Just like us, humans, differently-abled dogs are still dogs. These fur friends are still our companions and friends who are very much loyal, friendly, and lovable.
A dog’s hearing loss.
Dogs may lose their sense of hearing for several reasons – they may be innately deaf at birth, acquired due to having ear dirt, wax or bacteria, infection or inflammation of the ear canal, head trauma, noise trauma, exposure to antibiotics, or due to old age.
It may be a gradual process, too. Since our fur friends cannot easily comprehend our verbal commands, we can still communicate and train them using visual cues, hand signals, body language, and the likes.
Hearing-impaired dogs aren’t different from hearing dogs.
Some may think that hearing-impaired dogs are sickly, have a poor quality of life, difficult to train, etc. That’s why most of these dogs end up in dog shelters or worse, being euthanized. Please do note that they are trainable, capable of having a long life, and worthy of our tender love and care.
Studies show that these dogs are more physically attached and bonded to their pet owners compared to hearing dogs.
Do deaf dogs bark?
It doesn’t mean that when our pet is hearing-impaired, it is also mute. To answer the question, yes, deaf dogs can bark, too! But, they don’t bark the same way as hearing dogs bark. In fact, some pet owners noticed that their deaf dogs sometimes bark excessively than the others.
They certainly bark when they’re excited, want attention, are alarmed, or see other animals and/or persons in the area.
In evaluating the bark of deaf dogs, especially during play, Dr. Farmer-Dougan, et al. found that a deaf dog’s bark is a combination of excitement and frustration. As deaf dogs are less adept at picking up and learning social cues from other dogs (another interesting finding!) and because their deafness affects their ability to adjust the way in which they bark, deaf dogs tend to have a funny sounding bark. If a deaf dog does have any residual hearing, it tends to be isolated to higher pitched sounds. Taken together, deaf dogs do tend to have a unique bark! Spend some time with several deaf dogs and you’ll quickly learning “the telltale sound”.
– Bernard Lima-Chavez, deafdogsrock.com
Check this adorable dog trying to call his pet owner’s attention.
A perfect example of this is this video posted by Viral Reddit on YouTube. This 24 seconds video is pure cuteness! It was introduced that the dog being recorded is deaf.
And because she observed that other dogs bark, she tried to do it too!
While she’s being recorded, her pet owner asked her if she’s barking, and she barked as yes! Her bark is oh-so-cute!
She barked several more to get the attention of everyone.
This goes to show how observant and curious this doggo is. Good job, buddy! Share your new skill with your fellow fur friends!
Show this doggo some love by watching her unique barking video below
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
