Month 5: The Stare

The very first night I had Roxy, my son spent the night. He's an adult, but was really excited about the new member of our family. Roxy and Caleb bonded immediately. When I got up in the morning, he told me about an incident. He'd been sleeping and had that feeling like someone is watching you. He opened his eyes to see Roxy standing on the floor next to the sofa, a few feet away and staring at him. Just staring.

Over the next few days, we both noticed "the stare." He thought it was creepy. I thought it was cute. Well, it's been a few months now, and I have to say, it is a little strange. Roxy will plant all fours and stare into your eyes. She is usually a distance away - maybe across the room - like 10 or 20 feet away. No matter what you do, you'll look up and she's staring at you. After a while, I just got used to it. But then I noticed something else. When she's doing this, if I move, even the slightest bit, she readies herself. But ready for what? For me to walk across the room? It was not just puzzling to me, it was also troubling too. She never seemed to be able to just relax. I felt badly about that.

Then I watched a show on Netflix called, Dogs With Jobs. One of the episodes profiled an Australian Kelpie, named Basil, who herded sheep on a farm. As I watched this amazing dog work with the sheep, I saw something I recognized - the stance, and the stare. Also included in the footage was the Sheepdog Trials, where Basil has won many times in a row for his herding skills. I continued my research via the internet and You Tube.


Dogs 101: Australian Shepherd has a nice overview of the breed. But I wanted to understand specifically, why Roxy stares at me and what I can do about it. After hours of research; reading and watching videos, I learned what I needed to know.

What I Learned: Roxy was bred to be a working dog. For her, that means that it is genetic, within her, to be on her feet for hours upon hours at a time; standing, watching, running, side-stepping, sprinting and focusing on the herd. So, when she's standing there staring at me, she's in work-mode. She's waiting for direction from me. Roxy doesn't nip at my heels like some A.S.'s do. She is waiting for me to tell her what to do. Of course, on a farm, this would be easier. But in a residential home, in a neighborhood, herding isn't available to her. So, how can I help her?

• Give her physical exercise. Go for walks. Play fetch. Etc.
• Keep her mind busy. Provide toys that require different skills. Pull toys make her think in one way, while a toy that has food inside, makes her think in another.
• Give her mental exercise. Present her with mental tasks, like learning a new command, or extending an old one. 
• Create spaces that are meant for relaxing. Even the most active shepherds working on a farm, have a place they learn to associate with rest. This is something I needed to revamp for Roxy. 

The Implementation: Although I don't live on a huge lot, Roxy does run and play pretty hard in the yard with my other dog, Togo. Well, she actually literally runs circles around Togo. Still - they both get what they need. But obviously, this isn't enough for Roxy. So, my plan for her was to add more physical and mental exercise. What does that have to do with the staring? Well, the way I looked at it, after gathering the research, Roxy was bored. She didn't have a "job" for most of the day. 

So, here's what I did:

• I added another walk to her day. The first walk is just that...a walk. Of course, she gets twice the exercise I do because I use a leash that expands, so she goes back and forth exploring. The second walk was to do more training, such as the things I already do at home. For example, as we walk, I'll stop on the sidewalk and give her the sign for "stay" and then walk slowly away from her. I was surprised to learn that what she was doing pretty well at home was much more difficult outside of home.
• I added training to our everyday routines. For example, I've worked with her on 'threshold training." In other words, teaching her that just because a door is open, doesn't mean she can run through it. So, when I go outside the fence to empty the garbage, I leave the fence open and give her the sign to wait. Might seem like a small thing. But it's keeping her mind and body busy. It's a job. "Your job is to wait here for me." *
• She has to work for at least one meal a day. I put her kibble in a toy she has to manipulate to get the food out. I plan to make some this summer to challenge her even more.
• Giving her a "place" to relax and just chill out. Let me explain this one a little more;

When I first got Roxy she did not like or want to go into a crate. She cowered for whatever reason. So, I zip-tied the door of it open so it wouldn't accidentally close on her and frighten her - and also so the 2-year old grandbaby wouldn't accidentally-on-purpose lock her in. Slowly, over several weeks, she really began using it more and more and going there on her own. I've learned that Roxy likes to be under things; the kitchen table, a chair, a stool, a lawn chair. I don't know why this is, but I do know that she tends to get overstimulated visually. When she's under something, and especially if I cover it with a blanket or something - it cuts down on the visual stimulus. 

