It gives me great pleasure to welcome our friend and guest blogger Bernard Lima Chavez to educate all of us on some of the Myths and Facts surrounding deaf dogs. Bernard is a Deaf dog Advocate.

 

Deaf Dogs Don’t Bark & Other Myths Debunked by Bernard Lima-Chavez

The Myths & The Facts About Deaf Dog Behavior

Did you know that some folks in the scientific community are studying deaf dogs? When I heard this, I jumped for joy. It was a moment of excitement, relief and “I need to know more Right. This. Second!”. My brain was firing synapses so fast that I could feel them ricocheting around my brain. My entire body was tingling with excitement!

• What about deaf dogs are they studying?
• What are they learning?
• Who is doing the research and how do I convince her (or him) to talk to me?

Last year, I stumbled across Animal Behaviorist Dr. Valeri Farmer-Dougan PhD and her Canine Behavior and Cognition Laboratory at Illinois State University.

There wasn’t very much information on the university website about the actual research and findings that Dr. Farmer-Dougan and her team were working on, so I kept digging. I hunted and pecked my way through the Google machine until I found an abstract to a recent study Dr. Farmer-Dougan authored and published, but not the full study.

The abstract only fueled my appetite for more information, so I picked up the phone. Being 10:00 PM on a Friday night, I had no option but to leave a voicemail message explaining who I was, what I do and why I wanted to chat with her. And then the hard part– twiddling my thumbs all weekend long, waiting, hoping she wouldn’t think I was a crackpot weirdo. I’m sure I was talking a mile a minute so no one couldn’t blame her for thinking I might be off my medication and in need of a different type of conversation with a different type of professional. Either I didn’t sound as crazy as I feared or she responds to crazy bloggers because she called me back on Monday morning. Of course, I missed her call.

For the next several months, we played phone tag. However, a few weeks ago, the stars aligned, our schedules meshed and she gave me nearly and hour and a half of her time- talking to me, sharing information about her work and answering my questions. Dr. Farmer-Dougan has lots of keen insights into deaf dog behavior and cognition, which both reinforced things I knew or thought to be true, but also opened my eyes to some aspects of deaf dogs that I had never considered.

She also shared with me that elusive study that was published in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior. Equally important though, she explained her findings and offered me reasons, explanations and theories for some of the differences that we see in deaf dog cognition and behavior.

HERE ARE 10 MYTHS & FACTS ABOUT DEAF DOGS AS CONFIRMED SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY. 

• Myth: Deaf dogs are more aggressive than hearing dogs.
  Fact: Analysis of the data proves that congenitally (born) deaf or blind dogs are significantly less likely to display aggression than their hear or seeing counterparts! We’re talking 20% less! This data is important and should be memorized by deaf dog pet parents and advocates everywhere. This one statistic can actually change perceptions and the lives of deaf dogs everywhere. The next time someone tells you that deaf dogs are more aggressive and dangerous, share this fact and take charge of that conversation.
• Myth: The only way to train a deaf dog is with hand signs.
  Fact: False. Though using hand signs to train and communicate with a deaf dog is very common, one alternative is to communicate with physical prompts or “touch training”. In fact, according to Dr. Farmer-Dougan’s research findings, touch training is used almost as frequently by deaf dog pet parents as hand signs. Dr. Farmer-Dougan herself utilizes touch training, though not exclusively. Touch training involves touching the dog on different parts of the body or in different ways (1 tap, 2 taps, a short directional pet, etc.) to communicate different commands. One example she shared was teaching a deaf dog that a rub along the chin means to “come”.

