Evie - Deaf and Blind Collie Puppy in Derbyshire

Evie is a 10 week old Collie pup and is blind and deaf. She is currently on foster in Heage, Derbyshire.



The Evie Fact File

Dog status: Very good but may change when they grow older
Cat status: Unknown but workeable
Child status: Looking at older children
House training: Getting there.
Home alone: Can be left for short periods but need someone around most of the day.
Basic training: Learning the basics.



Both Evie and her sister Sparkle are in foster with other dogs and both are mainly comfortable around the other dogs and are part of the pack. At the moment the older dogs mostly ignore them, but both pups have picked out their favourites that they like to follow or sniff. Some of the dogs are being quite strict and grumpy with them, or just ignoring them, but both pups understand their body language, and know by feel if a dog is growling etc and walk away. Sparkle could smell a dog walking past us on one of her carry rounds, and was curious to meet him- and has started play bowing at Mabel today. Evie had a good sniffing session with Vixen too today so they are starting to get more involved and the resident dogs just need to stop being grumpy! They are a little nervous sometimes, if they bump into a dog and are expecting to be nipped, they just slink off, but mainly they are happy around the other dogs.

The fosterer’s experience with Dilys (deaf and blind) was that she was very social and went on lots of group walks as a pup, but as she came to adulthood decided she didn’t want to meet any more dogs, (normal collie bitch?) and they then had to take care with dogs running over to her on walks. She’s a bit more mellow now, but deaf/blind dogs can find it hard to meet dogs and people who come on too strong when they are adults.



The puppies have no experience yet with cats or small furries yet, but at this age they should be able to be introduced to other animals without problems- caution might be needed around something very small as they explore with their mouths and could nip and hurt by accident. They should be fine with a cat who would let them know their place.

Both doing really really well with housetraining and while they don’t ask to go out yet they occasionally head towards the door. At the moment they are taken out after every meal, playtime, nap etc, and if they have missed a nap and gone into extended playtime they get taken out.
While it’s been really warm they have been in and out of the house, and still been able to know that outside is for wees and poos. Housetraining started with them being carried out and put in their ‘start position’ in the garden, but as they have learnt to follow, they are now let them out of the crate, and just reminded to come towards the garden, and they manage this without any puddles.
Accidents are mainly if their playtime has been mi-timed, and they need to eat at the right time in the evening so they are not due a poo in the night. At night time, Evie wakes up around 4am, has a drink and then starts playing, which wakes her fosterer up so she can let her out, and then Sparkle might wake up and she goes out too. They are clean at night if you do this.

Both puppies will need a huge amount of training. At the moment both are learning sit, down, paw, come forwards, go to your dinner place, who’s a good girl, all gone, training finished, no, etc. with touch signs being added all the time. The fosterer will go through the signs and also provide pictures! They will both need to learn touch signs to learn to know what’s going on around them, but they will start that here, and then once in homes it’s something that they will learn with their owner- you can’t teach someone everything about these pups, it’s more to do with feeling and the bond with their person. They need to learn bite inhibition which is harder as they can’t hear you squeal- time out does work a little but sometimes they wouldn’t know they were are on time out, so it’s lots of patience and repeatedly moving them away/ giving them something rewarding to do. It’s really important that they get their bite inhibition, as they will be going into the big world blindfolded and need to not nip if something touches them that they are not expecting. Also as an owner, along with the positive comments come negative reactions from some people, so the dogs need to be seen to be coping, able and safe. Socialisation and exposure to lots of things in the world will be something they always need. They are not yet lead trained as they are only just ready to go out. They are practising having their collars on for their carry rounds out doors, and will soon be wearing leads and harnesses in the house and garden, in practise for the big day! Which can’t come soon enough! The new owners need to realise that they can‘t go off lead, as they will just run, and the risk of them bumping, running away too fast is too great. As such the puppies will need a large private secure space to burn off energy with lots of different textures and smells in investigate and places to hide and play in.