Roxy always follows me into the kitchen. Then she'll lay on my feet as I cut, chop, prepare, cook etc. In many circumstances, this isn't safe. So I got to thinking about the "place" and her need to both see me and feel protected. I created a place under a table. I am now working diligently to teach her that when I sign "sit under" it's her time to chill out. And I now have a space for that in the dining room, living room, and now in the kitchen too. This will sound strange - but I think she actually likes it. I feel like I'm sending a toddler to time out, even though I don't use it as punishment. But for the most part, she goes willingly and stays for a while. Giving her a "place" also gives her a "job." When she goes there, her job is to relax. I'm telling her, "You're off duty now. Go relax." I'm seeing success with this and will keep it up. My hope is not only to help her know when she can stop worrying about what I'm doing and relax, but also that I can send her there when friends are over and she won't be underfoot, when I don't want her to be.

Ultimately, I'd like to take Roxy to the dog park and have off-leash be an option for her. But until I know and understand her better, that's not possible or safe. I will likely train her with an e-collar. But my thought right now is that I need to have her under predictable control before attempting that. I need to be able to call her back to me, and she can't hear. So, the e-collar is the only option I see.

Do you have a dog that has mastered "the stare"? Tell me in the comments below.

Don't forget to have fun!

Karen and Roxy

Week 4: Barking at "Nothing" and Finding Help

Finding the Community
When I was researching how to live with and train a deaf dog, I discovered something amazing. There is a large community of people who are not only raising deaf dogs, but passionate about giving them the best life possible. One of the most active communities, with over 40,000 members, is an organization called, Deaf Dogs Rock.

Deaf Dogs Rock was founded by Christina Lee when her family adopted a deaf boxer with a very sad story. The tiny, 10-week old puppy had been abandoned and was found by a river. Christina and her husband were longtime animal lovers, so when the shelter asked if she'd consider adopting him, it didn't take long for them to agree. Nitro had a forever home. But Christina soon realized there was a lack of information on how to raise and train a deaf dog. Deaf Dogs Rock was born out of that lack. The non-profit organization's goal is to "educate the general public about deaf dogs, be a resource to deaf dog owners, and help find forever homes for deaf dogs in need."Lofty goals? Yes. But if you ask me, they're achieving what they set out to do.

You can read more about Deaf Dogs Rock by clicking the link above. 

Posing the Question
Eventually, I ventured away from their website and onto the Facebook page. There I discovered another extension of DDR. There is an active, communicating, large community of deaf dog owners helping each other by posting questions and answers about raising a deaf dog. So, when an issue came up with Roxy, I could think of no better place to pose my question.

Here's what I posted: I adopted my Roxy about three weeks ago. She is having an issue every night. First let me say that she is a well behaved, energetic and wonderful dog. Between about 8 and 10pm, she acts as if she hears something. It's that bark like a hearing dog does when they hear something suspicious. She jumps up and runs toward one of two locations. This is often coupled by her seeming to be on high alert, watching something...but there's nothing there...that I can see.

Sometimes I'd swear she's sound asleep when it happens. I don't know if it might be shadows or reflections or something. Really hard to tell. I just want to help her because she seems so frightened of whatever it is.

Is this a deaf dog thing, or is she just quirky?... Anybody have any insight into this or advice on how to help her? It's interesting to note that once we go to bed, in my very dark bedroom, she doesn't do it again. Thank you in advance for any help you can offer. Karen

Reading the Responses
I went back to the Facebook page a bit later and was surprised to see responses so quickly. I read each one carefully. That night, I went back to the site and was absolutely shocked to see that there were dozens more responses!  Again, I read each one. Over the next few days, more responses came in.

