Deaf Boxer .. Help

[EAO76]

The potty training tips in that link should be helpful. Of course you’re training her to go outside not in a potty box but everything else is the same. It’s helpful to have a sign for Potty so eventually she can distinguish if you are sending her out to play or if you are in a hurry & just want her to potty. Also treating her like a puppy & getting her on a schedule will be really helpful for the potty training too. Taking her out often, naming the action with a sign, and rewarding her when she does it right will help A LOT!

 

[srennie]

I think it is so great that you are so open and willing to put in the work with her. I have trained hearing dogs with signs and they pick up on the really quickly. The first dog I trained with signs was our first boxer who I took to work with me every day. I decided he needed to learn signs because if I was on the phone and needed to tell him something I couldn't speak to him. He picked it up SO quickly but he was a very special dog. He was one of those 'once in a lifetime' dogs who was just so incredibly in synch with me.

Our second boxer was more 'frazzled' and reminds me of how your pup is acting. He was crazy and didn't really seem to care what I wanted from him. Admittedly I was overwhelmed with a baby and a toddler while he was in his adolesence so I know I didn't handle him in the best way possible. He was regularly on my last nerve until he was about 3 years old and after that he was a great dog.

Our current 2 dogs (both hearing) know several signs. It is amazing how they really do pay attention to your body language. Our boston will not come in the house from the backyard if I call him and my feet are facing out the door. I have to literally, turn my feet as though I'm walking in the door......even if I'm already inside for him to come in. It's almost like he is getting mixed signals. My words are telling him to come in....yet my physical body is telling him to stay out. And it isn't like he is disobeying by not coming. He wants to come in.

I remember one day trying to help an animal control officer catch a dog that she was in the process of picking up. The dog had slipped the lead and run off. She started walking toward him, facing forward and he kept just far enough away from her that she couldn't catch him. I asked her if I could try and I started walking backward toward him and he didn't flee. So, even though my movement was toward him, he was apparently more aware of my body language which was facing the other way and I was easily able to slip the lead back on him and get him safely out of the road. The A/C officer said she'd never thought to do that but she'd definitley try it in the future. So, my little boston actually taught me something...as often is the case if we just stop and watch and 'listen' to what they are telling us.

 

[EAO76]

I noticed one of the links on the webpage I listed did not work. Here is the correct link...its a cute article/ worth reading...http://www.kcdogadvocates.org/dnn/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=3q2fMabU0wU=&tabid=84&mid=481

 

[jbbtlr]

I owned a deaf white Boxer also, and I can assure you she will get it. I would own another deaf dog in a heart beat! Not only is she a puppy on top of that she is deaf. So you have typcial puppy behavior and the fact that she can't hear you can be frustrating. I would always catch myself correcting Tazer then remember after he wouldn't stop for something that duh, he had to see me for me to correct him. There was lots of stomping my foot on the house floor to get his attention. They learn quickly facial expression it is amazing.

Read, read, read....there are soooo many sites, alot of have been provided, that will help you.

Hang in there!!!!

~~Jeanette~~

 

[Kayla Dawn]

any suggestions on what to do about her crate issues. she pee's in it. we had to get her a bigger crate she grew out of her smaller one.. she now pisses in there then screams. she doesnt let us know she is awake then wait for us to get her, she pees then screams. but even if she goes outside, if for some reason she has to go back to bed -ie middle of the night- not even an hour later she is freaking out.. she over uses the bathroom i think as a way out of her crate, as in i've followed what people have told me about ignoring her screaming in the crate right, but then she will piss if she is mad at me... i dont get it.

 

[Sansal]

I think her peeing in the crate is correlated to all the other things going on with her. Is there any way you can put the crate into your bedroom? I think she would feel much safer being close to her humans. To me it sounds like she is anxious and scared and hasn't found an effective way to communicate with you, and you are also still working on finding ways to train her/communicate with her.
Once a dog has peed many times into it's crate it is very hard to break that habit. Maybe she indeed has learned that it is an effective way to get attention from you - even if it is negative attention.
For some dogs a crate just does not work. I understand that your dog can not be trusted yet and would not be safe left outside but maybe you could use a pen or something instead.

