If testing for deafness was possible at under 2wks, Id cull deaf ones.

During our training sessions we were taught to not only use voice commands but to use hand signals too, in case the dog was too far away to hear us or there were other considerations going on which meant they had difficulty hearing. All the dogs picked these up very well and often now with Jake I just use my hands and it's very satisfying watching him oblige. On the other hand though, there are so many fit puppies and dogs out there in Rescues that don't get re-homed so I kind of understand the Breeders
dilema about culling.....although I don't like to think about it too much and luckily it will never be my responsibility to do so, another good reason not to get involved in breeding if you ask me.

I dont disagree with you Helen , I agree with all you say, and I beleive a deaf pup can have as good a life as their hearing counterparts.

I guess the only difference is I beleive the breeder is the best person to judge where and who her pups go to, and if said breeder feels her deaf pups would be better off being PTS... then I dont condemn them.

Actually, deaf/blind dogs can have quite a great quality of life. Remember that a dog's major sense is SMELL. If a dog lost its sense of smell I would consider that the dog had a poor quality of life, but not losing hearing and sight.

Here's a short video of a woman and her deaf/blind Australian shepherd, showing off some of his tricks. He learned by touch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jg6kVYfK1E


I do quite a bit of transporting for a local Australian shepherd rescue and they take in quite a few deaf and/or blind Australian shepherds. They're sadly common in the breed (merle to merle breeding). At one point I transported three puppies, two of which were deaf and visually impaired (but not blind) and one of which was deaf. Two were from the same litter and the guy was selling them in a WALMART parking lot. He planned on taking the deaf ones to the vet to have them put down after he sold the rest of the puppies. A woman took them off his hands for free and they were taken into rescue (all three have wonderful homes).

If you don't think they have a good quality of life, check out these pictures from the transport.

I don't find deaf dogs particularly hard to train. One deaf puppy, Tucker, who had no training at all before the transport, learned to sit with a hand signal (taught with a ball because he really loved the ball) in about 20 minutes while on transport. Dogs learn best by hand signals so it's really not that hard to train a deaf dog.

Little Chai here, who was dead and visually impaired, I would have adopted in a heartbeat if I could have a second dog.

I disagree with it and wouldn't buy from a breeder who did it.

After all its kinda the breeders fault they are deaf, they choose to breed them afterall!

Deaf dogs can have a ''normal life'' blind ones too, as above says its all scent to a dog.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsBWSOWgYY8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMJbCt_m9AQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVtGNZH_Kb0

All same dog.

http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...af+dogtra&aq=f

Loads of videos.

Note the buzzing is the pager collar.

Adam

so then its their job to do the right and responsible thing in their opinion.

Do deaf pups crop up in C.Cresteds from time to time?

Im not as good as you Jackie about fitting in answers between the post but here goes - excuse any errors or bits in wrong places

[QUOTE=Jackbox;2127716]

P.S... I know a few people locally who have white Boxers, but funny enough, when talking to them, none of them new anything about deafness in white Boxers? End quote"

You need to look at the whole picture here. The dogs are hearing therefore the breeder did not need to mention that white pups could be deaf. Why should they & bring to attention a faint chance. For the percentage born each year - 25% as we know there may be a very small minority that are deaf. I wonder how many of the coloured pups born each year are deaf. Deafness is not always exclusive to colour. With the trend for flashy dogs (white markings - white marks down front of face quite sought for) white pups will continue to be born & with it the risk of deafness. Trends need to change or should i say "fashion" needs to change.

Breeders and owners should be informed of ALL potential problems in ones breed.

If the pup isn’t deaf I don’t see why the new owner has to be informed anymore than if it is a coloured pup – however if there is a possibility then yes I agree.

On the point "why should a breeder inform , if it may not happen" have to disagree with you there Helen, I think its a duty of care if a breeder suspects she is selling a deaf pup to a new owner, to inform them of the risks.

I worded that wrongly, I meant it that the pup was hearing – I agree that if there is a chance the pup is deaf or partially hearing the new owner must be told
Hopefully , said breeder will have investigated all pups first to ensure none are deaf and going to unsuspecting homes.

Exactly

But as in life , some breeders will be unscrupulous.

Yes that is true – in years gone by some breeders gave white pups away to good homes. A vet I sometimes use told me that he has a client with a brindle dog and when he went to view the pups the owner commented on the fact there was a white pup whereupon the breeder told him if he wanted the white pup he could have it

Owners that discard a deaf pup will discard any pup with what rhey consider to be a problem. Since our rescue was formed there has only been a few deaf whites came through & all have gone on to be successfully rehomed.

Why did they come through to you? due to the deafness or other reasons.

Usual thing – change in family circumstances – check out the website niboxerrescue We got a deaf White pup from a rescue in Eire – he was fostered by a family who had got a hearing White Boxer from us and as soon as he was ready to be homed he was homed very fast with a family who already had a Boxer

The point they do end up in rescue, means 1) new owner was nto informed, 2) new owner could not cope...luckily those few have found the right home

Not necessarily there are other other reasons as above. I will ask our rescue co-ordinator if anyone over the years has given a white deaf Boxer up because they couldn’t cope with it

People are fickle & have no problem getting "rid" of dogs. They dont do any history of our breed before jumping on the bandwaggon to buy one. The point is Jackie if you or I got a pup that turned out to be deaf we would work with it & train it. If we had a pup thar had behavoural issues we would workwith it & train it. Pups are too easily obtainable &too easily disposed of when it suits

I completey agree, that why I would not condemn a breeder for taking matters into their own hands regarding deaf pups.

Couple of years ago i met a couple in PAH with elderly brindle boy. Their comments to me where " Knew someone who had white one, theyre all deaf, blind & sickly, wouldnt have one" & that assumption was based on one white dog who was partially deaf in one ear.


You will always get that attitude from some.
I dont disagree with you Helen , I agree with all you say, and I beleive a deaf pup can have as good a life as their hearing counterparts.

I guess the only difference is I beleive the breeder is the best person to judge where and who her pups go to, and if said breeder feels her deaf pups would be better off being PTS... then I dont condemn them.

I understand where you are coming from - my belief is that once life has come into this world, it should have the chance to grow and survive. As is evident on this forum, there are lovely caring people who take deaf dogs into their homes and hearts and love them as much as any companion animal








QUOTE]

........but do deaf pups crop up in your breed?

not that I am aware of - although I would guess it could crop up in all breeds? - why do you ask?