My background as a teacher is in behavior modification. I've written and implemented many behavior plans. I've done behavior studies - looking for what precedes a behavior, in troubled children. So, the one (common) response about Roxy seeing ghosts, just wasn't something I'd consider. But I can totally see why people would think that - I mean, she's freaking out and nothing is there. Among the most helpful comments were the following;

• It could be a vibration within the house that she's feeling. People shared stories of discovering their deaf dog was responding to the ice maker, the furnace starting up, and cycles of things like a dishwasher. Deaf dogs are super sensitive to things like this. Because they can't rely on hearing, they're more sensitive to vibrations.
• It could be shadows or lights from outside. It's virtually impossible to make your house completely shadow and reflection free. Deaf dogs might notice a neighbor's headlights go across the room, where you don't take note of them at all. Or appliances, computers, televisions could be projecting something she's responding to.

A couple of people suggested encouraging her to go to a crate or safe place that she's comfortable in. One talked about covering the crate so sensory stimulus is limited. 

Coming Up With a Plan

I observed Roxy's behavior over the next night or so. As a teacher, I learned that knowing when a behavior doesn't occur is just as important as noting when it does. The things that struck me about her growling and barking are; 

1.     She doesn't do this during the day.

2.     She doesn't do it at night when it's very dark.

3.     She doesn't do it outside.

4.     She's nearly always in the living room when it happens.

5.     It's always after dark but before bedtime.

So what did all this tell me? Well, it's got to be visual. Since my appliances run day and night, as does my heating system, it's got to be something visual. I brought an old dog crate out. It has a soft bed in it, but someone on DDR suggested having sides too because Australian Shepherds and deaf dogs in general, like to be touching their human. This was a sort of surrogate for that. So, I rolled up a blanket and made a U-shaped edge for the crate, on top of the cushion. Then I got a thick sofa cover I wasn't using and put it over the top and sides of the crate. It was now a cozy little den.

The Results

I tried to train Roxy to go in the crate when I first got her and she was very resistant. She looked very fearful. So, I didn't have a lot of hope that she'd use my new house for her. I planned to use lots of treats in the next few days. I got on messenger and was chatting with a friend about it when I realized Roxy wasn't glued to my side. I slowly peeked inside the crate and yup...she'd gone in and was all the way at the back of it, snuggled up and sound asleep!

Since then, Roxy fairly consistently goes to her crate on her own. She rarely uses it during the day, but when it gets dark, she goes in it. She still startles awake at times, and goes on a frantic search to find me (even when I'm a few feet away). But she's much more settled.

As for what was causing the growling and barking, I'm still not sure. A couple of times, I've noticed that the neighbor's motion sensor light had turned on. There are also lights from a nearby intersection, that come through the trees pretty consistently. In addition, Roxy didn't have a place of her own. She had a dog bed, but not a real space. So in providing that for her, the behavior and stress has gone down significantly. She still barks and growls at whatever it is occasionally, but stops pretty quickly.

Instead of coddling her when she gets like this, I simply sign "OK", meaning "It's OK. Nothing to worry about." Most of the time, she'll look at me for the sign and then settle down. She also looks to my old girl, Togo. If Togo isn't reacting, she seems to know it's nothing. Between all of these things, Roxy is enjoying her evenings more.

Yippee! So great to get ideas from those who know. Thank you, Deaf Dogs Rock!

Karen and Roxy (Woof!) 

Week Three: To Harness All That Energy (with preview)

Week Three in Review

Preview: This week, Roxy and I have one goal; to get her to wear a harness. Easy, right? Yeah, not so much! Roxy has a lot of anxiety around having a collar put on her and that's just around her neck! I chose a body harness because Roxy is deaf. I had a very good consultation with a knowledgeable woman at my local Petco. Here's the one I chose. Until she became part of our family, my biggest worry was that she'd get out of the yard and I wouldn't be able to find her, nor call her name to find her. I now realize it's much more than that.

If I want to be able to keep her safe and eventually have her work as a therapy dog, I need to be certain that I can recall her and that she can't slip from her restraint. Since she's already shown me that she can slip her little head out of a collar no matter how tight it is around her neck, a harness it is.

