Passing of a friend, and dealing with a deaf dog- any advice?

[BattleHymn]

Over the weekend, I lost two of my best friends: a Dane/Akita mix, and my Great Dane.  The Dane/Akita mix had a disc explode in his back, paralyzing him.  I grew up with him, and he lived out at my parent's house.  The Great Dane had liver cancer, but he was such a trooper, we never noticed anything wrong with him up until Thursday when he couldn't get out of his bed by himself, and I had him sent in for a blood test, which is when we found he had liver cancer. 

I picked him up on Saturday after the cancer news,  praying that he would get better.  It turned out that this was actually his last goodbye to everybody.  I'll spare the details, but ended up taking him in for his last "ride ride", and had our country vet put him down in the back of my wagon.  I know he was just a dog, but when they are that big, it is hard not to get used to them being there, in the way and underfoot, ALL the time.  So when they are gone, it leaves a really big hole to fill. 

I decided to try to go with a Great Dane rescue in my locale, and see what I could find to help me find a new shadow.  I stumbled on this guy:

http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/18034887-Harpo-Great%20Dane-Dog-St.%20Louis-MO 

I noticed right off that he was a special needs, and reading further, found that unsurprisingly, (being a large breed and white) he was deaf.  I have one friend who has a little deaf mutt that lives outside; other than that, I have zero experience with a deaf dog.  Does anyone here have any experience handling and/or training of a deaf dog, or daily living advice for a deaf pet?  I've read a few websites on the subject, but I was hoping to glean some information from someone that has been there.  I also have cats, and I don't want to run into any troubles there, either.

Since there seem to be a few animal lovers on here besides me, I snagged a few pictures of my "puppy" (he never got past thinking he was about a foot tall), Zeus. 




I miss you a lot, friend.  You are loved. 

[Ballygrl]

I'm so sorry on the loss of your dogs . I have no advice on dealing with a deaf dog but I think people who adopt animals especially special needs animals are just awesome people.

[Evil_Conservative]

I'm sorry you lost your puppies. 

Great Danes are cool dogs.  Never owned one, but our neighbor has a couple of them and they are so nice and calm.  And it's very nice of you to look at a rescue for a new dog.  I'm sure whatever dog you chose will be extremely grateful to have you and your home.

[Inga]

So sorry for your loss of you best friends.

There are so many, that could use someone like you to love and take care of them. I know there is a match waiting for you.

Blessings sent to you and your new arrival.

[true_blood]

So sorry about your dogs BH. Sorry for your loss. I know how hard it is as I had done that many times before.
I have no experience with a deaf dog, but I owned a Miniature Schnauzer that had gotten very ill and had become blind. It was kind of tough at first. I was always worried she would fall down the stairs or what not. I didn't let her near the stairs and would carry her up and down the stairs and lead her to her water bowl and food all the time. She did pretty good considering the disability though. We were told not to move any furniture around as the dog would find it's way through remembrance.
Good luck BH and the puppy looks awesome. You did good.

[debk]

BH, I am so sorry that you lost your friends. To lose both of them together...I just can't imagine the pain. 

I have not had a deaf dog, but I did have a deaf cat. She was deaf for at least the last 2-3 years of her life.

Sabrina was almost 19 when she abruptly went into kidney failure. We did not know until the vet took xrays that she only had one functioning kidney, the other one never developed. The kidney failure was basically an overnight happening, took her to the vet that day, they kept her overnight, and the next day the vet told us there was nothing she could do.

Sabrina was ok, as far as we could tell, with the deafness. So much so, that I'm not even sure when she became deaf. She was a totally indoor cat, so was never in any danger. She followed one of us constantly. She was always within close range of one of us, and if we moved, so did she. I was checking the shelter for a companion for her when we lost her. We thought if she had a buddy, that she would not be lonely, would give her someone to play with, and to also give her a bit of relief from always following one of us. That was how I found the "girls" as they were dropped at the shelter, just a couple of days after Sabrina died and the shelter called me. Two of them look enough like Sabrina to have been litter mates.

