New puppies- Copper and Mira

[Roxhum]

They are cute. In the one picture it looks like the pup is wearing britches and no shirt

They are deaf because Both parents are Merle. That is a big no no and can cause, often causes, deafness. Makes me sad that people irresponsibly breed their dogs.
You are a good person to take on handicapped pups. Deafness is a handful.

 

[WallyLoopey]

They are cute. In the one picture it looks like the pup is wearing britches and no shirt

They are deaf because Both parents are Merle. That is a big no no and can cause, often causes, deafness. Makes me sad that people irresponsibly breed their dogs.
You are a good person to take on handicapped pups. Deafness is a handful.

Yep, you’re exactly right.

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

A-dorable!

 

[WallyLoopey]

 

[TikiMyn]

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Looove them

 

[faislaq]

Copper reminds me of The Fox and the Hound.

 

[WallyLoopey]

Copper reminds me of The Fox and the Hound.

Yep, that’s where I got it from LOL

 

[Nikomania]

Your pups are darling!
I once used a trainer who specialized in teaching hand signals. It was an amazing experience to work with my dog that way. She was super in tuned to those signals, even moreso than to the sound of my voice commands.

 

[WallyLoopey]

Yep, that’s where I got it from LOL

It was going to be Dan and Little Ann from Where the Red Fern Grows but Cody was not having it lol

 

[finchly]

So did you let the Breeder know they were deaf, and tell them why?

 

[Colbon2]

Oh my so adorable

 

[WallyLoopey]

So did you let the Breeder know they were deaf, and tell them why?

Yes, turns out she does not actually breed the dogs. They come from a local farm and the litters are raised to do farmwork (along with the heelers). So most of the puppies go to other farms in the area.

She genuinely seemed unaware and is going to pass along the info. I think at such a young age it’s easy to miss- I didn’t know until a few days after they were home.

BUT..the breeder should know the information before ever breeding.

I’m still dissapointed but the only thing I can do is swap the dogs for two other puppies. We’re attached so there’s no way we’d do that. I worry about them and the things I had planned for them.. but with a little extra work I’m hoping they can do what any other dog could.

 

[Roxhum]

Oh they will do what other dogs do. Dogs actually respond better to body language then voice commands. It will be tough training them when they are young and rambicious. You will need lots of patience. When my old dog went deaf I wanted to get her a collar that vibrated and teach her that meant come. I was always too tight to invest in such an expensive collar for an old dog.

No offense but it kind of sounds like your pups came from a puppy mill.

 

[aooratrix]

Oh they will do what other dogs do. Dogs actually respond better to body language then voice commands. It will be tough training them when they are young and rambicious. You will need lots of patience. When my old dog went deaf I wanted to get her a collar that vibrated and teach her that meant come. I was always too tight to invest in such an expensive collar for an old dog.

No offense but it kind of sounds like your pups came from a puppy mill.

The last comment is not helpful and has no value, IMO. She took them in and is working with them. They probably would've been put down by anybody else. She attempted to educate, and that's that.

@WallyLoopey , no, I've never had one. I have a chicken Dogo Argentino now.

 

[WallyLoopey]

Thanks @aooratrix

 

[Sylvester]

Nothing more fun and or more loving than a puppy. Congrats on your new family.

 

[MiniMacaw]

There’s nothing at all a deaf puppy can’t learn that any dog can. My deaf girl is very smart. She learned hand signals very quickly and is eager to learn more all the time. (Google helped a lot for me lol)

It’s not a cognitive defect or reason to put a dog down in any way to most people (I hope). (I know you never would, just some people have talked to me about my deaf dog being like a broken toy and it’s frustrating.) It usually isn’t caught until they’re in their new home as happened with you and I’m so glad to hear they have such a great home and start with you.

