Therapy Dog!

Congratulations to Vinny!  He got his official Therapy Dog paperwork and tag just in time - did you know that today is National Therapy Animal Day?  It is!  

A day to celebrate animals of all types that provide love and therapy to others!  I have been blessed to partner with several therapy dogs in my lifetime.  Vinny is my 5th therapy dog partner.  

Not all organizations are open to evaluating dogs that are both blind and deaf.  I was fortunate to work with a local group with Treasure (blind and deaf) and they were open to evaluating her and seeing just what she could do.  She passed with flying colors and was my therapy dog partner for 8 years.  She is now mostly retired and has passed her knowledge along to Vinny.

I'm so excited to begin our therapy dog work together!  

A Birthday Full of Fun!

Vinny is 2 years old!

For his birthday, he asked for donations to be made to the Humane Society - and just look at all the great stuff that was donated for the animals!  

He had his favorite Puppy Pinata (a box stuffed full of treats, bones, toys and paper)!  He loves to tear the box apart and find all the goodies!  

He had a doggy cake and special turkey ice cream!  

I think he was a very happy boy!!  Happy Birthday Vinny! 

Hearing - or Not Hearing

I am sick - which is a bummer.  But I've also had a chance to experience first-hand something that I counsel so many people about - dogs losing their hearing, or dogs with partial hearing.

My left ear has been clogged now from this cold for several days.  I am not hearing normally from that side.  While this is annoying for me, I had a revelation yesterday.  And then I started to pay more attention to what I was hearing and not hearing.

Sounds that normally I would not pay attention to, or would discount easily and go on with my day, were startling me.  I couldn't recognize what the sound was or where it was coming from.  It's unsettling to hear something and not know what it is.  

Each time I went to investigate, I found out the sound was one that I hear every day and easily would have known what it was from a distance.  Because I would have recognized the sound, it would have been very easy to go on with my day.  

Dogs that are losing their hearing must go through this same thing.  How unsettling for them.  Of course, on an intellectual level I already knew this was true - but experiencing it for myself allowed me to put an actual emotional experience with it.  

I felt myself startle, hold my breath and try to listen harder to figure out the noise I was hearing.  I felt the compulsion to know and went searching to find out what it was.  I felt the unsettled feeling of hearing unfamiliar sounds.  My dogs do the same, and they may jump up barking and carrying on because they've heard something unusual that they can't identify - something that may be a threat and they should warn us about.

Dogs born with partial hearing won't always be able to recognize or pinpoint where a sound is coming from.  Dogs with ear infections or other conditions that affect their ears may become more fearful or reactive as they deal with things not sounding the same and safe to them.  And dogs losing their hearing too.  We have no way to know exactly what they are hearing at any given point in that process.  

For The Curious - Your Questions Answered

Thank you to everyone who contributed questions and wonderings for this blog post, and for what will probably be several more to come!  (I received a lot of questions!)  Here are a few to get you started:

What kind of commands can you teach a dog that cannot see or hear?

How do you communicate with a deaf and blind dog?

How does your dog (blind and deaf) know what you want him to do?

Dogs that cannot see or hear can be taught tactile cues.  These are cues that the dog can feel through its body somehow.  I can use touch in different ways and on different parts of my dog's body as requests for certain behaviors (sit, lie down, etc) or to provide information (mealtime, car ride, outside, etc).  I can also use anything that my dog can feel as a cue.  I can use differing surfaces as cues.  I also use gently blowing on my dog as a cue, and puffs of air as a cue.  As long as my dog can perceive the information through touch, I can turn that into a cue by using it consistently to mean the same thing each time.  It is also possible to use scents as cues, but these must be used carefully because scent does not usually stay in one place - it drifts around - and scents can mix together or stay in an area for an extended period of time.  So using scents as cues needs to be well-thought out and put into place by someone who has taken the time to learn about scent/odor.

How do you call your blind and deaf dogs to come?

My dogs have a touch cue to come to me - a swipe forward under their chins.  They also recognize that when I blow toward them, they follow my breath back to come to me.  The blowing is handy in the house and sometimes outside.  But if it is breezy or my dog is too far away from me, my breath is not strong enough to always reach them in a direct manner.  I also can sometimes use turning on or off a light in the house to signal that I am leaving a room and want my dog to come with me.  If the difference between light and dark is significant, my blind/deaf dogs can sense the change in light even though they have no vision.  They know that means we are leaving the room and will come with me.  Flashing a porch light at night can sometimes work as well unless they are way far out in the yard and the change in light is not as significant - then they don't notice.

Is it hard to teach blind/deaf dogs new tricks or commands?

There are many variables in teaching any dog new things.  If those variables are put into place with a blind/deaf dog, it is not hard to teach them new things.  All dogs (even blind/deaf dogs) learn new things all the time on their own ... they learn that sitting instead of jumping might bring a treat; they learn that jumping up onto the counter will find them a tasty treat; they learn that pulling on a leash usually gets them to where they want to go faster ... you get the idea.  If you know what the dog finds reinforcing, and you can provide that reinforcement after the behaviors you like, the dog will learn to do those things more and more.  Then you can add a cue to it (see above about tactile cues), and voila!  You've taught your blind/deaf dog something new!  You can also utilize methods of getting the behavior you want, such as luring, shaping and capturing, just like you can with a dog that can see and hear!  Sometimes teaching a blind/deaf dog does require a little bit of thinking outside the box and adding creative ideas to your lessons, but the ideas of teaching remain the same.

What percentage of vision do double merles typically have?

Double merles can have varying visual abilities - ranging from perfectly normal to totally blind.  Some may even have impairments with their sight that will continue to deteriorate over time, as they get older.  Others will maintain whatever level of sight they do have for their lifetime.  There really is no definite answer to this question.  A veterinary ophthalmologist will be able to examine the dog's eyes and give you an idea of what type and extent of impairment there is, as well as a guess as to how or if it will progress.

