Jersey is Deaf- Need Advice
Submitted by JerseyBullies on January 3, 2011 - 4:40amHello Everyone,
I recently adopted a english bulldog that is deaf. She is 11.5 mths now and completely out of control. Her previous owner fell ill and his family bounced her around from home to home for about 2 mths and always left her in the cage. On the second day we had her at our home we figured out she was deaf. The first few weeks were a nightmare and we didn't know how we would manage. When she goes in the cage she screams bloody murder! The first 3 weeks, it was like having a new born in the house, waking up every two hours to her screaming and trying to break out of her cage. We set her up right next to our other dogs but that didn't help. We finally found a quick solution to our problem of getting her to sleep through the night and that was to bring her in bed with us. Worked like a charm! She falls right asleep! Problem is, we don't want her to sleep with us every night or continue this bad habit. Plus we have 5 other dogs who get jealous that they have to sleep in their cages and she doesn't. We are in the process of getting her a trainer and working on hand signals with her. We have had her for about 1.5mths now and still she screams in the cage. She learned how to break out of the cage too. Oh and she jumps over 4 ft gates?!?! Actually more like flys over them. Its almost impossible to keep her somewhere if she doesn't want to be there. Its hard to believe somethings that she is an english bulldog. She is really very sweet but her screaming is driving us crazy!! Any suggestions of what to do would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!!! (Bark collars didn't work. I bought three different kinds. The first day I got them I tried it out. Went outside to do yard work, to come back in and to find out that she managed to rip the collar off- chew it up- then break out of her cage- found the bag with the other bark collars in it and chewed every single one up! (all in about 1.5hrs)- so $450 dollars later- I still had a screaming dog and an empty wallet) <- I think she was sending me a clear message- NO BARK COLLARS! Also any tips on how to raise a deaf dog would be great too!
Jessica- Bronx, Harlem, Cali, & Jersey
LOL! I suggest the bed for sleeping!
Seems she has told you right where she wants to be!
Seriously though...have you tried a soft pillow bed on the floor right next to your own bed? Maybe she gets scared when she can neither see nor hear you and freaks out....my deaf Grand daughter does that! If she can't see us or hear us, she panics. Anyway, I know many on here that have deaf bullies and they will see this and post. Until then, welcome again to the board, and I look forward to getting to know you all:-)
Amy and Sophia
Deaf dog
Wow, you've got a handfull! One good thing is that she appears to be very healthy!
You've got more dogs. Did Jersey made friends with one of the other dogs? Or is there one of them that is near to her, most of the time? May be you can keep both of them as a pair, together in a separate room (or in your bed of bedroom) at night. Take them out together for long walks, if possible off leash. Deaf dogs tend to keep an eye on other dogs to see what is happening. By placing her with one of the other dogs, you might speed up this process. She'll need her one-on-one time too, but she might feel much safer with a friend with her all the time. With the exercise you help her settle in a new environment, a tired dog will sleep sooner.....
I think it is wonderfull that you take of a special needs dog, I really hope you can get her to live a normal life!
Ineke and Zorro
Ineke
Hi Ineke, Yes, indeed I
Hi Ineke,
Yes, indeed I have my HANDS FULL!! We never intended to keep Jersey. We were just going to foster her until her owner was out of the hospital and rehab. Her previous owner had no clue she was deaf until I started fostering her and realized something was off about her. After that, they no longer wanted her. Our other dogs do help her. She has been with us for about 1.5mths now and she has done a complete 360! So her new bullies siblings have helped her adapt and learn. Jersey gets along great with my other female who is 8mths. They play together for hours but sometimes way to rough! Cali had bite marks on her neck from Jersey biting to hard. She doesn't realize how hard she bites sometimes. Plus they are typical girls, they get jealous of eachother at times or are partners in crime getting into some kind of trouble together. Putting them together would probably be a disaster. Leaving her alone in a room, she would be distructive. Jersey isn't neutered yet and neither is Bronx so that wouldn't work. That is the ABSOLUTE LAST THING I NEED- NO puppies for ME! Cali, Jersey, and Bronx all are getting fixed the end of January- so hopefully that helps calm their hormones down a bit too. And Jersey is too out of control for Harlem. All of their cages are right next to eachother and it seems to help a little, but she really just wants to be near me and follow me EVERYWHERE and screams till the point I give in. typical BRAT. She is great on walks and all of my bullies get plenty of exercise and playtime outside which definitely helps quiet her down. But usually she will still scream herself to sleep if I try putting her in a cage.
All in all she is pretty much a normal dog aside from the screaming in the cage. Mostly everything else is typical puppy behavior and expected because no one ever trained her. It just makes things a lot more difficult when already having 5 dogs and two which are still puppies. Adding a sixth that has special needs was just very unexpected and required us to adapt and change our whole routine with the other five dogs. Lately everything we do has been adapted around her being deaf. It not as easy to get a dog sitter or have family members watch her as it is with our other dogs. We vacation a least twice a year and everything is on hold because I don't know who could deal with her for a whole week. I'm hoping I can get a good trainer and have her be just as great as the rest of our broad. Thanks for ALL the advice! Its greatly appreciated!!!
Jessica- Bronx, Harlem, Cali, & Jersey
NO! Not a brat, but a scared, confused dog in a new home...
She is crying for you because you are the one she gets comfort from and relies on and depends on and trusts! I have a German Shepard girl that was a rescue, and she won't let me out of her sight at all. She isn't deaf but she TOTALLY relies on me for her security at all times. She was lost and starving and scared and in terrible shape when I got her, and I brought her home and loved her and cared for her, and she is dedicated to me. I would consider that to be your own situation with the deaf bully as well. She isn't being a brat at all, she is crying for your touch because she is scared and can't hear your voice and needs that physical reassurance. Trust me o this one:-) If you have a nice soft bed on the floor near you at night, would it be ok for Cali to sleep there so when she wakes up afraid, you are only a touch away from her? Possibly she would get to where she knows you are always right there and she would settle down for a long winters nap!
I can't offer much advice here, I don't have and never have had a deaf dog. I can only go on what you say, and from what I am gleaning, she is just frightened and relies on you for comfort.
Amy and Sophia
Tried to send you a private message
but you are not accepting private messages. If you can private message me and I can get you in contact with some one that can help you. She has helped many other people with deaf bullies and has one herself.
Jo Ann
Right now, crate training her isn't nearly as important
as learning how to communicate with her. Crating and her screaming/escaping sounds like it is fear and or separation anxiety based, so as someone else suggested, I would bring her into the room with you. Do so, at least until your other training starts to develop, it will help her with her frustration with lacking communication and it will help her self confidence.
There are a lot of websites dedicated to helping and training deaf dogs and their owners, people with the education and experience that you might find helpful.
Best of luck, keep us posted.
Lynn King CPDT-KA
Rocco whined alot too as a puppy
so I put his crate in my bedroom so he he could still see me but also get used to the crate...it helped alot and once he got a little older used to the crate i moved it to the living room...now he goes in and out of it all the time takes alot of his mid day naps in there on his own
"Rocco has a spastic wiggle...probally why is nickname is Milkshake"