No Hearing, Little Vision
and All Heart

When Sebastian "Sebbie" to those that adore him, was only 12 weeks old, his life became the local animal shelter in South Carolina. For two full months, he spent his time in a concrete floored run. Every day, especially once they determined that he was deaf and nearly blind, his chances of being adopted became slimmer and slimmer. With so many people fearful of the basic challenges of dog ownership, who would be willing to commit to this young, confused Australian Shepherd?

For the home that did commit to him, the questions were endless. They were worried, what did they know about living with a dog with hearing and site issues? Granted, a beloved elderly canine companion was slowly going deaf and blind due to age, but that is a far cry from living with a dog that entered the world with these issues. What possessed them? Living in Virginia, they were not close enough to feel compelled by Sebbie's situation but nevertheless, they found themselves commiting to a 5 month old Australian Shepherd that was deaf, nearly blind and without the advantages of appropriate handling and socializing from an early age. While they would not likely call themselves heroes, DigitalDog questions if there is anything more to heroism than feeling ill-equipped for a massive task but taking it on anyway? We are certain the Sebbie would agree!

Almost immediately, Sebbie indicated an ability to cope in his new home that exceeded anything his new family had hoped for. Even so, his loving family still wonders at the ignorance and callousness of the people who brought Sebbie into the world with poor breeding and inadequate care to ultimately leave him at a kill shelter. While his ability to deal with the expected is exceptional, his confusion when things are out of the ordinary is heartbreaking.

Living with other dogs gives Sebbie special advantages as he turns to them through his remaining sight and scent capabilities to determine what is going on. His companions can quickly signal that someone is at the door, or that the routine has moved to play time or the appearance of a squirrel in the backyard.

His ability to compensate with the resources he has available has left many visitors stunned when they learned that his vision is limited to minimal ability in one eye and complete deafness.

Perhaps the most telling result of this difficult start is his limited capacity for trust. It seems likely, that if he'd been handled and supported from early on that he would find it easy to rely upon others. Instead, his early months were no doubt spent with a high level of anxiety and confusion due to the neglect in his socialization, and support when being transferred to new environments (from breeder to new home and new home to shelter, we speculate). With time and patient handling, this has changed, and Sebbie enjoys meeting new people.

Certainly, Sebbie was fortunate in being adopted by a family that understood the importance of socialization and despite his challenges, encouraged and actively sought his participation in a variety of activities and locales. While initially extremely challenging for him, as his trust developed so did his ability to enjoy outings, new people and places and animals, while with his family. Additionally, his inherent curiousity, desire to please and learn, which are all characteristics of Australian Shepherds, came to bear and helped in his development into a well-adjusted dog, albeit one that would never hear the world around him and only have limited ability to see it.

As a result of Sebbie's beginning and the shadowy world in which he lives, he still has a leery quality and will startle at many events (including those initiated by his own family) at times. He's learned a variety of hand signals including sit, wait, come, down and stay to name a few. These exceed the training and knowledge of most pets in the country! Additionally, he's very well behaved on a leash and accompanies his family with exceptional manners. If anything, his response to many signals exceeds that of a hearing dog since he is not ever distracted by noises.

ASL (American Sign Language) is commonly utilized in training deaf dogs (though by rights it could be as easily and beneficially used by the hearing as well since it is not dependent on sound to be recognized). Some dogs are trained to vocabularies of over 100 words. This clearly indicates that any compromise they may have is limited to hearing, not thinking. It is not uncommon to talk to the owner of a highly trained and titled performance dog in Agility or even Field Work, and discover that many competitors and judges did not realize the dog was deaf until their handler shared the information. Dogs with sight issues can excel just as well in Search and Rescue or Pet Therapy.

Additional myths surrounding dogs with hearing or vision impairments abound. One common expectation is that deaf dogs are more inclined to aggresion. Certainly this is not true on the basis of genetics. However, it is not difficult to appreciate that the confusion and anxiety created by living deaf in our current world would be enough to drive many dogs to some aspects of aggression. Additionally, deaf dogs are not immune to the basic temperament issues that afflict all dogs. So while these problems may not in themselves lead to aggression, the additional complication of deafness can certainly make the likelihood greater especially when coupled with handling that is not supportive or understanding of the dog's challenge.

A deaf dog is as easily startled as any sleeping dog that you might suddenly awaken. This creates a responsibility on the part of the family living with a deaf dog to think and consider their actions when the dog isn't looking at them. If you approach the dog as if it were sleeping at any time that it is not looking at you, the question is easily addressed. In the case of Sebbie, despite many shocks and startling occurrences, he's never exhibited any aggression, not even to toddlers.

When living with a deaf/sight impaired dog, it is imperative that the dog look at you when you need to request a task. Getting their attention is as simple as stomping on the floor or flashing a light switch.

Additionally, they should ALWAYS be leashed when in an unsecured area. Not being able to hear a recall, even if they know it as well as Sebbie does, could be fatal.

Deaf dogs are adaptable to the environment they find themselves in and can live in virtually any home or family where a hearing and/or seeing dog of similar type or breed might, but they should never be left unattended outside.

Additional tips for living with a deaf or blind dog are essentially to be more vigilant than you might be with a hearing or fully sighted dog. Such as, keeping them in a secure harness or martingale collar can provide additional security when in a new place (something that might cause many dogs to be more cautious and inclined to startle). Tags for identification and other aspects of responsible ownership are critical as is microchipping in the event of the unthinkable. Socializing them while young is even more critical (if that is possible) than it would be for a dog that is hearing and sighted.

In the final analysis, the adoption of a dog, even one that can see and hear is not for everyone. To commit to a dog with these challenges can be even more daunting and demanding. For those that find themselves drawn to the commitment the rewards are hard to measure. The day that the deaf, fearful dog allows himself to be drawn into a loving hug with his family can hold incredible magic as the connection is established. That connection is nothing less than love, which as we've all been told, knows no bounds.

You will definitely want to visit www.BlindDogs.com
www.DeafDogs.com
if you haven't already.

Write us at DigitalDog@DigitalDog.com with any questions or comments about this content.