astilbe
(?)Community Member
- Posted: Tue, 21 Jun 2011 17:26:16 +0000
Originally, I was his foster and took him in at 7 weeks. He and his litter mates had been abandoned, and he and his siblings were left to their one fate at a high kill shelter. They were transported nearly 700 miles to the shelter I volunteer at for a chance to find a home.
Within no time, I grew attached to the little guy I named Tucker. We had went through a lot together. Half of his litter unfortunately died of parvovirus, he was one of the few who survived. I am also fortunate that my other puppy Dexter also survived...the virus effected him too. Though, I spent a fortune on vet bills that the shelter did not compensate me for. :/
After a few weeks of recuperating, my boyfriend and I decided to adopt Tucker. He was a perfect addition to our family. Tucker had grow attached to Dexter and mimicked his every move. We had started training Tucker like we had Dexter.... Though something seemed a little odd, he just didn't listen. We thought that he was just being a little more stubborn than Dexter.
It wasn't until a few days ago (after having him for now a month and a half) that we had any concerns on his behavior. We had taken both puppies to petsmart to pick up new toys, and were stopped by a trainer. We got the same talk about training through them, and how rewarding it is... The trainer said "hello" to Dexter who immediately wagged his tail, and rushed to greet the new person. Afterwards, he did the same to Tucker and got no response.
I spent 20 minutes or so walking around the store with the trainer squeaking toys, bouncing balls, clapping, whistling, shouting, stomping on the ground, and getting other dogs to bark. The only time he reacted was with a visual que, or vibrations. Te trainer recommended going to a vet for a hearing test... Which we did, to find out he is deaf.
Discuss:
------& Does anyone have experience training a deaf puppy?
------& Would it be beneficial to integrate American Sign Language into hand signal training?
------& What would be a good tool to use while training to replace a clicker? (lazer pointers, lights etc)
Within no time, I grew attached to the little guy I named Tucker. We had went through a lot together. Half of his litter unfortunately died of parvovirus, he was one of the few who survived. I am also fortunate that my other puppy Dexter also survived...the virus effected him too. Though, I spent a fortune on vet bills that the shelter did not compensate me for. :/
After a few weeks of recuperating, my boyfriend and I decided to adopt Tucker. He was a perfect addition to our family. Tucker had grow attached to Dexter and mimicked his every move. We had started training Tucker like we had Dexter.... Though something seemed a little odd, he just didn't listen. We thought that he was just being a little more stubborn than Dexter.
It wasn't until a few days ago (after having him for now a month and a half) that we had any concerns on his behavior. We had taken both puppies to petsmart to pick up new toys, and were stopped by a trainer. We got the same talk about training through them, and how rewarding it is... The trainer said "hello" to Dexter who immediately wagged his tail, and rushed to greet the new person. Afterwards, he did the same to Tucker and got no response.
I spent 20 minutes or so walking around the store with the trainer squeaking toys, bouncing balls, clapping, whistling, shouting, stomping on the ground, and getting other dogs to bark. The only time he reacted was with a visual que, or vibrations. Te trainer recommended going to a vet for a hearing test... Which we did, to find out he is deaf.
Discuss:
------& Does anyone have experience training a deaf puppy?
------& Would it be beneficial to integrate American Sign Language into hand signal training?
------& What would be a good tool to use while training to replace a clicker? (lazer pointers, lights etc)