Posted by moooom on 18:08 Jul 25
In Reply to: Do any of you have a deaf dog? sm posted by Zee
he was a St Bernard mix, very sweet. He could hear some sounds, like a steam kettle when it goes off. Basically, you will need a hand signal for anything you want to do with him - not just commands, but also things like feeding (although I'd imagine he'd notice on his own), but inviting him to go for a walk or a ride.
You'll need to make use of vibrations as well, to catch his attention, like clapping your hands or maybe stomping your foot. These will obviously work better inside than out.
And I'd be very cautious about touching him to get his attention - especially the back end of him, until you know with absolute certainty that he won't ever swing around and snap - which some dogs do when startled - especially in a stressful or busy situation.
The only other thing we found with our foster puppy is that he could not be crated but needed to sleep in bed with us at night, so that he knew someone was right with him (thank goodness he was still pretty small. Might not be an issue with an older dog, I don't know.