Mr. Great Cuddle Bug!
I never thought about it this way...God gave me Amazing puppy with "ambiguous genitalia"...On top of it he (we think he is more "he" than "she"), on top of it he has low to none hearing...Amazing Rainbow Moe now stands up for Equality. All puppies are cute and equal...Boys and girls...and those in "between" even more cuter than any one else! God is Great! Amen
Amazing Rainbow Moe, as a Moe, is our 7th generation of home bred babies. His DOB May 16th 2013. He was born with "ambiguous genitalia", or say it more understanding way- he is a hermaphrodite (possessing characteristics of both sexes) and he is perfectly adorable. Happens in all species, including homo sapiens (humans). However, it does not affect his ability to go pee-pee in no way. More to say, we think, he is expose more "male" characteristics, than females. We think, he is a boy. The good thing is that the pups born with this defect are always sterile, with no chance of perpetuating the problem, Thank God !!!
Also Moe might possibly have a very low hearing or even deaf. But if you will not tell him he would not even know that he has such little unpleasant defect. Deafness isn't that big a handicap for a dog living with humans. It's really not. Dogs, after all, do not understand English or any other language. In spite of the rumors that deaf dogs are handicapped and can't function normally, they are some of the most adaptable and inventive creatures we know. As puppies, they learn to queue off the actions of their littermates. They are very attuned to movements and changes in light. They recognize vibrations (which is all that sound really is) and they sense the change in airflow or pressure that results from opening or closing a door. The same is true for dogs whose loss of hearing is gradual because of age or a prolonged illness. They just never admit to us that they cannot hear. Congenitally deaf dogs don't know that they are missing anything. How could those cute puppies be anything less than perfect? In the same way you can teach them that particular sounds you make (words) have meanings, you can equally teach them that hand signals that you make have those meanings. And actually, many people do train their hearing dogs by signals rather than verbal commands. Some border protection/military dogs respond to the blinks of the trainer eyelashes, not even facial mimics.
The only issue that you may have with a deaf dog that you don't with a hearing dog is that, in order to give a command, you must be within the dog's line of sight. That's not so hard to achieve. It does, however, perhaps raise issues around letting the dog off leash in unfenced areas as you may be unable to recall the dog if he/she isn't looking your way (but then, many hearing dogs don't have good enough recalls to allow for that either).
Also, be aware that even though he can't hear he will still be able to pick up sound vibrations. Don’t feel sad, Moe doesn't know any different, we are one's who seem to make an issue of it. I would definitely say that Moe is the easiest for me to train because he pays attention so good and works so hard to please. And, on the whole, he rarely chooses to ignore me!
The only issue that you may have with a deaf dog that you don't with a hearing dog is that, in order to give a command, you must be within the dog's line of sight. That's not so hard to achieve. It does, however, perhaps raise issues around letting the dog off leash in unfenced areas as you may be unable to recall the dog if he/she isn't looking your way (but then, many hearing dogs don't have good enough recalls to allow for that either).
Also, be aware that even though he can't hear he will still be able to pick up sound vibrations. Don’t feel sad, Moe doesn't know any different, we are one's who seem to make an issue of it. I would definitely say that Moe is the easiest for me to train because he pays attention so good and works so hard to please. And, on the whole, he rarely chooses to ignore me!
The good thing: You can listen your music in a car really loud-he would not mind! Also Moe does not afraid of thunder storms and fireworks-which most dogs are.
Here the priceless letter of Miss Sarah E., one of our respectful puppy parent, who happened to raise a deaf female frenchie.
Being a Mother of a deaf dog has been a wonderful experience. My pup Scout just turned one a few weeks ago and has been an amazing addition to my family. I also have a hearing Frenchie, Squints who is two years old.
Honestly, if I did not tell people that she was deaf, they wouldn't know. Scout is a ball full of energy and loves everyone. She isn't jumpy or snippy at all. I try to teach people to greet her from the front so she doesn't get startled but, even if she does get startled, she does not bite.
Having a hearing dog has really helped because Scout pretty much just copies what Squints does. She knows a few hand signals but most of the time just takes queues off of her older brother. She is extremely adventurous which is a lot of fun.
I believe that along with just being born with a very strong and independent personality, her being deaf may allow her to do things that a hearing dog may not do such as knocking over all the pots and pans, clanging her metal bowl across the floor (I finally got her a plastic one) and basically knocking over anything in the house. Scolding her is different because she cant hear my voice but she knows she's in trouble from the look on my face and me stamping on the floor. She knows the signs for sit and treat and get down.
Really, owning a deaf dog isn't that difficult, you may just have to get up from your chair a bit more often if you catch them using the bathroom on the floor or you hear the garbage can go down in the kitchen.
Scout is now a huge part of my family and my other dogs best friend. They are inseparable.
Having a deaf puppy is really special and there are a lot of resources online for help as well such as Deaf Dogs Rock. I use Facebook to ask other deaf dog owners questions and have always gotten the help I need.
Good luck!
Sarah
Honestly, if I did not tell people that she was deaf, they wouldn't know. Scout is a ball full of energy and loves everyone. She isn't jumpy or snippy at all. I try to teach people to greet her from the front so she doesn't get startled but, even if she does get startled, she does not bite.
Having a hearing dog has really helped because Scout pretty much just copies what Squints does. She knows a few hand signals but most of the time just takes queues off of her older brother. She is extremely adventurous which is a lot of fun.
I believe that along with just being born with a very strong and independent personality, her being deaf may allow her to do things that a hearing dog may not do such as knocking over all the pots and pans, clanging her metal bowl across the floor (I finally got her a plastic one) and basically knocking over anything in the house. Scolding her is different because she cant hear my voice but she knows she's in trouble from the look on my face and me stamping on the floor. She knows the signs for sit and treat and get down.
Really, owning a deaf dog isn't that difficult, you may just have to get up from your chair a bit more often if you catch them using the bathroom on the floor or you hear the garbage can go down in the kitchen.
Scout is now a huge part of my family and my other dogs best friend. They are inseparable.
Having a deaf puppy is really special and there are a lot of resources online for help as well such as Deaf Dogs Rock. I use Facebook to ask other deaf dog owners questions and have always gotten the help I need.
Good luck!
Sarah
Very sweet, very easy going Moe was adopted to Las Vegas and to be a Mascot for LGBT Volley Ball Team!