The puppies have been left for short periods- they share a crate when their fosterer walks the big dogs, and later in the day they have individual turns while the other pup is walked. They shouldn’t be crated for long as it cuts off more stimulation/ clues for them, but they are happy for short periods. Occasionally they go in during the day if they are overtired for a rest. They will not be suitable for full time workers. When they are older and don’t need to be crated when left, they could get into a routine and settle well with a family that worked, but not full time. Also to consider is the possibility that they might develop epilepsy at some point, so someone with a semi flexible routine would be best.

They came with no possessiveness at all over food and share with each other and don’t mind the other dogs being around. Evie has once practise growled at her sister over a chew, but normal stuff for pups getting new things. They have not been destructive in the home any more than normal puppies are! However they do use their mouths to explore new things. They are happy to be touched all over though they are very wiggly! They find touch very stimulating and have half a thought on whether it will lead to a treat/ training, which makes grooming fun! They came not expecting fusses and cuddles and just sort of being still if you fussed them, but they are enjoying it now and starting to ask for it. They will need some further work on their car travelling. They show no sickness when travelling and do enjoy it but they do get all excited and bite! They need to be crated in the car, or harnessed and initially distracted with a biscuit as they get very giddy. Similar at the vets … Giddy giddy, what’s that, what’s that?? They are fine being touched by the vet, just very wriggly- they just want to go on the floor and not be carried/ sit still at the moment.

The puppies are in an adult only household and haven’t been in contact with children yet. While they are growing to be very loving pups and they would make great family dogs, and would love a busy household- the only reservation about children is that the puppy nipping at the moment is very intense, and it hurts as an adult, so the family would need to be experienced and ready for that. As the usual techniques to stop it (squealing etc) don’t work so well its all work in progress. While we would make decisions based on the individual home offers received we would err on the side of caution and look at homes with older children.



So that is what is the same for each puppies but what makes Evie well Evie …

Evie starts the day running- it took her a day to map out the garden, and she runs out the back door first thing in the morning to get a few laps in. She is absolutely full of energy- and sometimes needs to be reminded that puppies should have naps! Evie is enjoying her carry around walks and taking all of the smells in, she is bursting to be able to get down and walk herself, and I think once she has started walking, she’s going to just keep going! Evie will need someone with lots of time and energy to give her lots of long walks once she is old enough, something like CaniX would be a real bonus! Evie is an active Border Collie- if she had sight she would almost certainly be up for an activity such as flyball or agility, so she would need an owner who can find something for her to channel that energy into.



Evie is a fast learner and works very well for food treats. She quickly leant sit, give paw and down, and is ready to learn more. She absolutely loves kongs, and puzzle games with food in- in fact she need things like this to tire her brain out during the day. With a creative owner Evie would enjoy learning tricks or scent games.



Evie is going to be a very loving girl, she is gradually learning to have and ask for cuddles, and fell asleep on a lap for the first time last night. She is still very independent though, and wants to be ‘doing’ most of the time. At night she chooses to sleep in the kitchen on her own, (I sleep in the living room off the kitchen) and sometimes come for cuddles in the morning but usually has other things on her mind- Evie mostly likes to be eating, and if she can’t do that then running, and only if that is done and dusted will she think about cuddle time.



Evie has always been with her sister, and so often they play together rather than with the other dogs. However in the last few days, Evie is making positive moves towards getting to play with the older dogs, and had good body language. Evie would love to have another dog to become best friends with, and could happily live with one other single dog, or a pack, having said that she is very much a people dog, once she has found her special person, I think she will be very bonded and eager to please. She’s a feisty one though!!



Puppies need to be neutered at their new owner’s expense. Neutering is a condition of adoption and something we follow up to ensure it has been completed.

We do not rehome puppies to full time workers

Puppies must also be taken to training classes and this will be followed up. If you do not know of training classes in your area please research this before you contact us about rehoming.

