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Location: Perthshire
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 11,027
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Fingers crossed it will get sorted but if it becomes an issue......
Skye (totally) and Fingal (partially) both went deaf. It was just through age and to be fair nothing much changed.
A wee tap rather than a call to get them up from sleeping but once awake it became an amazing situation.
Hand gestures, Cock of an eyebrow, tilt of the head, smile, hand out - visual communication was brilliant. You'd be amazed how much you do it already so it's not a giant leap.
The best thing I found was that the dogs kept me in eye shot all the time. It was like they wanted to keep the lines of communication open themselves so stayed with me.
My Breagh was young when Skye and Fingal went deaf and she learned from them. I can quite easily communicate with her without the younger two (Mij and Willow) even knowing.
I think there's a lot to be said for silent commands even with young dogs.