannot hear us speak to him. It has been trying for my husband, but he has grown accustomed to the dog's differences now and works to communicate with him and give him the life of a regular dog. The life of a dog who is member of a pack, who gets exercised, fed and who is member of our family or pack and who is loved.

My husband and I think our little girl Boston Terrier we had many years ago was deaf or partially deaf as she did many of the same things that this completely deaf dog does. She did not wake up when we did, she slept unless we woke her up by accident. Deaf dogs cannot hear you come in when you are out of the home or apartment. They cannot hear you when you leave the rooms - you must let them when you are leaving the room.

My dog has gone to doggie daycare, stayed overnight at dog boarding facilities. I have even taken my new deaf dog on a 23 hour drive to our home in New Mexico. The dog travels well, but will let you know when they have had enough and need to just get out by barking. Suggest stopping for your dogs every 2 hours. Remember to take water, food, bowls, snacks and of course toys as well as doggie cleanup bags and baby wipes to clean up messes. Be sure to have a security strap to buckle your dog up as they cannot hear you speak to them and you can't always sign to them. I suggest a crate which you can put them into as they can move freely in it if you are not comfortable with then in a restraining belt buckle strap. I have found a great website which offers great buys on dog toys and also has travel items for your dog, I invite you to look at them - their prices are wonderful.

Go to http://www.DogSupplies.com because they have the lowest prices for dog stuff. They are also really good guys to work with!

Now, I am in New Mexico I have begun to take the dogs for walks. They will need a couple of days to acclimate to the high mountains. Capone is learning how to live in a house now, has had only two accidents in the house, but seems to understand that he must go outside when he needs to do his business. He knows to stay with me when we go outside as there are wild animals about (bear, cougars, fox, coyotes, and so forth). He has gotten away from me acouple of times, daring me to chase him, but I find that if I chase him he is faster than I and he runs so fast I cannot catch him. So I use reverse psychology, I let him see me chase him, stop then turn around and he always come running after me. At that point I just motion to him to follow me, and he always does come with me and we go back into the house.

Dogs I think, know that when they are treated well, given structure, love and good home they do not want to blow it by running away.

Week Four - Epilepsy Seizures

Well, I can honestly say in MY whole life I have never seen a dog have an epilepsy attack.


Last night Capone had not one or two attacks - but he had 3 epilepsy seizures within a 12 hour period. It was frightening. I called the vet after the third episode. It was heart breaking to see it occur, knowing there is nothing you can do just make sure the dog does not harm himself while it is occuring.  


Be advised that this is pretty graphic....

My dog began displaying very agitated behavior (nipping and very mouthy) beforehand, he bit my husband and I on the arms, then fell fast asleep on the bed - this is when the first seizure attack began.

- 8:45 pm he fell off the bed (onto his side). He convulsed onto the floor under the side/night table (my husband picked up the night table to get it out of the way as our dog was twisted and  convulsing underneath it. I removed Capone from the corner under the bed, his legs were outstretched and flexed tight, his body was rigid, his head was back and his mouth became frothy/foamy. His body began to jerk uncontrollably, he started drooling. This went on for two minutes -- but it all seemed to go on forever.

Afterward - he was woozy, disoriented, wanted to go outside. He had a little trouble walking and was disoriented. He ran into the wall, he was stiff in his gait and slow to move, but he did move forward. He walked for bit, I slipped his harness on him and hooked his leash on quickly, he then went to the back door past the nearest bush and peed and pooped on the pine straw outside almost immediately afterwards. I cleaned his mouth up with baby wipes when we got back inside and wiped the froth off the carpet in our bedroom, cleaned his back end and put him back in his dog bed but he wanted to get up with us in bed. He missed jumping on the bed and fell back, my husband put him back on the bed.

During the second seizure at midnight he fell off the bed again, over the foot board (onto his side) and onto the floor, legs were outstretched again, body taut and stretched out, body stiffened and his head was back. He was drooling, his body began to jerk violently against the wall, I pulled him back and he continued jerking uncontrollably. It was over in a minute.

The third seizure happened again while he was asleep at my feet on the floor, below the desk in the early morning. I felt him shaking, and instantly knew what was coming. I moved the chair and pulled him by his back legs -- so his head was not in the cranny between the slats of the desk, his legs were outstretched, left side of his face twitched, body was rigid, head back and he was drooling. His body began to jerk uncontrollably again. He awoke from the seizure about a minute later and just laid there, he seemed to be in shock. I comforted him by petting his back and let him lay there for a couple of minutes, cleaning off his face.

Afterward - he was woozy and disoriented more so this time.  He got up, walked about 10 feet into the wall in the hall before he got to the kitchen and then ran into the other wall. He lost control of his bowls and I had to clean him up.

I have since learned after talking to my vet that dogs can die during the seizures. It is best to call your vet if 3 seizures happen within a 24 hour period and if they last a long time then you must call the vet as it may help the dog to survive the trauma of a seizure. The vet increased his medication dosage and also spoke of the need to possibly add another seizure medication and follow it up with communication and blood work. So, do talk to your vet, document what happens when your pet has a seizure and make sure you dose with medication as prescribed by your vet. 


