old deaf dogs

I've read purebred wieners are prone to health problems.

I think they're the coolest thing to see the way they have that proud little trot to keep up with everyone else.
 
Back problems are common in long backed breeds like wiener dogs.

Many dog breeds have issues. Evolution is a rough instrument even when directed by man. Or even especially when directed by man.
 
My daughter adopted a deaf dog from the humane society. She has used a vibrating collar with much success. She gets nasty looks from people because they assume it's a shock collar. Her dog does not respond to foot stomping type vibrations.
 
Martha said:
She is on an anti-inflammatory for the severe arthritis and it works well.
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Martha, what type of anti-inflammatory is it? Does it contain aspirin? High doses of aspirin are associated with deafness.
 
stargazer08 said:
My daughter adopted a deaf dog from the humane society. She has used a vibrating collar with much success. She gets nasty looks from people because they assume it's a shock collar. Her dog does not respond to foot stomping type vibrations.
Click to expand...

Googling about, I see that you can buy such collars for dogs. I'll give it some thought. It makes a lot of sense. Here is an article on their use: DDEAF, Training With A Vibrating Collar
 
I thought I would give a six month update on old deaf judy. She is doing well. I considered getting the vibrating collar but never got around to it. Instead, I worked on having her pay more attention to me and watch me closely. She now is responding well to hand signals for come, back off, lay down, sit, stay, spin around, and sneeze. If she is outside and taking too long to come in at night I can flip the light switch and she will come to the door. She is old and sleeps on the couch quite a bit. I gently bang the couch cushion to get her attention if I need to. This will get her up and looking at me. She also goes to bed in the bedroom before me. I gently kick her bed to wake her up for her last pee. One night she did not respond to the kick. I poked and prodded at her and she still didn't wake up. I even wondered if she had died or had a stroke. But she was breathing and with some more prodding she finally woke up. She certainly sleeps very hard these days.

Barking is something of a problem. She will bark when people come to the door (actually, when I go to the door since she can't hear people knock) and will not pay attention to efforts to get her to quit. I pick her up to stop her. This is kind of pesky and I need to work on it. Since it is in my control, my approach to the door, I should be able to fix it. It is interesting how much she uses her voice, even more than she used to. In the morning she still harumphs until I get out of bed if I am not up by 7:00am. She also has been getting lots of treats as part of teaching her to pay attention. This has had an unwanted effect of begging (again by harumphing) and running through trick routines. But that is more amusing than anything else.
 
Interesting. My deaf Border Collie Jane has also gotten worse with the barking and the hard sleeping. On the upside, she doesn't get so afraid of thunder as she used to. Her mom, my Grace dog, has mobility problems that require her to be carried up and down the stairs most days, is senile, and soils herself overnight periodically. Give me the deaf dog any day.

I'm glad Judy is comfortable, though, and you are accommodating her disability so patiently. I wish I could explain that light switch trick to Jane rather than my usual go out in the 4 acre yard to look for her routine.
 
Glad to hear that the old girl is still doing well...feared the update might not be positive. Best of luck to both of you!
 
Sarah in SC said:
I wish I could explain that light switch trick to Jane rather than my usual go out in the 4 acre yard to look for her routine.
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Go out with the dog in the dark and keep her close, leash if need be. Have someone click on the light. Immediate treat. Have someone turn off the light. Immediate treat. Do that for a couple of weeks. (my dog is a slow learner). Eventually she came from distant parts of the yard when the switch was turned off and on. Now I only intermittently reinforce the behavior.
 
Ah, that makes sense. Martha.
I'll round up a leash and collar for her and give it a try. She's breathtakingly stupid, has been from the day she was born. Part of the curse of hearing a million times, "oh, you have border collies, those really smart dogs, right?"
At least you can carry the wiener dogs around more easily than my big girls. I am starting to recognized the benefits of purse dogs.
 