Putting a collar on her was a huge challenge. She looked frightened, bit at it, and wiggled, hopped, skipped and gyrated out of my reach with everything she had. It was like watching that really bad dancer of the 1980's - you know, disco days! So, I was relatively sure I'd have to do some training with her to get the harness on. But I needed a starting point.

Instead of posting our experience next week, when it's (hopefully) done, I'll be adding to this post as we make progress.  So, stay tuned and check in often for more updates.

Train Your Dog to Wear a Harness in 3,572 Easy Steps (or less)

This is the harness we're working with.

Day One

Step One: I decided to think positive and act with confidence as I put the harness on for the first time. That lasted less than ten seconds. I stopped as soon as I realized it wasn't going to be that easy. I did not want to make things worse, making Roxy associate the harness with a negative experience.

Step Two: An hour or so later, I got out the harness and some wiener pieces. Yummm! I touched the harness to her nose and then gave her a treat. After a bit, Roxy touched it voluntarily. Treat, treat, treat! 

Step Three: I touched the harness to her chest and gave her a treat. Repeat, treat, repeat, treat, repeat...

Step Four: I looped the neck part of the harness around her neck without fastening anything. This was a hard one. It's a lot like the collar to her. We did this a tiny bit at a time and again...Treat, repeat, treat, repeat, treat, repeat...

This session lasted about 10 minutes. We repeated another 10 minutes three more times this day.

End of DAY ONE.

Day Two

Roxy with harness partially attached.

Step Five: Repeat steps one through four from previous day until she easily let me get through step four.

Step Six: Fasten neck latch.* Roxy freaked out at this. She actually started trying to wiggle out of it before I even latched it. I think she could just sense from my body language that we were about to do something we hadn't done as of yet. The first few times, she wiggled out of the harness. Tempting as it was to hold her tighter and just fasten the darn thing, I kept my goal in mind. Goal: for Roxy to easily and voluntarily accept having the harness put on her. If I simply latched it when she was wiggling, I'd defeat the purpose. When she fought hard against it, I simply let go and went back to just putting it on her. Eventually she let me latch it. Treat, treat, treat! I took it off and we started all over again. When I was sufficiently convinced she felt good about having it latched around her neck, I moved to the next step.

*After getting to know the harness better and what Roxy would accept better, I realized made a slight change in how I'd teach her this skill. There are two latches that fasten around the neck of this particular harness. Since Roxy isn't thrilled about things that go around her neck, and because she would tolerate stepping into the harness pretty easily, I decided to keep one side fastened together and just have her step into it. Then there was just one side to snap.

Step Seven: With the neck part only, latched, I petted her, acted totally overly excited. We played and I tussled her fur, kissed her, and just generally played for a minute or so. She accepted this without trying to get the harness off at all! Yippee! Next, I had her go through some of the unrelated training she'd already learned, and gave her treats like a crazy-human! This included things she's confident in and will do without treats: sit, stay, lay down, come. We did these several times. The goal here was for her to get used to the harness on while keeping her brain busy with things she's good at. Mission accomplished! Then I unlatched the harness and we repeated it probably 5 times.

Note: I was soooo tempted to go ahead and just put the chest strap on too! But I remember reading somewhere to always stop on a good and positive note. So, I resisted the temptation.

Day Three

Step Eight: Repeat training through steps from previous day, making sure she's retained what she's learned.

Step Nine: Snap the chest latch (on her back) closed. Roxy fought very minimally on this one. That was a big surprise! In fact, it only took two attempts and she let me latch it. Once it was latched, I gave treats, treats, treats. Then I unlatched it and did it again and again. Treat, treat, treat. Gotta love those weiners!

Step Ten: Leave harness on for short period of time. As with Day Two, I had Roxy do the things she was already confident with: sit, stay, lay down, come. We did these in random order. Treat, treat, treat. Only once did she jump around as if she wanted to get the harness off, but just for a moment.