My girl is super sensitive to body language and she can read emotion in a room without hearing. She knows when my grandfather visits to be gentle with him and when the niece visits she can be full crazy pup lol. It’s a change from the norm for sure but not a loss of any of the great attributes of a puppy.

Her tag says she hears with her heart and it’s so true of deaf dogs. They don’t know they’re missing hearing and so long as they’re loved nothing is amiss.

They’re absolutely adorable and giving me puppy fever lol. I’ll have to be content with buying my girl some of your new toys this weekend and seeing her cuteness so I don’t go out and get another lol.

 

[finchly]

@MiniMacaw great post girl. I agree, people either ditch them or put them down when they find out dogs are deaf. Which is so ridiculous I won’t even go into it beccause as you say it’s so easy for them to overcome! Sounds like your girl is a doll baby.

@WallyLoopey I use hand signals a lot. A long time ago, I was showing one of my dogs for obedience and this lady said if your dog is ever out of hearing range, but maybe getting ready to cross a busy street, you want them to obey you. She showed me an arm command for ‘down.’ Since then I always put a hand signal with my commands. I’ve even incorporated some we used for a deaf and non-verbal boy (a good friend’s son). Those might be from American Sign Language or not, I can’t remember it’s been so long. But I use them and the dogs get it —
Plus people are so impressed when during a conversation you just make a hand movement and the dog sits, lies down, or goes to its mat.

 

[Ankou]

Aww, I'd missed this thread, congrats!
They are very cute and I'm so happy for them they went to a loving home that is willing to work with their disabilities. You'll do great. How does their vision seem too?
I actually know next to nothing about that breed but I've always thought they were beautiful! I hope you share them as they grow, I wonder how much bigger Copper will be than Mira? He looks huge for only being two weeks older!

But then again they do grow crazy fast.
Enjoy the puppy phase while it lasts! Sometimes I think I miss having a puppy then I go back and look at the pictures my mother took while I was raising Axel them and literally every photo session until he was 7 months old end with my hands or arms in his mouth and remember... wait no, I'm good. I had enough fun with that little carpet shark to last me at least a decade.


I'm sure they well be extra attuned to your non-verbal cues, they will probably start to notice stuff you don't even think about. Like how you start to shift when you are just thinking about getting up and stuff like that. Dogs are so perceptive, good luck and have fun!

 

[WallyLoopey]

There’s nothing at all a deaf puppy can’t learn that any dog can. My deaf girl is very smart. She learned hand signals very quickly and is eager to learn more all the time. (Google helped a lot for me lol)

It’s not a cognitive defect or reason to put a dog down in any way to most people (I hope). (I know you never would, just some people have talked to me about my deaf dog being like a broken toy and it’s frustrating.) It usually isn’t caught until they’re in their new home as happened with you and I’m so glad to hear they have such a great home and start with you.

My girl is super sensitive to body language and she can read emotion in a room without hearing. She knows when my grandfather visits to be gentle with him and when the niece visits she can be full crazy pup lol. It’s a change from the norm for sure but not a loss of any of the great attributes of a puppy.

Her tag says she hears with her heart and it’s so true of deaf dogs. They don’t know they’re missing hearing and so long as they’re loved nothing is amiss.

They’re absolutely adorable and giving me puppy fever lol. I’ll have to be content with buying my girl some of your new toys this weekend and seeing her cuteness so I don’t go out and get another lol.

I did read that most breeders would have put the puppies down right away, so there is that. Very sad.

I also read that there aren’t any other health problems associated with it amd the hearing/sight issues shouldn’t get worse.

Copper does have vision issues. They both have starburst eyes which is a sign. But they act normal in every way..very happy and energetic, loving and playful.

I did only go for one and came back with two! It’s hard to resist puppies!

Love your’s tag...I must get one of those

I should have some squeaky toys made up for the sale..got my squeakers in yesterday and am excited to get started!
With Mira, even though she can’t ear the squeak, I find she still likes the feel of it when she’s biting down. I would never have thought it.