|
8/22/09
-
This is Xena. She is a 1 year
old, petite, deaf female who was surrendered to a vet to be
euthanized because she was not getting along with the other dog in the
home. The family did not know how to train or communicate with a deaf dog.
The vet would not do it! Xena is a healthy, young dog that is in need of the
correct, committed home. The vet contacted AABR for help.
AABR is looking for a home that
has experience training deaf dogs. Xena is great with people and home with
older children is fine. Currently she is a jumping bean so a fenced in yard
with a 6 foot privacy fence or an inner city home where leash is required at
all times is best! She knows her basic sit command, is trained to respond to
flicker of lights, needs a little leash training, is crate trained and
does best in a Vari kennel crate. Xena needs consistency in her potty
training so a family that is home throughout the day is the best suited to
help her work through this last step of training. She needs her home to set
rules and boundaries.
Xena is still a puppy. She was
not expected to do anything but sit. She was not taught how to react to
other dogs so she needs a leader to direct and she will follow. A family
with a laid back male and a human leader will be best for this little girl.
Get the facts:
Deaf dogs don't know they are
deaf.
Deaf dogs don't care that they
are deaf.
Deaf dogs are not suffering by
being deaf.
Deaf dogs are dogs first.
Deaf dogs are very attentive to
visual signals, including facial expression, body language and hand
signals.
Deaf dogs may startle when
awoken suddenly but can easily be conditioned to awake to a calm, alert
state.
Deaf dogs are no less healthy
than most hearing dogs.
White Boxers are not albinos.
White Boxers are just as healthy as their colored counterparts. The only
additional health consideration for the white Boxer is an increased risk
of sunburn, as is the case with many white animals.
White Boxers are not rare. 20-25% of the world's population of Boxers is
white.
Training
a deaf dog requires a major commitment and lots of patience
The leash, and a fenced
yard are necessities with the deaf dog.
There are many resources available on deafdog.org and we suggest reading
Susan Cope Becker's book, Living with a Deaf Dog it is enormously helpful.
Xena need some training but in
the correct environment she will be a GREAT dog!
|