Conclusion

So, instead of this taking a couple thousand steps, Roxy was able to learn to have her harness put on in ten steps and in just three days. Please remember that all dogs are different. Your dog might learn more quickly or more slowly. The time it takes doesn't matter as much as getting the behavior down pact.

Have you ever taught your deaf dog something by breaking it down in steps? Do share!

Karen and Roxy (Woof!)

Next Post: My tips for getting your dog to wear a harness/collar or anything else new.

Week Two: Vet Visit, Fears and the Surprise in the Bed

Sharing a Human: The Struggle is Real!

Week Two in Review

This week was a challenge since the weather was not only cold, but it was icy too. Since having two back surgeries years ago, I've walked nearly every day. It's important for the health of my back. I walk in almost any weather. The only conditions I won't walk in - is when it's icy out. Unfortunately, this past week we had several icy days. So, instead of outdoor training on our walks, I did work in the yard and then focused on "brain work" inside. But let's start with some observations.

Observations:
1. Advice Pays Off!
Togo was a 12-week old puppy when I got her. The best advice I ever got was this: You have to make being with you the best thing that ever happened to your dog. They have to want to be with you. They need to want to come whenever you call them. Being with you should represent fun, treats, activity, and play. When I got Roxy, I used that same advice. I spent several days just bonding with her; signing "come" to her and then playing with her or giving her a treat. We played fetch in the backyard. We snuggled on the sofa. When I was signing "come" to her, I did it enthusiastically...like I was telling her she was about to go to Disneyland. Well, that advice paid off and may have saved her from disaster.

I was loading wood from the garage to the back door. I knew Roxy would want to be where I was, so I brought her outside. But the gate needed to be open, so I attached her collar to a cable that almost reached the gate, but not quite. I'd made a few trips when I loaded my arms with wood. I looked at her, and she gave me a funny look. Then she wiggled her head, slipped out of her collar, and ran. I had just gone through the gate and it was still open. A busy street is just one house away. I immediately dropped the wood to one side and then signed "come" enthusiastically - just as we'd done while playing. I signed it over and over while moving quickly toward the house. Thank God she followed me! Inside, I praised her, signing "good girl!" So, if anyone ever asks me what the very first thing you should do when you get a new dog, my advice will be to "make being with you the best thing in your dog's life" because it could save their life someday!

2. Fears Become Apparent

• Fear #1 Roxy has some fears. Her most recent placement warned me of this. She said that she suspects that Roxy has been hit by someone. At first, I didn't notice anything at all. Then I did notice that if I'm reprimanding her at all, she flinches and blinks really fast. This pretty consistently happens in two situations. One is if I (or anybody else) is holding something with a long pole/stick on it. She reacts in a fearful way to brooms, mops, rakes and so forth. We'll work on desensitizing her to this later. 
• Fear #2 Another fear that cropped up this week is a weird one. I was reading up on how to keep your dog clean between baths. I got some cornstarch. I showed it to her and she was curious. Then I sprinkled some on her back and simultaneously got out the dog brush. Well, she freaked out. Totally freaked out. She backed up like I'd burned her with a hot poker! Bless her heart, it was like she knew I was good, that I was OK, but that brush scared her to death. She tried and tried to make herself come back to me. I felt just terrible. I showed her the brush and that I was putting it away. I knelt down and just sat there. Within a few minutes she came up to me and slowly began trusting me again - nosing my hand and accepting my pets, gently at first and then more fun. Again, this is something we'll work on at a later date.

3. Wondering About Vision

• Roxy is a Double Merle Australian Shepherd. Basically, this means that two Merle's were bred. And when two Merle's breed, each puppy has a one in four chance of being blind, deaf, or blind and deaf. In short, her disability (deafness) is due to irresponsible breeding. I love Roxy just the way she is but the reality is that many, many dogs like her are killed or euthanized because they are very difficult to find a home for. So, obviously, I believe that this practice of breeding two Merle's must stop. So...all of that is to provide some back-story to my concern. Though Roxy is deaf, her vision has been assessed and found to be fine. She does seem to see well. But I've noticed a few odd things and I've noted them enough times that I believe there is reason for concern. Here are my observations: When I put something like a treat on a color that is somewhat similar to the treat color, like a tan treat on a brown or gold sofa, she can't see it. When I put a piece of food that's white-ish on the white-ish floor, she can't see it. But if I move that treat to something with more contrast, she has no trouble at all. I really don't know what this means, and it doesn't effect her all that much.  But it is something I'll ask my vet about.

