After another weekend chasing Lily the deaf lurcher pup around the new forest and getting dirty looks from other dog owners I have decided to buy her a coat with writing on it saying "I AM DEAF PLEASE BE PATIENT" (as suggested by someone on one of my other posts) The problem is she is reasonably well behaved but she will follow other dogs, she does come back eventually but it takes time and usually involves us running the other way :D :D  Unfortunately other owners dont know she is deaf and therefore dont understand, they usually carry on walking which if Lily decides she prefers the other dog to the roast chicken in my pocket then she will carry on with them (hence I have to run further to get her :rolleyes: ) . Yesterday one helpful labrador owner threw her dogs ball on a rope in the opposite direction from me so Lily disappeared out of sight following it

We are still training her and she can be very good but she does love playing with other dogs and when I go over to get her and explain she is deaf other owners always reply with "well I did wonder why you werent calling her" they obviously didnt notice me waving my arms trying to get her attention :rolleyes:

It was suggested on another post that a company called glow walkies do coats, but I cant find a website for them.  Does anyone know of anywhere I could get one with writing on or how I could put writing on one (im not very girly so sewing is out of the question :D :D )

Any suggestions would be much appreciated

Claire :)

Glow Walkies

If you go to Google and type in what you want (I put Glow Walkies in) you can often find what you want ;)

You can also buy Luminous fabric paint that you could paint onto a plain jacket possibly (art and craft shops will often sell that)

HTH

Melody

Oh bless, it was my idea; hope it works!  Have you tried contacting PAT dogs and asking who makes their fluorescent jackets with the writing on?  They may be able to steer you in the right direction! 

HTH

I hope it works too, its lucky I walk in such dog friendly places - otherwise I would be at risk of being beaten up for having the most irritating dog :D :D  What was amusing was that I was walking with a friend and her spaniel and she kept saying how she could never have a deaf dog ............. her dog then proved to her what it was like to own one because for the rest of the walk he wouldnt listen to a word she said and was just as naughty as Lily, at least she had an excuse :D :D :D

thanks for the info, ill let you know how I get on :)

Have you thought of a vibrating collar to attract her attention ?  There is a site with information for deaf dogs here

We did consider the collar and took advice from a couple of deaf dog trainers who both said the same thing : "any dog, deaf or not, can ignore you so there is nothing to stop them ignoring the collar, you have to make yourself the centre of their world so that they watch you all the time" and to be fair to Lily she does keep an eye on us and she knows the "come" signal, its just whether she choses to obey or not :rolleyes: she is only a pup though so I think it is back to basics and that big long lead - seems so unfair though, she loves to run :D :D

Hope you get a jacket soon. I dont think its unfair using the long lead till shes able to come when signalled as it will keep her safe and save you a lot of frustration. You could teach her to "twist" as you walk along to make life more interesting - Morse and I have just learned this and he loves it! Or you could play other games she likes on the lead. To twist you need dog on lead, tasty treats and maybe a fence or wall behind you to stop the dog going backwards until s/he gets it. Hold treat at dog eye level, then move your hand slowly round a 1/4 turn and treat when she bends around. Always go the same way. Go a little bit further each time till you get a whole revolution, then shell pick up speed as she catches on. You can use it to walk dogs to heel off lead as well. We started for a laugh then realised Manic Morse loves it so much it prevents the charge into the unknown after rabbits. :)

I admire your patience and caring taking on a deaf dog - Gothboys ex girlfriend has a white deaf boxer pup also called Lily and theyre working hard too, but with great pleasure.

If it's any consolation my dog does exactly the same and she isn't deaf. I am often seen running the opposite way from my girl in the park :D in the faint hope she will follow.
Lots of luck.....Sarah :)

was about to say the same thing!

so glad we arent the only ones - and ill try your "twist" Lorelei, Lily will probably just sit and look at me as if im a nutter though, she is too intelligent for her own good :rolleyes:

Hi,
I had a deaf Boxer rescue brought to me a few years ago. We persevered for 6 mths with her during that time she did all the regular boxer puppy things. She chewed everything ok! She ran away off lead, not so bad one of my rough collies taught her to come back. She got my husbands arthritis tablets out of the cupboard, above the freezer, and ate them. Resulting in 5 days in vets and a £185 bill, while at the vets she knocked their computer off the desk, one very irate vet asked me to take her home at that point. He said if she could wreck his keyboard then she wass fit to come home.
When push came to shove a young girl (18yrs old) who I had known all her life offered to take the pup.
After a lot of deliberation and deciding that the pup would be better with one to one training I let Kim have the pup on condition that she would return her if she couldn't cope.
Well, it's now 9 years later Chas is still living with Kim and her 2 young children. She is trained to walk to heel off lead, recall, and all other commands. She is now helping to train a little boxer girl of 9mths who is also deaf. This puppy had been terribly beaten by her owner for not 'listening' to him. She was rescued at 6mths by Kim and now is becoming a very happy, well-behaved (for a boxer baby) pup. She already does recall, sit, stay. I don't think it is always wise to rehome rescues with very young people but Kim has shown that with dedication and love even a deaf dog can benefit. All Kim had was Chas so she had all the time in the world to dedicate to her training. This was one of the most satisfying results I ever had.
Good luck with Lily as Kim has shown it can be done.
D4wn

Thats a lovely story, and well done to Kim.  It feels at the moment that we are bashing our heads against a brick wall with Lily but im sure she will come through in the end :)

How I know what you mean about the extra running to catch them!
My old rescue boy that we lost in December was deaf. He was also partially sighted, so couldn't actually see me waving further away than about 20 feet! If he 'lost' us, he would ALWAYS choose to go in the opposite direction. I had got my young shepherd about a year after adopting him, and trained her to 'round him up', which she always did brilliantly. The only trouble was she would circle him at such a speed and race back to me that sometimes he missed it :D

My very first dog went deaf in old age, and Red, mentioned above was totally deaf when we adopted him. I wouldn't hesitate to have another deaf dog, good on you. There are of course the little advantages - no barking at the post arriving, no hassle when opening a crisp packet (if they're not looking) :D

I think the coat idea is a fantastic one, If you bought a normal coat you could take it into one of these places that personalises T shirts and get it done for you. Perhaps you could take the message one stage further, and say 'if I'm following you, please wait' That's what I found was the worst, Red would follow a pair of legs, and often they just kept walking and he was as happy as larry thinking he was with me - bless! He's gone now to a place where I hope he can see for miles, and hear a pin drop!

Kat