I would think, if you kept the dog inside except for when it had to go potty, it would be fine. Especially if you got two dogs, the hearing one would watch out for the one who couldn't hear. You would have to keep it on a leash when it went outside unless you have a fenced yard, as it would not hear any danger, though the hearing dog would help with that too. Just be prepared to have the dog, follow in your footsteps, all the time.   

[IassaFTots]

Ok, I don't know much about deaf dogs, but I have an idea.  When I was training my Blue Heeler, he was trained with a lot of hand commands.  For example, for "sit" the hand signal is bending your arm towards your chest.  The reason was that this is what kids will do when they encounter a dog, and are scared.  He knows all kinds of hand signals now, sit, lay, stay, etc.  I don't need to use the word, just the signal.  Great Danes are smart dogs, all you need to do is be patient.  If you have a few extra dollars, a visit or two with a good trainer (the ones at Petsmart are just fine) can get you in the right direction. 

Condolences and Congratulations all in one post. 

[blitzkrieg_17]

Never had a deaf dog, but my 14 year old dog is going blind . Hard to watch.

[njpines]

I'm so sorry to hear about your two poor puppies. We all know that our pets are never just "pets" -- they are family and they leave huge holes in our hearts when they're gone  . I've never had a pet who's been deaf or hard of hearing but Tot's idea of the hand command training makes alot of sense.

Good luck with finding your new "shadow" (our previous dog to the Aussie we have now was a German Shepherd we named Shadow and I miss her alot even though she's been gone 10 years).

[Tucker]

I know he was just a dog,

No he wasn't. He was a member of your family. I rank my Dog higher than I do some people.

I am sorry for your loss.

[Eupher]

Ok, I don't know much about deaf dogs, but I have an idea.  When I was training my Blue Heeler, he was trained with a lot of hand commands.  For example, for "sit" the hand signal is bending your arm towards your chest.  The reason was that this is what kids will do when they encounter a dog, and are scared.  He knows all kinds of hand signals now, sit, lay, stay, etc.  I don't need to use the word, just the signal.  Great Danes are smart dogs, all you need to do is be patient.  If you have a few extra dollars, a visit or two with a good trainer (the ones at Petsmart are just fine) can get you in the right direction. 

Condolences and Congratulations all in one post. 

That's what I was going to suggest - hand signals.

They say that when a sense isn't there - and deafness for a dog isn't a huge deal since they rely mostly on their noses anyway - the other senses become much more acute.

And deb's suggestion about the fenced yard and safety makes a lot of sense.

Sincere condolences on the passing of your buddy. It's very hard when that happens.

[debk]

Two of my kitterkats were curled up along my side all night, the other two were in their "spots" with M....and I was thinking about what they are to us. Companions that we talk to - sometimes more than to each other, soothers to our emotions, givers of unconditional attention/love - whatever one wants to call it. I don't know if it's the same with outdoor onlies, as I've only had indoor only cats, and when I had my Westies, they only went out when necessary (they had to be forced out in rain or cold ).

Regardless of whether one is a cat or a dog person...or both...they become family members. We develop such attachments to them, that a never-had-a-pet person does not understand. Some of them, we are lucky enough to have for really long periods of time.

My kids, especially my youngest, was only 5 when we got 1 of the Westies, and 2 of the cats. 2 yrs later, we got another Westie. These animals were in his life from 16 to 19 years! He was devastated with the passing of each one...we all were. That's longer than many human friends stay in our lives.

It's no wonder that doctors and mental health professionals have figured out that bringing cats and dogs into care facilities, has a healing and comforting effect on patients and residences.

God bless all of our four-legged friends that they may be healthy and with us for a good long time. May we all, someday, meet up with those who are waiting for us at the Rainbow Bridge. 

[Karin]

Oh BattleHymn, I am so sorry for your loss!  Oh my God, you must miss them so much. 

[cavegal]

  I am so sorry for your loss.