In my previous post I stated that I had not yet tried use these items for a mouthy or barking dog:


1) spray water bottles on the dog to deter biting and barking, this seems to work VERY well
2) closing the dog's mouth with your fingers to stop him from barking, works sometimes - other times it just makes my dog mad
3) Saying and signing "NO" with a mad face. He seems to get this readily, but it still at times makes him mad.


Have decided I have a dog with a little bit of a separation anxiety problem - explained this to the vet. He chewed my Venetian blinds when he could not see out. This can only be corrected by opening them up, and yes repairs will be needed.


I have not tried "The Husher" device (similar to a muzzle) - have heard different things about it. The rescue society did not want us to use a collar which zaps the dog so we are not considering them.
I did try Lemon Juice - this did not work as the dog actually liked it. I have not tried Tabasco sauce (we don't have any and won't use it) to deter mouthing or biting. 


I am going to try the TTouch which is a type of massage to perform on the dog. It is supposedly beneficial for not only the dog but also for you. Keep y'all posted on this endeavor! 


The most important thing I can say is that you must find a way to teach the dog "NO" and "Quiet" as they are vital. 

Week 3 is down - Capone's personality is emerging!

Our new Boston terrier never ceases to amaze me!

His personality is beginning to appear. He is playful, quite mouthy, likes to bark very loudly, is extremely boisterous and is almost potty trained. This was the best week so far for his potty training habits. I sincerely think we are over the initial hurdle of getting to be comfortable with each other now.

Good thing too! He had a little bout of "dogie" stomach flu. It went through him withing 48 hours I was stuck at home with a sick dog, put him on the BRAT diet after 24 hours and he managed each and every time to make it outside to eliminate. I was very thankful. He is now paper trained too, and I have found that I can put him out before I leave to go to the grocery store, go workout and he will eliminate on the paper if he does not do his business beforehand. Which happens as he is still young, immature and sometimes forgets to do his business outside so it is much easier to clean the "potty" paper and anything which falls on the carpet. Also, suggest that you get an oversize rug to put under the area where your pet had marked in the house as it makes it much easier to clean up the messes your dog will leave. My older dog is rat terrier, he rarely if ever goes inside the house but there is an occasion or two when it was snowing out and you simply cannot get them to go out into the cold wet snow to eliminate.

I have been reading books like crazy on the subject of training difficult to train dogs, "Training the Hard to Train Dog " by Peggy Swagger and also "Cesar's Way" by Cesar Millan with Melissa Jo Peltier. It is much too difficult to find books on the subject of training deaf dogs, again I must let folks out there know there are just not enough books on this subject. I have found great comfort in the books I am reading as they are gently letting me know that the dogs tune into us and our emotions. So, that said, do try to maintain your calm confident leader of the pack composure when dealing with the new deaf dog. He cannot hear you, you do not know how many times you will have to remind yourself about the fact that he cannot hear -- the dog reads your emotions and body cues and looks at your face and takes it cues from those things. The deaf dog also follows and mimics your hearing dog. So, the deaf dog will learn all the bad traits your hearing dog knows.

I start each day with a brisk 15 min walk with the dogs (trying to work them both up to a cumulative total of 60 minutes of walking daily), make sure to exercise and play with them to wear them out in the morning and again in the afternoon (if not possible due to heat then play with them indoors) and then again after dinner. I feed the dogs after exercising, they go do their business and then sleep for a couple of hours and I do whatever I need to do (writing is one of the things I do, work on this blog or on my books). I was not aware that the dogs sense your composure by the way you hold their leashes when you walk with them, remember they are merely acting on your own emotional projections coupled with their own fears (especially in the case of a rescue dogs -- like this Boston Terrier), have discovered that must change a few things about myself so the new dog does not fight with the other older dogs (intense jealousy there), also be sure to set up a schedule intersperse throughout your day -- teach the dogs new commands and re-teach (remind) them commands, correct their behaviors 3 to 4 times a day for about 5 mins at a shot and work your way up to 20 mins at each session.

The single most difficult thing to deal with right now is the fact that our new pup is full of energy and some days requires much more playtime in the evenings as he becomes wild man and runs around like a chicken with his head cut off. I have been reading on how to re-educate a dog who bites playfully too hard and also who barks excessively. I am not sure if I need to get a crate to calm him down, I never liked crating dogs, but I might!. For now I am putting him in timeout for 15 minutes in the kitchen with a baby gate blocking the entrance -- when he bites me too hard and gets frenzied before bed time. He clearly wants another dog to play with and so I have become his play buddy as my husband still works, the other older dog (11 years) has no patience with him and since I am retired I have begun to play with him to wear him out.

Have read about and tried 1) using spray water bottles on the dog to deter biting and barking, 2) closing the dog's mouth with your fingers to stop him from barking, 3) Saying and signing "NO" with a mad face. I have not tried "The Husher" device (similar to a muzzle) nor have I tried Tabasco or lemon juice to deter mouthing or biting. The most important thing I can say is that you must find a way to teach the dog "NO" and "Quiet" as they are vital. As is "Good Dog".