4. Petco Visit

A few days after Thanksgiving, I went to Petco. I didn't take Roxy with me because I was certain there would be a lot of people and dogs there and I really didn't have enough experience with her and training with her, to know that the visit would go OK. The staff at Petco were excellent. I explained to the woman who helped me, that my dog is deaf and that I need a collar system or harness for her since I can't call her back if she gets loose on a walk. She guided me through choosing a harness for Roxy that is virtually impossible for her to slip out of. Roxy is not thrilled about anything that touches her eyes, or slips over her nose etc. So, the saleswoman walked me through how to train her to like the harness. I'll report on that when we get it down - with photos and/or video!

By the way, I ordered Roxy a special tag as soon as I got her. It says, "DEAF DOG (Roxy)" on it. And of course, it also has my contact information.

Celebrations:

1. First Vet Visit I love my vet. Dr. Ladderud is Togo's veterinarian too. It's so important to have someone you trust and who cares for your dog as your vet. I took the file of information on Roxy with me and they made copies - mostly of immunizations and things like that. Roxy weighed 34lbs. I was told she was about 25, so this was a surprise. Still, she seems so tiny compared to Togo, who is almost 70lbs! This visit was really just a "well-puppy" visit so the doctor could meet her and so Roxy could go there without anything negative happening for the first time. The doctor gave me a few hints about correcting her behavior. He noted her active behavior and joked that I had a thing for active dogs. Roxy was actually very well behaved and he noticed that. In fact he said he was amazed she was as good as she was. He gave her the once over, and I told him about her gassy-girl issue and her very loose bowels. He suspected that it's due to stress and gave her an antibiotic in case it's a bacterial thing. I thought maybe it was her food, but he didn't think so. Within about four days on the meds, her issues cleared up. Well, she still has a little gas every now and then, but i can live with that! LOL The visit with the meds was about $44 - very reasonable and I'm glad that Roxy's first visit to the doctor was a positive one.

2. Dancing and Waiting.  So, with an abundance of indoor time this week, I decided to challenge Roxy's great big brain! We reinforced her SIT, STAY, and COME. We're working on her coming when signed to really fast and in all different rooms and settings and situations. We're also working on STAYING for longer amounts of time and with other things going on. For example, I have her in STAY and then I slowly walk back several steps. I also challenge her by having her STAY while I move my arms and lets, turning my head and talking - like I would if I met someone while she was with me. OK...and I even dance. And speaking of dancing... I saw Roxy stand up on her hind legs this week and that gave me an idea. Roxy could dance! So, I did a sort of one-handed sign for DANCE, holding my hand over her with a treat in it - just high enough that she'd have to stand on her back legs. Slowly, she began to understand that I wanted her to stay up there, not just jump up and come back down. So, yes, Roxy is in dance class. I'm her instructor. 

3. Christening. Roxy has been called many things. I originally did not like the name Roxy - the name she came to me with. I changed it to Lucy, then Bunny when I saw her hop. My mom calls her Sweetie Pie. But then I remembered what my son and I talked about on our way home with her on adoption day. Caleb knew I didn't like the name Roxy. We tried out a lot of different names on that 3 hour trip home. Then I said, "You know I hate to say it, but she seems like a Roxy to me." Caleb got rather animated and said, "I know! I think so too. But I didn't want to say anything. She's your dog and I didn't want to influence you." So, Roxy it is!

The moment I knew everything would be OK.

