South-East England Deaf Dogs

DD

Town: Southampton, Hampshire, United Kingdom
Deaf dog: DD is a 1 year old Jack Russell Terrier. We had been planning on getting a Jack Russell for years. We loved them
because they are bright little dogs and such funny little devils - we just love their character. We got DD when she was 8 weeks old from a family who's wire haired jack had puppies. When we went to pick her up there two little jack boys came running up to us exitedly, but DD was still busy digging up the flower beds, but then she double took when she saw she had guests and came to greet us too pushing the boys out of the way. The little pure white rascal looked up as us with her big black eyes and I melted. That was the one! It wasn't until we got her home that we realised that something wasn't quite right. She was very nervous (naturally) as she sniffed out her new home and a little jumpy as we moved around her. But she soon found her confidence and started to play. She just didn't seem to respond to us when we called her or squeaked her toys for her. The next day we took her for a health check and I asked my Vet if she thought she was deaf. The Vet classicly clapped her hands and made a racket and DD didn't respond. The Vet shook her head. She suggested we take her back as we were probably going to run into some diffculty with her training. I thought certainly not. I said I was not giving up on her she's the dog we picked and she's the dog we will have for her whole life. The Vet understood and gave us some phone numbers of behavourists. We read Barry Eatons Hear, Hear signed up for puppy and then it all took off from there. DD is doing remarkably well! She's so clever and at 13 weeks she was already doing tricks! She is a lovely dog and we love her so much! She has changed our lives! She has become a bit of a celebrity in our local park, everyone loves her she just brings a smile to anyone's face who sees her! When she came up to my parents my sister came to see us with her two children. DD was so good with them she enjoyed tearing round the house with Joe and cuddling up with baby Ruby. She may not be able to hear people saying how wonderful she is but when she looks up and see's you smile she replies with a little bum wiggle as she wags her tail!
Human companions: Charley and Rob
Other pets: Ula the kitty
Email: chartoon_AT_hotmail.co.uk

Town: London, England
Deaf dog: Skye is a 2 year old English Bull Terrier cross. We got Skye form the Dogs Trust on 5/9/09. We liked the look of her and the fact that she was deaf made no difference.She had been there for 2 months already and we knew instantly that she was the one for us. We took her for walks and really enjoyed her energy.
Human companions: Patricia, her Mother and Leanne
Other pets: Rueben, a 2 year old German Shepherd cross. Maggie May, a 7 year old Miniature Schnauzer and Gemma, a 14 year old Cat
Email: patriciavsamuels66_AT_yahoo.co.uk

Town: Wallingford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
Deaf dog: Daisy is a 2 year old Boxer. We re-homed Daisy through Lincolnshire, Essex and Trent Boxer Rescue around
two months ago. She's a white Boxer with beautiful blue eyes. She's 2 years old, we don't know her exact age as she came into Battersea Cat and Dog Home as a stray. She's a lovely dog with a great character. She's picked up hand signals really well. We've not found training a deaf dog harder than training a hearing dog just had to use different techniques. She's only been with us a short time but we couldn't imagine our house without her.
Human companions: Lisa, Dave and Daugher Caitlin(6)
Other pets: 2 year old cat Tom
Email: lisaproctor251_AT_btinternet.com

Gizmo and Tizzy

Town: Gosport, Hampshire, United Kingdom
Deaf dog: Gizmo is a 2 year old Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Gizmo is a very special and loving dog, we have only recently adopted her from a family who loved her but were moving abroad due to work commitments, this family had adopted her from the RSPCA where not much was known about her apart from she was born deaf and got knocked over at a young age and lost her front right leg. This just makes Gizmo more special, she manages so well and gets around with our other dog Tizzy a Beagle/springer spaniel, they are now the best of friends apart from the odd tug of war on Tizzy's ears!!!
Human companions: Justine, Will and two children, a Son and Daughter
Other pets: Tizzy (beagle/springer spaniel), 5 guinea pigs, 2 gerbils and goldfish
Email: justine.w73_AT_ntlworld.com

