Author Topic: New here...anyone have a deaf Pyr?  (Read 9112 times)

Offline Sarge

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New here...anyone have a deaf Pyr?
« on: January 08, 2009, 01:46:51 pm »
Hi! I have a 3 year old Great Pyrenees named Sarge. I adopted him over the summer, his deafness was confirmed with a BAER test. He is an incredible dog, and I am in love with the Great Pyrenees now! He has been taught no manners, however, and with the stubbornness of the breed mixed in with actual (and not selective, lol) deafness I am having some trouble.
In the house he is awesome (minus counter-surfing, drooling, barking craziness  ;) )
However I can't take him anywhere! He pulls on the leash, marks every two seconds, drool hangs to the floor and my gentle dog who will let all 5 of my kids climb all over him and pull on his fur snaps when he is not home!
For example he will not let me clip his nails. When I had him neutered the vet did them for me, but they are overdue so I called a groomer. I brought him in, he marked about 20 times, went insane, knocked the groomer over with overexcited love...ultimat ely the groomer refused to do his nails and told me to "ask your vet for a sedative and do them at home." >:(
I would like to be able to socialize him more, but it is hard when he can't hear my basic commands or corrections or refuses to look at me for hand signals out of stubbornness. We have no dog parks or anything like that around here...but I could bring him to local parks on a leash.
I don't have a picture because I can't find the charger for my stupid camera  :-\ But I will post one soon. He is beautiful! My husband and I are so completely in love with him, we can't believe what an incredibly loving, fun and beautiful he is.
 
-Heather
-Heather
*Sarge* 3 year old Great Pyrenees
*Dylon* 8 month old hound mix
*Molly* 8 month old hound mix
*Jack* 14 year old Border Collie

Offline Ursa

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Re: New here...anyone have a deaf Pyr?
« Reply #1 on: January 08, 2009, 03:04:07 pm »
I'm not the expert here but gosh knows that I spend a ridiculous amount of time training my dogs so here's my two cents worth.

Have you tried to find a trainer that has experience with either deaf dogs or rescues or both?  It sounds like he could really benefit from training both for the manners and the socialization. 

When you do his training at home is he on a leash?  That might be one way to make sure that he has to pay attention to your hand signals.  You want his response to your hand signals to become so automatic that he'll cooperate (as much as any Pyr cooperates  :D) even when you're out in public. 

Overall he sounds like a great dog!  Can't wait to see pictures of him!
Ruthanna - the Triplets' mom

Ursa, CGC -  11 month old Great Pyrenees
Fargo, CGC - 9 month old Newfoundland
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Tonda

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Re: New here...anyone have a deaf Pyr?
« Reply #2 on: January 09, 2009, 04:59:35 am »
You might try a vibrating collar. A lot of the deaf dogs I've met over the years where these so that their owners can get their attention. Once the collar buzzes, the dog knows to look to their owner for a command. Seems to work great.

I second what the others said about finding a trainer with experience with deaf dogs (or a mentor who has had one). I’m pretty sure we have people here on the loop with deaf danes who could give you more exact advice.

AudgePadge

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Re: New here...anyone have a deaf Pyr?
« Reply #3 on: January 09, 2009, 05:03:27 am »
You might try a vibrating collar. A lot of the deaf dogs I've met over the years where these so that their owners can get their attention. Once the collar buzzes, the dog knows to look to their owner for a command. Seems to work great.

I second what the others said about finding a trainer with experience with deaf dogs (or a mentor who has had one). I’m pretty sure we have people here on the loop with deaf danes who could give you more exact advice.


I agree with Tonda.  I used to work for an electric dog-collar company, and they make a great vibrating collar. I think there's a lot of info online how to find a trainer that specializes in deaf dogs.  You'd be surprised how quickly the dogs start to pick up your hand signals!

Good luck! and I can't wait to see pics!

Offline ZooCrew

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Re: New here...anyone have a deaf Pyr?
« Reply #4 on: January 09, 2009, 06:42:28 am »
Hello and welcome!

I don't have any advice but I know there are several member that have worked with deaf dogs, Moni in particular has had alot of experience with it.

Offline Sarge

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Re: New here...anyone have a deaf Pyr?
« Reply #5 on: January 25, 2009, 12:18:24 pm »
Thanks everyone. I signed him up for an obedience class. I called around, and of course everyone told me that they had experience with deaf dogs....but the only person that I felt really good about isn't available until May.
I like the vibrating collar idea, but I have also read that Pyr's don't respond well to them. Don't know why...maybe it is their thick mane, or perhaps because of the stubborn streak.
I did get him a gentle leader and we are beginning work with that. So far it works better than anything else we have tried. It takes him a while to get used to it, but if I put it on 15 min or so before our walk he has time to adjust.
I am also looking into cart training him, to get him to focus on the job of carting rather than the job of protecting us from passing cars! lol I am going to order him a carting harness and modify a child's wagon and have him cart rocks or whatnot. Maybe someday, when I am confident that he won't try to go after a car I can let him give the kids rides! If it works I will invest in a proper cart. For now I think that the wagon will work fine.
Has anyone on here trained their pyr to cart?
-Heather
*Sarge* 3 year old Great Pyrenees
*Dylon* 8 month old hound mix
*Molly* 8 month old hound mix
*Jack* 14 year old Border Collie

Offline London_Pyr_Lover

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Re: New here...anyone have a deaf Pyr?
« Reply #6 on: January 25, 2009, 12:40:39 pm »

Has anyone on here trained their pyr to cart?

Hi there!  A little belated welcome, and good for you for adopting a deaf Pyr!  As for the carting question, I myself have not trained my Pyr to cart, but there are a few on here that have and or are planning to.  They will be very helpful to you as you learn.  ;)

Training a Pyr is difficult enough, let alone the challenge you are facing trying to train a hearing impaired one.  My girl Naja (1.5yrs) is usually pretty good, as long as I can get her attention and keep it for more then 5 seconds  ::) ;).

Anyways, good luck!  And you've picked the right place to come with questions, concerns, and pictures! *hint, hint* ;)
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Offline FXgirl

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Re: New here...anyone have a deaf Pyr?
« Reply #7 on: March 22, 2009, 08:48:44 am »
Dogs understand body language much better than verbal anyway.  I get a much better response from my guys when I use hand commands than when I just use words.

Does he have a "watch" or "look" command for when you want him to look at you?  It's very easy to teach and it helps your dog to learn to look to you for direction and when faced with distractions that get him over stimulated.

Classes will definitely help and don't forget some yummy, stinky treats!