4. And Then There Were Two (plus one human). One of the difficult questions when bringing a new dog into a home with an established dog, is when to leave them alone together. At the beginning of the second week, they were fighting so much that I envisioned a house wrecked, tables overturned, lamps crashed to the floor when I was gone. But then something fun happened. I kept the dogs separated by a doorway gate I had for my granddaughter. I slowly increased the time I left the dogs alone. And on this day, I was gone for 2 hours. When I got home, Roxy had taken every one of her toys (6 of them) and dropped them over the gate for Togo. They were still separated by the gate, and I'd found Roxy in her usual place, with her back to the door I'd left from. But clearly, she'd spent some time with Togo too. The next day, I was gone for an hour. When I got home, Roxy wasn't by the door. I panicked. Where had she gone? I looked around the house and didn't find her. Then I went into my bedroom where Togo sleeps. I asked Togo, "Where is she, Togo? Where's Roxy?" She hoisted herself to standing, and that's when I saw her. Roxy had jumped the gate and jumped up on the bed with Togo. It was a beautiful moment! My doggies love each other now. And I love that they love each other!

Challenges:

1. Reactive With Certain Things - I gave Roxy a compressed rawhide bone. She liked it. But when I tried to pet her when she had it, she growled and looked as ferocious as she could. She did the same thing when she had a food-loaded toy. She reacted to me and to Togo. This has me worried about my granddaughter or any other person, but especially a child - who might innocently put their hand near the guarded treat/toy. I've no doubt we can overcome this.

2. Bedtime - So far, the dogs sleep with me. Before I had Roxy, if I ever needed/wanted to, I'd simply shut my door and Togo would sleep in the living room instead. But when I shut the door on Roxy, she scratches the heck out of my wood floors and even the door. I'm not certain how to overcome this, but we'll add it to the things we need to work on. I think I need to make a list! LOL

What a fun and challenging couple of weeks this has been! Enjoy the warmth of your home and the chill in the air! 

Karen and Roxy (Woof!)

Week One: Adjusting to Our New Deaf Dog

Week One in Review

Has it really only been one week? Oh boy. Roxy is settling in nicely. She's keeping me on my toes and challenging me to "hear" the world as she does. First a few observations;

• She jumps up every time I move. I'm not sure if it's because she's afraid I'll leave or if it's simply a way she's adapted to being deaf. She's almost always touching me in some way. Lays next to me on the sofa or chair with her paw on me, or her body leaning on me. If I'm at my desk, she lays on my feet - keeps them toasty warm...Thanks Roxy! So, when I make the slightest move, she hops to her feet to follow me - even when I'm not going anywhere.She can be sound asleep and I lean forward to get my glass of water from the coffee table, and she'll jump up.  LOL I wish I could just say, "Relax, I'm just going to the bathroom. I'll be right back." But for now, it just seems like this is what she needs to do.
• No matter what door I leave from, she lays down with her back touching the door, to wait for me. That might be the back door, the bathroom door, or the bedroom door. Doesn't matter. She's always going to know the second I come back.
• Not having her hearing means that unlike my hearing dog, Togo (husky/retriever mix), she doesn't have the benefit of knowing where I am in the house through passive listening. So, she doesn't hear the water running when I am getting in the shower, or the pans clinking in the kitchen, or me walking about the house. On occasion she's fallen asleep on the floor. When she awakens with a start, she immediately goes to the most likely places I will be - the kitchen (who knew?), the sofa, and then quickly surveys the rest of the house until she finds me. Once she finds me, you can just see the relief on her little puppy face. 

As I begin this blog, I think I'll write about the week's challenges and celebrations. And even though it's only been a week, I've got a lot to report! These weekly reports will be an overview. If I want to share more about something, I'll write a separate blog post about it. So, here goes...

Celebrations

1. Training 

Roxy came to me knowing a few hand signals. She knew sit, good girl, come, and no. I'm not sure how consistent her response to the signs was, but I can tell that she knows them. So, I started out the first few days just reviewing the signs and working on getting them more solid. She went from probably responding to "sit" probably 30% of the time. It's a good, solid 90% of the time now. Lots and lots of treats were given! 