Benson

Town: Southampton, Hampshire, United Kingdom
Deaf dog: Benson is a 9 week old Border Collie. We bought Benson from an advert placed on a specific dog web site. The breeder sent us pictures of the litter and Benson shone out at us with his white colouring and pink nose. Benson is our first family dog and when we collected him at 7 weeks old and got him home I knew within 4 hours he couldn't hear us. We weren't sure at the time if his ignorance was puppy related or if he was hard of hearing. The breeder thought it possible it was because they were a noisy home but Ii wasn't convinced. Off to the vets we went who also thought he couldn't hear but to be sure we had him Baer tested. So Benson is completely deaf in both ears and cannot hear a thing...however he is the perfect dog. Within days we had trained him to sit and understand no. He knows not to bite hard on the kids when he goes in for a teething puppy nibble :) He has just learned lay and down. He sleeps thru the night and he doesn't bark, which with Border Collies has to be a great thing!! Benson has a fantastic personality that seems to be growing as quickly as him. I know that people who find out their dog is deaf can find it emotionally hard but I would recommend everyone to keep at it. We have and he is fantastic. We all love him so much and his deafness appears to make no difference to him or us as we all know the signs and have the time, patience and love for him. I would love to hear all about how all you other guys get on training your dogs though as we have only just started :)
Human companions: Lou, my Husband and our 3 children
Other pets: goldfish lol :)
Email: lou.s1979@hotmail.co.uk

Town: Southampton, Hampshire, United Kingdom
Deaf dog: Oscar is a 19 month old English Bull Terrier. I bought Oscar at about 8 weeks old and I knew he was deaf, in fact I had specifically wanted a deaf dog as I knew they were regularly put down. He is a typical Bull Terrier and loves playing tricks on me. I'm convinced he thinks I'm stupid. But he always makes me laugh.
Human companions: Kate
Other pets: Sox - Cat
Email: k8.h@live.co.uk

Town: London, United Kingdom
Deaf dog: Betty Boop is an 8 week old Boxer. Beautiful Betty...What can I say? She is adorable and our first deaf dog. I picked her up today so have not started training yet..she's just settling in! I am planning to use British sign language with her as I already use it with my deaf daughter. As soon as I knew she may be deaf I wanted her...I like a challenge..so here goes! Oh and any advice would be very welcome to my email!
Human companions: Nikki Beeney and daughter Millie
Other pets: 2 Rats Ronie and Rosie
Email: nikki.beeney@yahoo.co.uk

Town: Fareham, Hampshire. United Kingdom
Deaf dog: Polla is a 2 and 1/2 yeard old Siberian Husky. We rescued Polla from the Dogs Trust and have only had him a few days. I have to say he's a complete heartbreaker - he's incredibly eager to please and I can't say I find him any more difficult than our other 3 Sibes, other than not being able to just call him.
Human companions: Deborah and Andrew Daw
Other pets: 3 other Siberian Huskies, all fully hearing
Email: deborahdaw@btinternet.com

Town: East Sussex, United Kingdom
Deaf dog: Ronnie is a 16 week old English Bull Terrier. Having lost our beloved four year old English Bull Terrier, Stan, to anaemia in August, his mum Nellie was pining for him as much as we were. We decided the only way to ease the pain was to bring another boy into the family to fill the huge void left by Stan. We chose Ronnie as the handsomest dog of a litter of 8 boys. He is all white apart from two black ears and is absolutely adorable. Nellie accepted him straight away (even letting him attempt to suckle from her with his needle sharp teeth!) and now they enjoy games and walks together with Nellie having reverted back to puppyhood despite her advanced years! We became aware of Ronnie's deafness when he was about ten weeks old, when despite calling, whistling and clapping, we could not get his attention when he wasn't looking at us. Our worst problem with Ronnie was his playful (but extremely painful both for us and Nellie) biting and mouthing. We have since had a one-to-one session with a behaviourist who has given us the confidence to start communicating with Ronnie by signing. He learned to sit within 10 minutes, and is becoming better everyday at focusing on us and trying really hard to fathom out what we are trying to say to him.
Human companions: Lynne and Kevin Taylor, Betony, Chloe and Rosie (daughters)
Other pets: Nellie - eight year old white English Bull Terrier, Arthur 29 year old eclectus parrot.
Email: lynneetaylor2000@yahoo.com

