Adoptions FAQ

Question:

: Dogs rely much more on their other senses that we do and while a deaf : animal probably would not survive in the wild, it would probably do         Problem is, a dog relies much more heavily upon its HEARING than it does upon its vision … remember that dogs in general do not have vision as acute as ours … though their hearing is MUCH MORE acute.  So, a blind dog can actually function with less of a handicap than a deaf one!           Training a deaf dog is truly a challenge for only the most dedicated.  I would most strongly recommend a "pass" on this one. — Jeri Jennings   Coastal SoCalif.   (NorthStar Dalmatians)  

Response:

I will be picking up my male JRT puppy in a few weeks from a breeder. I just received a call from her saying that the female puppy in the litter is completely deaf and she’s willing to give her up for free because it’s easier for the deaf puppy to pick up things with a normal litter mate around. I feel sorry for the little thing but am not willing to commit to something I don’t know about. Can anyone share their experiences with deaf puppies? What are their behaviors like? How do they adapt to their surroundings? How would you train one? Are there any other complications ? Thanks for any insights, Vince.

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I will be picking up my male JRT puppy in a few weeks from a breeder. I just received a call from her saying that the female puppy in the litter is completely deaf and she’s willing to give her up for free because it’s easier for the deaf puppy to pick up things with a normal litter mate around. I feel sorry for the little thing but am not willing to commit to something I don’t

Vince, Unfortunately I no longer have the article but, this past fall there was a good article in True Grit on deaf JRTs.  If you call the office they will probably fax you a copy and give you the names of owners who have gone through this.  JRTCA 410-561-3655. Shelley & JRTs Katie and Maxie

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I will be picking up my male JRT puppy in a few weeks from a breeder. I just received a call from her saying that the female puppy in the litter is completely deaf and she’s willing to give her up for free because it’s easier for the deaf puppy to pick up things with a normal litter mate around. I feel sorry for the little thing but am not willing to commit to something I don’t know about. Can anyone share their experiences with deaf puppies? What are their behaviors like? How do they adapt to their surroundings? How would you train one? Are there any other complications ? Thanks for any insights, Vince.

Not quite on topic but… We had some friends that bred Westies (West Highland White Terriers ) who had a puppy born blind. They fell in love with it and decided to keep it themselves.  They also kept one of its littermates.  When we would visit, we were usually hard pressed to discern which dog was which until we had been there a while.   It once got away, and was picked up by the Humane Society three or four miles and several roads away!  When they called, they had no idea that the dog was blind.   Dogs rely much more on their other senses that we do and while a deaf animal probably would not survive in the wild, it would probably do okay with only a little extra help and effort. Bessides if it’s anythingg like my dog (std poodle) it will ACT deaf a lot of the time regardless.  If you decide to go for it,please keep us posted! — Gerald Diamond                                             |   Ontario Ministry of Environment and Energy                 |                                                                |       ^. . I spoke only for my bicycle and myself!                    |          u

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I am preparing a WWW page dedicated to promoting the adoption of retired greyhound racers.  The page will include an international list of adoption agencies and referral sources, fact sheets from these organizations, breed profiles and articles about greyhounds, images (GIF’s & JPEG’s), poetry and life stories, a resource directory of suppliers and publications, as well as links to existing internet resources. The page will be non-commercial and independent.  It will not endorse any adoption program over another.  Articles about the industry will be limited to those which are responsibly written and have a factual basis. I’m about 90% complete and should be ready to launch next week.   Unfortunately, I do not have access to a web server.  I am looking for a sponsor to provide the space.  Of course, ample credit will be given to you or your organization. I will probably also need some help in implementing the page.  I’ve got the HTML code down, and it tests well locally, but since I’m new at this, I’m not too sure about how to put it up on the ‘net. If you are interested, please reply, and I can send you a beta copy of the page. Thanks, Dan Schmidt

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