2. Recall Work

I'm scared to death that she'll get away from me. So, after a few days of settling in, I began working on recall. What that means to me is that I want her to check in with me very, very often. We work on this during walks around the neighborhood. Basically, I gave her a treat whenever she looked at me and whenever she felt me tug on her leash and responded by looking at me. She understood immediately what she was getting the treat for. The second day, I was curious if she'd remember. She did! In fact she came back so often that it was hard for me to get a few steps in. So, I started using a new sign. I used the sign for "OK" and then with the pointer finger of the "K" I enthusiastically pointed forward. Meaning: You checked in with me, good job. It's OK to keep going now." I didn't give her kibble each time, but sporadic. She still kept checking in. I work on this every day. Obviously if she ever gets loose, I won't be able to call her. I will probably use a vibration collar at some point, but for now, I just want to teach this one very important skill.

3. Roxy loves people. She wants to be with people. She spends a few minutes being very excited but is able to settle down pretty quickly.

Challenges:

1. Dominance issues

I've never had two dogs before. And my old girl, Togo was my very first dog ever! So, she's been in a single doggy home for 10+ years. I didn't know what to expect. My son, Caleb and I introduced them thoughtfully. They met in the backyard and then we immediately took them for a walk. Even with everything done as I'd heard it should be, there's just no short cut to them working out who will dominate and what their relationship will look like. Let's face it, Roxy is a toddler and Togo is an 80-year old who kinda likes kids but really doesn't want to be bumped and run into, and pounced on 24/7. Dog people keep telling me it will get better and they did play in the yard a few times together. But this continues to be a concern for me. I had no idea how responsible I'd feel for both of them - for their happiness. It's hard to let the dogs be dogs and figure it out!

2. Gastrointestinal Fortitude (or  lack-there-of)

(Yes, I'm getting graphic about my dog's poo!) I walked away from Double J Dog Ranch with all the information I could imagine needing about her. She rode great in the car for our 3-hour trip home - except for one thing. Gas! This puppy is a very gassy girl! Holy cow! The smell just about took our heads off. And she always seemed to have her head in my lap and her rump aimed toward my son! Poor Caleb! When we got home and I observed her bowel movements, they were very loose. She pooped 5-7 times each time, while Togo poo'd only once. I learned that stress can cause this. Good news is she was completely house trained so no messes in the house.

3. Two-Dog Walking

I research things to pieces. That's just me. I read that having the two dogs walk together would help them bond. Since dogs are pack animals, walking together is a natural thing to do. The first day, my son walked one dog, and I had the leash to the other. It worked fine. The second day, I did it alone and it was a bit challenging, but we did it. The third day was terrible. They got tangled up in each other's leashes and I couldn't get them under control. I made a decision then and there - until I have a better handle on Roxy and a good communication system with her, I won't walk them together again. I've switched to walking them separately for now.

So, that's really not bad for week one. 

Karen and Roxy (Woof!)

Adoption Day: Introducing Roxy

On the Adoption Couch at Double J Dog Ranch

I adopted this beautiful girl on November 18, 2015 (four days ago as of this writing). Roxy is a Mini Australian Shepherd; a double merle. She's approximately 18 months old and deaf. We're just getting to know each other. I've found that there are quite a few loving people out there who adopt deaf dogs. There are some great websites and resources out there. So, if there's so much information out there, why am I writing this blog? The answer is simple - because I'm a writer. That's what I do.

But there's more. I process things and learn things by writing about them. Even in the few short days I've been a deaf-doggy-mommy, I've learned more than you can even imagine. So, that got me to thinking. What sort of information would I love to find at this very early point in my parenthood? I'd love to come across not just information, but the experience of someone like me, in the early days of adoption. I'd like to read their day-by-day or at least week-by-week experiences as they adjust and become not "perfect" but perfectly right  for their particular dog. I want to know what others who've gone before me have learned - the good, the bad, and the ugly.

In the last four days, I've questioned, celebrated, and felt frustration. The one thing I haven't experienced is doubting my decision to adopt Roxy. We were meant to be together. I felt it from the moment I met her and judging from her reaction, she felt it too.

So, if you're a dog-lover like me, a champion for the underdog (literally), join me on my journey. Together we can change the canine world - one dog at a time.

Karen and Roxy (Woof!)