 

[tbagley]

I also have a deaf boy, who is now 13 months old. We had many months of frustration, for both he and my husband and I. Don't give up, it does get easier. We did have to put his crate in our bedroom with us at first, if he was anywhere else he would bark and cry all night long (he now is crated elsewhere, next to our younger boxer). It took many hours, and tears at time on my part but eventually he did get the hand signals, and he is one of the best dogs I have ever had. It took a lot of time and patience. He even knows that the porch light flashing means time to come in when its dark out!! We also have a younger boxer, who we also taught the hand signals too as well, so both boys know the same hand signs, but when we call for him, our deaf boy looks to see what he is doing and follows. It's like his own little guide dog!! I wish you all the best, it does get easier with time.
Trudi
Tank, 13 mos. white, floppy, deaf
Jackson, 7 mos. sealed brindle, floppy
Barron, 10 yr. English Mastiff

 

[Caney Creek]

any suggestions on what to do about her crate issues. she pee's in it. we had to get her a bigger crate she grew out of her smaller one.. she now pisses in there then screams. she doesnt let us know she is awake then wait for us to get her, she pees then screams. but even if she goes outside, if for some reason she has to go back to bed -ie middle of the night- not even an hour later she is freaking out.. she over uses the bathroom i think as a way out of her crate, as in i've followed what people have told me about ignoring her screaming in the crate right, but then she will piss if she is mad at me... i dont get it.

She's not peeing because she's mad at you... dogs just don't do that. More likely it's due to stress, or simply that she has to go to the bathroom.

You mentioned in a previous post that her crate is covered with a blanket so that she can't see out. Being alone can be frightening for a deaf dog, especially when confined like that, because she can't hear anything at all and therefore has no way of knowing if she's alone in the house or not. A hearing dog would be able to hear you moving about in the next room, could listen to you snoring during the night, etc., and those little sounds would reassure the dog that you were still there. A deaf dog does not have that comfort so they need to be able to SEE someone at all times. Try putting the crate in your room, uncovered, in a spot where she will be able to see you or your BF if she wakes up during the night. Or, find a way to keep your other dog in the same room as your crated pup, so that she will always be able to see him. Whatever room she sleeps in put a nightlight there so that she will be able to see what's around her and be comforted that she's not alone.

 

[jbbtlr]

I would try putting her in your bedroom. I tried the covering up thing with Tazer and that just freaked him out even more. I think due to the fact that not only could he not hear us now he couldn't see us. Because he has one of his major senses gone, the others are more "intuned" and him being able to see you is going to give him some comfort.

Put a shirt you have worn in there with her. Give her some more comfort. Maybe put a stuffed animal in there. Harley still has her "baby" we put in there when she first came home. Gives them something to snuggle up with and something with your smell. Put the crate next to your bed, if possible, then you can lay you hand down next to her and comfort her a little bit when she starts getting aggitated. There were a few times I actually got down and layed next the crate with Tazer. I wasn't about to let him out due to the fit he was throwing, but once I layed down next to the crate and put my fingers through, he eventually started to settle down and finally came a layed next to me, well sorta, in the crate.

Try different things if something you have been doing doesn't seem to be working!!!!!

It does get better, I promise! Just takes lots and lots of patience!!!

 

[livers25]

Deaf Dog

In the middle of the night she SCREAMS in her crate, if we leave her there for 20 minutes or so she will stop and go back to sleep. I'm waking up 3 times a night with her for "bathroom breaks" but she can go longer than that she is 9 months old now. If we dont get her from her crate when SHE wants she FREAKS out... Tears at the crate, screams, chews at the bars, we even tried a bark coller its gotten so bad and it doesnt phase her she barks threw it.

She still pee's on my floor even though she knows to go to the door now when she needs out .. but wont. She HARRASSES my older boxer to no end. She bites him, chases him, chews on his face, ears, legs. He gets really annoyed. I do love her, but I feel like frusterated at this point.

My deaf boxer Lilly did this for months. I am not going to sugar coat it. Lilly would wake up 2 to 3 times at night, scream her head off for hours at a time. Like your puppy she "FREAKED OUT" when in her crate. After speaking with our vet and our trainer we moved Lilly's crate into my bedroom and installed a night light so that if she woke up in the middle of the night, she could see that she was not alone in the room. It worked wonders, too bad it took us 4 or 5 months to fiqure it out. The night light combined with just ignoring her (which was really hard, as Lilly has no volume control and very painful for me to listen to for hours on end) really did work for us. Hopefully this will also work for you.

As for Lilly bugging Chester (her older boxer brother), we found that Lilly was at him all the time with Chester just dealing with it. It seems to take a couple of months but we noticed that Chester seemed to realize that Lilly just didn't listen to his growls/barks of warning. HE started using his body to nudge her. Three years later they are attached at the hips and seem to understand each other clearly. Lilly watches and takes her cues from Chester.

Life with a deaf boxer is certainly different and the first year of Lilly's life was quite difficult, with us learning to communciate effectively (using hand signals) and crate training her, but it was WELL WORTH IT.

As for pulling on walks, I can't really help much. Lilly hasn't pulled at all on her leash on walks since the day she came home. (We were really lucking). Chester on the other hand has always pulled and no matter what we have done to correct it nothing seems to work.

Good luck