Keep in mind that she's still healthy and strong. Just because some of her hearing is going doesn't mean she's a different dog than she was a week ago. She's still the best damn Craussie I know!
Tika thanks you for that. :-) Of course she's the same; what's different is that now I know for sure what's going on and that it is hearing loss, as opposed to guessing, suspecting, considering, etc.
crappy. getting old sucks big time. but I agree with whoever said that Tika doesn't care about Q's. She just wants to play with you. So I say do it for as long as she is willing and safely able to.
I'm sure I told you that we figured out Bonnie's (previous dog) hearing was gone when she ran into the woods chasing a rabbit and didn't come back even though we called and called. We found her sitting in a clearing seeming to be bewildered. Then later (a few months later, we're slow) we noticed the things you're noticing, not responding to us when we were in the room if she wasn't looking at us. We took her to the vet to make sure she didn't have an ear infection and the vet asked us why we thought she had lost her hearing. I said "Hey Bonnie do you want a biscuit?" and she just sat looking around. The vet said..."oh yea, she's deaf." Cost us an office visit but at least we knew there was no infection.
I have to say it never seemed to bother her, she was great with hand signals, but her eyes were good...and we weren't doing anything as coordinated as agility.
The deaf dog getting lost is one of the things I worry about. Jake took off after a ground squirrel or something at a large neighborhood park with a hill in it, and it took forever for me to find him (because you can't see *through* the hill, and he couldn't hear me. Scary. Something else to consider when we do off-leash hiking. I'm thinking I might get her a tag that says "I can't hear very well" in case something does happen and someone else finds her.
Logan's hearing got pretty poor but we still ran agility for quite a while (until she was almost 13). Be aware of what clothing you are wearing so that she see you as well as possible and can see your arm movements better. Bright colors and no loose flapping jackets will help. And remember to position yourself well, especially when she comes out of tunnels, so she doesn't have to search for you. (Plus the clapping and whistling that others have said.) A few handling accomodations can go a long way toward continuing in the game together.
Here's to many more successfully fun runs with Tika!
I try to not wear loose flapping jackets anyway, exactly to reduce the body language confusion. After this weekend, I'm also still thinking my *original* thought about tunnels, which is that she's having some eyesight problems as well. All takes accommodation of some sort; we'll figure it out like Jake and I did.
Ah, well... It will take some getting used to, but there could be worse things of course. She still seems happy in those videos from the other day and looking dang good too. It's been about 15 years since I've had an older dog and I can't remember how her hearing was like, so no advice from me but you got tons of advice from others, and your own experience with Jake is a good thing too. I am sure Tika has many happy and spoiled years ahead of her. :-)
I just lost my 16yo Aussie. We stopped playing agility long ago (like in 2000, I think) because of a shoulder injury that didn't heal as well as it needed to for agility. I experimented and with the right high pitch to the first syllable of her name (Kyah), she could hear me call her for quite a long time. The oldster I had before her ended up wearing a bell on her collar so if she lost me I could find her if she kept moving.
My sympathies on your recent loss. That's so tough.
I have a bell somewhere that I used for my Jake when he started going deaf. I was going to look into vibrating collars to use as a recall device; don't remember why I gave up on that.
Keep in mind that she's still healthy and strong. Just because some of her hearing is going doesn't mean she's a different dog than she was a week ago. She's still the best damn Craussie I know!
ReplyDeleteTika thanks you for that. :-) Of course she's the same; what's different is that now I know for sure what's going on and that it is hearing loss, as opposed to guessing, suspecting, considering, etc.
Deletecrappy. getting old sucks big time. but I agree with whoever said that Tika doesn't care about Q's. She just wants to play with you. So I say do it for as long as she is willing and safely able to.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure I told you that we figured out Bonnie's (previous dog) hearing was gone when she ran into the woods chasing a rabbit and didn't come back even though we called and called. We found her sitting in a clearing seeming to be bewildered. Then later (a few months later, we're slow) we noticed the things you're noticing, not responding to us when we were in the room if she wasn't looking at us. We took her to the vet to make sure she didn't have an ear infection and the vet asked us why we thought she had lost her hearing. I said "Hey Bonnie do you want a biscuit?" and she just sat looking around. The vet said..."oh yea, she's deaf." Cost us an office visit but at least we knew there was no infection.
ReplyDeleteI have to say it never seemed to bother her, she was great with hand signals, but her eyes were good...and we weren't doing anything as coordinated as agility.
Hugs to Tika and you!
The deaf dog getting lost is one of the things I worry about. Jake took off after a ground squirrel or something at a large neighborhood park with a hill in it, and it took forever for me to find him (because you can't see *through* the hill, and he couldn't hear me. Scary. Something else to consider when we do off-leash hiking. I'm thinking I might get her a tag that says "I can't hear very well" in case something does happen and someone else finds her.
DeleteLogan's hearing got pretty poor but we still ran agility for quite a while (until she was almost 13). Be aware of what clothing you are wearing so that she see you as well as possible and can see your arm movements better. Bright colors and no loose flapping jackets will help. And remember to position yourself well, especially when she comes out of tunnels, so she doesn't have to search for you. (Plus the clapping and whistling that others have said.) A few handling accomodations can go a long way toward continuing in the game together.
ReplyDeleteHere's to many more successfully fun runs with Tika!
I try to not wear loose flapping jackets anyway, exactly to reduce the body language confusion. After this weekend, I'm also still thinking my *original* thought about tunnels, which is that she's having some eyesight problems as well. All takes accommodation of some sort; we'll figure it out like Jake and I did.
DeleteAh, well... It will take some getting used to, but there could be worse things of course. She still seems happy in those videos from the other day and looking dang good too. It's been about 15 years since I've had an older dog and I can't remember how her hearing was like, so no advice from me but you got tons of advice from others, and your own experience with Jake is a good thing too. I am sure Tika has many happy and spoiled years ahead of her. :-)
ReplyDeleteShe is doing well compared to many dogs her age. I keep reminding myself how lucky I am.
DeleteI just lost my 16yo Aussie. We stopped playing agility long ago (like in 2000, I think) because of a shoulder injury that didn't heal as well as it needed to for agility. I experimented and with the right high pitch to the first syllable of her name (Kyah), she could hear me call her for quite a long time. The oldster I had before her ended up wearing a bell on her collar so if she lost me I could find her if she kept moving.
ReplyDeleteMy sympathies on your recent loss. That's so tough.
ReplyDeleteI have a bell somewhere that I used for my Jake when he started going deaf. I was going to look into vibrating collars to use as a recall device; don't remember why I gave up on that.