Do double merles typically have compromised immune systems and more than average health issues?

Do special needs dogs have medical issues?

I am not aware of any studies showing that double merles have any higher incidents of health issues than other dogs.  While there are many double merles with other health issues and weakened immune systems, there are also so many non-double merles with these issues.  And there are many double merles that are healthy for their entire lifetimes, just like there are many non-double merles without major health problems.  It's important when breeding any dog to take many things into consideration and to do health and genetic testing, etc, to make sure the puppies have the best chance for perfect health and well-being.  Of course, we know that most double merles do not come from breeders who have done their homework and tested both parents extensively before breeding.  There are now genetic tests available for so many health conditions that can be passed on from parent to puppy.  It's easy to rule out the chances of these being passed on before the mating is even done.  So, without that testing and attention being paid to a new litter, it is likely that double merles (and non-double merles) that are bred in this way will pass along any health issues that they have.

Some dogs that are labelled as special needs do have medical issues.  There are so many different medical conditions that a dog can have.  It's important to know what these issues are as much as possible when you are considering adopting a dog with special requirements, whether double merle or not.

Hide Him Away?

Here is my handsome, clever, fun-loving boy Vinny on our recent trip to Purina Farms.  This picture was taken at their Visitor Center and he is smiling, which is his normal state of mind.  You see, on this day, it was Saturday morning and the Visitor Center was full of children!  In fact, we struggled at times to get a picture, as children were running up to him trying to pet him and say hello.  Vinny loves children!  They are just at his nose height and he thinks they smell divine!

If you've followed this blog for very long, you know that I love to travel with and do all sorts of activities with my dogs.  This blog just happens to focus on my dogs that are double merles and are therefore blind and/or deaf.  But I do have other dogs too - dogs that can see and hear and aren't double merles.  I enjoy doing things with them as well.

I am a dog person through and through.  My life does revolve around my dogs much of the time.  And I love all my dogs - even the ones that can't see and hear.  Living with them, those differences fade from the forefront.  I don't focus on what they can't do.  We spend our time figuring out how to do more and more together. 

I realize that to most people we meet out in public, my dog is an oddity.  I mean, it isn't every day that people meet a dog that can't see or hear at all, right?  People think I am some sort of rock star to sacrifice my life to care for this poor dog with such devastating disabilities.  But this is not reality ...

You see, that is only their perception.  I have my own perceptions of the situation, too.  To me, my dog doesn't have any devastating disabilities.  He is funny and smart and capable of doing anything - it just happens that he can't see or hear.  He loves to play.  He likes new adventures.  He has a personality.  I am not a rock star.  I am just a person, just like these other people, who happens to see past the differences to see all those things that a blind and deaf dog has in common with me.  And I have chosen to make him my friend.

Some people say that me teaching Vinny to do fun things and earn dog sports titles is somehow encouraging people to want a blind/deaf dog just like him.  They think that me enjoying my partnership with my dog is encouraging people to breed more dogs like him or to go out seeking a dog just like him.  I guess they think I should hide him away somewhere where no one will see him - to keep him a secret that I'm ashamed of?

Again, I don't do these things with my dog because he's blind and deaf.  I do these things with my dog because he's my dog and we like doing things together!  I like earning ribbons and titles with my dogs - all of them!  I like traveling with my dog and watching him explore and learn about new things.

I hate to think about what would have happened had I hidden away all of my differently-abled dogs!  When I started this blog, there was hardly any useful information out there about working with blind and deaf dogs.  So many were killed.  So many people didn't think they were capable of learning anything at all - not even to be toilet trained! 

Without my brilliant dogs showing the world that they are feeling, thinking and learning dogs, there are many dogs that would not have been given the chance to find great homes.  Today, there are many differently-abled dogs out there having great fun doing activities with their people!

I love my dog just the way he is!  But I would love him just as much if he had been born able to see and hear!  It is not his fault that he was born this way.  He wants to play and learn and explore.  I want these things for him too.  I don't want to hide him away.

Yes, that means we do get a lot of attention.  I use the attention we receive to help share with as many people as I can.  I share about the consequences of breeding two merle patterned dogs together.  I share about the realities of living with a blind and deaf dog - it's not all a piece of cake!  There are challenges.  There are rewards. 

I share with rescues and fosters and shelters how to teach these great dogs and find the best homes for them.  I share to dispel myths.  I share with fellow trainers so there will be more who can help clients with differently-abled dogs across the country and even around the world.

I'm proud of my dogs.  Please don't expect me to hide them away somewhere.  How would you feel if someone expected you to hide your dog away somewhere?  I know you're proud of your dog too.

With anything that brings attention, there comes the risk that someone else wants to recreate it for themselves.  If someone makes a movie about Dalmations and the dogs are so very cute, then so many people want a Dalmation whether it is the right breed for them or not.  If someone makes the world agility team with a pyrenean shepherd and it's super fast, then many people want a pyrenean shepherd.  If people see me working with a blind and deaf Collie, will people want to get themselves a blind and deaf Collie too?

You get the idea.  It's not the fact that my dog is blind and deaf that may make people want to imitate me.  It's like this with anything - that is why we have fads.  Someone thought something was cool and wanted it too.  Education and advocating is the way to stop the double merle epidemic.  Hiding them all away just won't work.

I cannot stop the attention I receive from doing what I love with my dogs.  My wish, though, is to teach compassion and responsible breeding.  And to promote adoption of differently-abled dogs whenever it is the best match for that person.  And always, I promote positive reinforcement training.  This is the message I want people to get when they see me with my dogs.  Don't create more of them - but for the ones that are already here, make their lives as full as possible!