All Hope Rescue dogs are neutered (if over 6 months), vaccinated, flea treated, wormed and micro-chipped prior to adoption. If a puppy is not old enough to be neutered then this must be carried out at the owner’s expense when old enough, and the relevant form completed by the vet and returned to Hope Rescue. A homecheck will be required, and you will need to come and meet the dog with your own dogs and family. We have a suggested minimum donation of £160.

Some extra information from Sparkle and Evie's fosterer about training and living with deaf and blind dogs.

The pups are in a routine which helps- wake up and go out for wees, have cuddles and wait for the house to wake up, breakfast, Playtime!, nap time in the crate while the big dogs are walked, snack time, tiny bit of training, playtime, nap time, lunch time, playtime, nap time.....

The are quick learners and have mapped out the house and garden- Evie now runs full pelt around the garden in a triangle, where she knows is safe and she won't bump, then she practises her jumping off the steep bit of grass onto the patio. Sparkle at the moment prefers to go up to the top corner and do some 'gardening'.

Both are learning the come forward/ follow me sign (two strokes forward under the chin) but they have to resisit the urge to follow by clamping onto your wellies instead.

As I have a six year old deaf/ blind collie, I'm just passing on a lot of what she taught me to the pups- lots of it is just about giving them clues all the time about what to expect- putting them on a towel when it's meal time, giving them a sign when training has finished and they can go off and play- the first few times the signs mean nothing to them, but as you use them more it all starts to make sense. From experience these pups will develop a very close bond with their new families, and human and pup will teach each other their own signs and just come to understand each other naturally.

Formal training is like any other pup- for the sit- lure into a sit with a piece of food, and reward. When they've got the hang on this over a few days (minutes!) you move onto giving them the sign (tap tap on the bum), then lure into a sit, then reward. After another few sessions when you give the sign, they go into a sit without needing the lure- and then they have a sit!
The biggest challenge for me has been coming up with the actual signs, and you run out of different ways to touch/ tap them, but it sort of evolves naturally.

Gosh I'm waffling...!

Sight/ hearing wise- Sparkle has two formed- but tiny (micropthalmic) eyes-. She can see light and dark, and loves it when the sun comes out (hence Sparkle), and she can see when there is movement- like a dog running very close to her. Again from experience Sparkle's eyes may well improve briefly so that she becomes more able to track and follow movement and even try to look at some things, but micropthalmic eyes don't 'last' and they will probably shrink and become smaller and lose the vision they gain, although she should keep the light and dark definition. In some ways this makes things a bit more tricky for Sparkle, as she will have to readjust as she goes through life- again, I am just guessing this from experience from my own dogs.
Evie has (I think) no formed eyes. She can tell light from dark, but has already started to use her nose to sense who is close by and might be ready for a game, rather than any vision. In some ways her path in easier as she can learn now with what she has, without there being as much change.

Both girls can hear other dogs barking when we are indoors- almost like the sound bounces off the walls. They can't hear small noises/ voices, but that tiny bit they do have helps them to work out what is going on- and most importantly when it's dinner time! Sometimes hearing the other dogs barking but not knowing what is going on can be worrying, so it's important to give them clues- such as letting them sniff the mail reassures them that the barking was just about the smelly parcels coming from outside again- nothing to worry about.

As for rehoming- we have no idea at the moment how it will go.

Evie is a bright, very collie girl who wants to learn new things, be outside all of the time, do as much running as she can (caniX anyone?), and have cuddles and kisses when she's all played out. Evie sleeps where she falls.

Sparkle is almost like a younger version of Evie at the moment- she flips between wanting to be carried and snuggled to rootling around at the bottom of the garden in the mud, and doing her own thing- at the moment she has just started work on redecorating the kitchen- starting with removing the floor tiles.

At the end of the day, they both have quite severe disabilities due to human greed and need to produce pups of a certain colour. But they don't know that.

First and foremost, they are Border Collies, and want homes where they will be given as much opportunity and adventure as the next collie