Martha said:
Go out with the dog in the dark and keep her close, leash if need be. Have someone click on the light. Immediate treat. Have someone turn off the light. Immediate treat. Do that for a couple of weeks. (my dog is a slow learner). Eventually she came from distant parts of the yard when the switch was turned off and on. Now I only intermittently reinforce the behavior.
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I wish there were more people like you Martha. I feel so sad for the senior pets. We get lots turned into the shelter for various reasons - mainly because they have become too expensive and time consuming to care for. They are so pitiful. Hard to adopt, confused, depressed and looking at me with those eyes. I'm thankful for people like you who continue to care for their elderly pets.
 
Purron said:
I wish there were more people like you Martha. I feel so sad for the senior pets. We get lots turned into the shelter for various reasons - mainly because they have become too expensive and time consuming to care for. They are so pitiful. Hard to adopt, confused, depressed and looking at me with those eyes. I'm thankful for people like you who continue to care for their elderly pets.
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I never thought about people dumping pets when they get old. That's really shabby. :mad:
 
I have always thought that I made a compact with my cats the day we brought them home as tiny kittens 15 years ago -- "you will be my loyal and loving cats and I will care for you for the rest of your days."
 
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Gumby said:
I have always thought that I made a compact with my cats the day we brought them home as tiny kittens 15 years ago -- "you will be my loyal and loving cats and I will care for you for the rest of your days."
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I like your compact with the cats.
 
Have you tried Metacam for the arthritis pain? It's an NSAID specifically for animals.

We've now had two dogs with bad hips on the medication and it is amazing what it will do for their mobility.
 
Purron, we see it too. The senior dogs are very commonly dumped at shelters. Especially around the holidays when people don't want to pay someone to watch them when traveling.
I'm heartened by the kindness of our fellow forumites toward their senior pets. Thanks, y'all.
 
When I lived in the country dumped dogs sometimes wound up at my gate. They were always young. I finally asked an animal control officer about this. She said that often older dogs either get hit on the roadway or killed by wildlife before they have a chance to show up at someone's home. Totally gross. I guess the owners didn't want to face the trauma or expense of having them put down.

Ha
 
I can't imagine 'dumping' an old dog (or any pet). I've had 4 dogs, 2 went deaf years before they passed, and I'd rank my favorites times in a dog's life conclusively as:
  • Best - When they are old, despite whatever health issues, they are so sweet, loving, grateful when they're older.
  • Next Best - When they're puppies, constant amusement and wonder completely offsets housebreaking, etc.
  • Least Favorite Time - Adolescence, when they're really independent - sort of like human teenagers!
But dog's have added immeasurably to our lives, DW and I.
 
Well, the old deaf dog had a $437 vet bill last week. Her breath was bad and I thought she may need her teeth cleaned, even though it was a bit early. It turned out that she had a cracked tooth with a nice little infection going on. So, her teeth were cleaned and the tooth was pulled. Costs included blood workup, IV during general anesthesia, the cleaning and pulling, antibiotics, and pain meds. She came through it just fine, though she did pace a lot the first two nights. The only difficulty was getting all the pills down her throat when she wasn't very interested in food. Wrapping them in chicken skin did the job.

Now she is running around her same old self.
 
Martha said:
Well, the old deaf dog had a $437 vet bill last week. Her breath was bad and I thought she may need her teeth cleaned, even though it was a bit early. It turned out that she had a cracked tooth with a nice little infection going on. So, her teeth were cleaned and the tooth was pulled. Costs included blood workup, IV during general anesthesia, the cleaning and pulling, antibiotics, and pain meds. She came through it just fine, though she did pace a lot the first two nights. The only difficulty was getting all the pills down her throat when she wasn't very interested in food. Wrapping them in chicken skin did the job.

Now she is running around her same old self.
Click to expand...
Bless you, glad it ended well. We had a similar experience with our old girl and her teeth about 9 months ago, but whatever expense is more than worth it. The old girl makes me smile every day.
 
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