How to cope when your best friend’s deaf

Learning to live with a dog that is deaf can be challenging, but not impossible or even necessarily difficult.

Typically, it is humans who have a hard time with canine deafness, not the dogs. Many people want to know why their dog is deaf. There are a number of genetic defects that can cause deafness, some of which are related to the color of your dog’s coat. The more white in a dog’s coat, the more likely the dog is to be deaf. This does not, however, mean all dogs with white fur are deaf. In addition, older dogs may have age-related hearing loss. Some dogs suffer trauma that can lead to temporary or permanent hearing loss.

Testing for deafness

The BEAR test (brain stem auditory evoked response) was developed to test the hearing of human infants, but can be used with dogs as well. Note that some dogs that are tested and determined to be deaf may actually hear some ultrasound or high-pitch sounds. If you do not want your dog to take part in this formal hearing test, these are some clues that a dog may have hearing problems.

• Puppies may bite harder than other pups because they are not hearing the yelps of their littermates.

• Your dog may not respond to negative sounds, such as a jar with coins being shaken (something that most dogs hate). Try this when your dog is asleep. If he doesn’t wake up, that is a good indication he may be deaf.

• Shake keys or bang pots together to attract your dog’s attention. Make sure not to be too close to your dog so that he doesn’t feel the vibration of these items in the air.

Next month, look for information about living with a deaf dog and how best to train him.

Angie Lewis is vice president for Alaska Dog and Puppy Rescue.