Town: Braintree, Essex, United Kingdom
Deaf dog: Asali is an 11 month old Border Collie. We rescued her from the Border Collie Trust about 6 weeks ago. She had been with them for 2 months. Her previous owners hadn't realized she was deaf and had treated her as stupid. She is very lively and loving, but is hand shy and has a tendency to guard either food or herself if feeling threatened. We have 4 other dogs who have accepted her really well, but are slightly confused when she ignores their warning signs if she is overplayful. She is really good off the lead and watches the others as us intently. She is very bright and I am hoping to do agility with her once she has settled in. I fell in love with her when I read about her on the Border Collie Trust website and I know she is quite a challenge, but worth every minute.
Human companions: Hilary Love, Husband Steve, daughters Laura 22, Josie 20, Steph 19 and son Ants 17
Other pets: 2 Border Collies, 1 JR, 1 Chihuahua , 1 Cat, 2 ducks and avairy birds.
Email: hilarylove@yahoo.co.uk

Berkeley

Town: London, England
Deaf dog: Berkeley is a 6 year old Jack Cross and is a super chap who lived in rescue all his life until 2 years ago when we came along. He was deaf from birth and had many problems including anxiety. But in our loving
care he has really blossomed. Last year he won 'The Dog that No-one Else Wanted' prize at The Wag and Bone Show. You can read all about him here http://www.dfordog.com/readerpages_09.htm.

I now run a website that has a specific section on Deaf Dogs with advice and suggested hand signals. http://www.dfordog.com/deafdogs.htm

Human companions: Jenny Prevel and Husband
Other pets: One hearing dog
Email: info@dfordog.com

Town: Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
Deaf dogs: Sasha is an 18 month old Collie/Husky mix. When we first got Sasha from Woodgreen animal shelter, they got letters from three vets in practice today, they said that Sasha should be put to sleep or kept in kennels, she should not have been rehomed. I'm so very thankful that they did not have a hand in Sasha's rehoming, she has given us so much joy, they would of denied us that happiness, Sasha has so much to give, its a pitty they could not see beyond her differences. They would of deprived the world of such a shining light, full of nothing but love and joy... I'm pleased that all vets do not take this line of thought, and Sasha has a vet that loves her, but then once you've met her, you cant help but love her. Shasha, is a happy confident little dog, she has brought more joy to our lives than could ever be imagined, she is so very clever and easy to communicate
with, when people ask how I've trained her I have to be honest and tell then that it was she, who trained me, she is so full of life and lets nothing hold her back, she is fantastic and I can't help but admire her, she is so brave.
Human companions: Ren, Neil, Ell, Daniel and Aharon Schofield
Email: ren_schofield@hotmail.com

Bonnie and Fleur

Town: Hastings, East Sussex
Deaf dogs: Two Dalmatians, Bonnie and Fleur. Bonnie's affectionate and "a bit of a bulldozer." Fleur is loving, obsessed by light, and always close by, the sisters were born in July 1999
Human companions: Penny H Stacey and her husband Steve
Email: penny.stacey@virgin.net

Town: Sevenoaks, Kent
Deaf dog: Bailey was found abandoned on the M1 in North England and found in an appalling state - thin and with eyes so infected they were completely closed. Luckily for her, 'Daneline' one of the country's Great Dane rescue organisations found her a home with us! Her 'packmates' are two retired greyhounds and three kids! I am using her training as a case study for my HND/Degree in Canine Psychology so am keeping a journal which I hope to post on the net for anyone to check out. She's only been with us a few days, but we simply cannot imagine a time without her - past, present or future....
UPDATE!! Bailey has been with us now for 10 months and has achieved a very good level of training. She has also shown a remarkable talent for tracking so she has started search training! Who says deaf dogs are a problem? This one may end up being of value to the community!
Bailey now has one retired greyhound housemate (Buffy), plus temporary housemates in the form of the occasional fostered Great Dane living with us while waiting for permanent homes!

Human companions: Jaq Bunn - 1 Alpha Bitch (ME!), two boys aged 15 & 11, one girl aged 9.
Other pets: 2 retired greyhounds - Bart aged 7, Buffy aged 4
Email: jaq@funsize.net