[banzai555]

Hi all, my trainer/boarder, who is a professional GSD/malinois trainer, is fostering a dog for her breeder friend, as she's finding it hard to place him.

Here's the thing: He's deaf.

He's a very well-bred working line GSD, sable, the only one in the litter that was deaf. I met him last night and he's really cool; if I didn't have Willow, and/or had any clue how to train a deaf dog, I would have taken him in a heartbeat.

Here's what I know: he is e-collar trained, house-trained, crate-trained. He is quite social, he was super friendly to everyone last night when we met him. My trainer said she considers him high ball drive, low food drive, medium energy, good off-switch, a great dog for a pet household. NOT GOOD with cats, would be good with neutral dogs. She says he is also not super engaged with his people (of course, he hasn't had a "person" of his own yet) and is pretty independent; i.e. not clingy (like Willow, haha).

I'm guessing he is about 75 pounds. Very narrow frame.

Anyway, my heart kinda melted for this dog last night and I really hope he can get a good home. My trainer said she's been advertising him locally and almost found a place for him but they backed out because he came from a breeder and they wanted a rescue. (I know, right?)

Pics to come below.

 

[banzai555]

Pics. Let me know if you're interested and I'll put you in touch with my trainer.

 

[Buckelke]

Deafness isn't that hard. Even late in life we're finding Elke, who isn't hearing, responds to hand signals. The dogs catch on quick. I hope this fella finds a home.

 

[banzai555]

Deafness isn't that hard. Even late in life we're finding Elke, who isn't hearing, responds to hand signals. The dogs catch on quick. I hope this fella finds a home.

Yeah I honestly was super tempted to adopt him. But my trainer knows me and Willow very well and didn't think it'd be great fit (one important thing being that Willow is NOT neutral to other dogs; she generally loves dogs but can be pushy and occasionally dominant). And being honest with myself, I still doubt how well I could handle having 2 large, energetic dogs by myself. If I do get another dog I think I'll wait til Willow's energy levels have really waned.

 

[Zeppy]

He’s a gorgeous boy! I hope he finds a good home.

 

[Magwart]

I placed my last deaf foster dog with a lady who is a sign language interpreter. She totally "got" that dog and how to communicate with the dog -- it was a really wonderful match.

Try advertising to that community -- targeted email, FB shares, whatever you can do. There's also a website that curates deaf dogs needing homes -- Deafdogsrock.com.

 

[wolfy dog]

."... Because he came from a breeder." The rescue-to-feel-good mentality. Ugh ..

 

[banzai555]

Trainer sent me a more complete write up and some better pictures.

 

[wolfy dog]

I think it is a gem. Training a deaf dog is not that difficult as dogs respond better to body language than verbal communication anyway. Commands can be taught by hand signals paired with a vibrating setting on an E collar, especially to get his attention (name). You just need to be aware that he doesn't startle from being approached from the back by people or animals as he won't hear them approach. He looks a lot like Deja when she was that age,