• Myth: Deaf dogs are more likely to experience separation anxiety.
  Fact: No significant differences in frequency of separation anxiety was noted between deaf and hearing dogs, however my conversation with Dr. Farmer-Dougan revealed some interesting differences in the reason for separation anxiety between deaf dogs and hearing dogs. Dr. Farmer-Dougan theorizes that the reasons for separation anxiety in deaf and hearing dogs is different. She believes that the primary cause of anxiety for deaf dogs is waking up or looking up from a really interesting dust bunny he’s playing with and realizing that his person has disappeared, whether that’s into a different room or from the house altogether. She has noted that, in these circumstances, the deaf dog will go hunt for his person and, once found, will frequently return to what he was doing and relax. A hearing dog with separation anxiety, she suggests, is more related to being left alone. For deaf dogs, it’s more of a case of “Where are you?” causing stress rather than, “Why am I alone?” Her recommendation for preventing “separation” anxiety in deaf dogs is simple: when you leave the room or the house, notify your deaf dog that you’re leaving. When this simple and additional communication occurs, she finds that deaf dogs do not exhibit behavior similar to separation anxiety. Of course, every dog is different, but this is a good rule of thumb.

• Myth: Deaf dogs don’t bark.
  Fact: False. Oh boy, is this false! In fact, excessive barking was reported by deaf dog pet parents much more frequently in comparison to hearing dogs. This increase in excessive barking, along with other repetitive behaviors such as excessive licking of self and others, spinning and the chewing of inappropriate objects, are viewed as examples of self-stimulatory behaviors that deaf dogs are more prone to engage in. Interestingly, other unwanted behaviors, such as chasing rabbits and cats, and rolling in and eating of feces occurred less frequently in deaf dogs than in hearing dogs. So, our deaf dogs may lick our faces more frequently but least it’s less likely that he’s just eaten his own poop!

• Myth: All deaf dogs are easily startled
  Fact: True and False. Deaf dogs, depending on his or her individual personality and his personal life experiences may be more prone to startling when touched. The circumstances of being touched also plays a big factor into any startling behavior. That said, any dog- hearing, deaf or blind- can startle. Also, startling behavior can be unlearned. Careful desensitization to startle responses can significantly reduce or eliminate this unwanted behavior.
• Myth: Talking or using your voice to communicate with a deaf dog is pointless.
  Fact: False! False! False! When humans speak, our body language and our facial expressions change, communicating a whole lot more information to our deaf dogs.

• Myth: Dogs born deaf are the result of irresponsible breeders.
  Fact: True & False! Many but not all congenitally deaf dogs are deaf because of improper breeding. A very common example is breeding two Merle dogs together. The Merle gene is a dominate gene that can produce beautiful, healthy hearing and sighted puppies. However, when a Merle dog is bred to another Merle, 25% of the puppies are likely to be born deaf, blind or both. The other most frequent cause of congenital deafness in dogs is related to a lack of pigmentation of the skin, not the coat. A significant lack of skin pigmentation cause nerve endings in the inner ear to atrophy soon after birth. When this happens, the puppy is left completely or partially deaf in one or both ears. Since puppies ears don’t open up for the first week or so of life, these dogs frequently never hear.
• Myth: Deaf dogs are more bonded to their human than hearing dogs.
  Fact: True. Dr. Farmer-Dougan’s research reveals that there is a deaf dog exhibits a higher degree of attachment, physical and otherwise, to their human caretaker. This supports the anecdotal experience of deaf dog pet parents who frequently refer to our deafies as “velcro dogs”.

• Myth: Deaf dogs bark funny.
  Fact: True. OMD! is this true! 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”.

• Myth: Hearing dogs adapt their behavior to accommodate a deaf dog.
  Fact: False. Dr. Farmer-Dougan, et al do believe that hearing dogs can tell that something is different about a deaf dog, but have found that they typically do not adapt their behavior to accommodate this difference. Dr. Farmer-Dougan and her team are looking for ways to teach hearing dogs adaptation techniques when interacting with deaf dogs.

Dr. Farmer-Dougan is an incredibly smart, passionate scientist and animal lover committed to understanding both the cognitive and behavioral similarities and differences between deaf dogs and hearing dogs- and then using this data to help advocate on behalf of deaf dogs.

I’m hoping to interview her soon so I can share her expert opinions in her own words.

Which of these debunked myths are you surprised by? How are your experiences with deaf dogs similar or different than these findings? If you could ask Dr. Farmer-Dougan one question, what would it be?

 

 

More about Bernard Lima-Chavez:

Bernard shares his life with his husband Omar, two rockin deaf dogs, several hearing dogs, and a cluster of kitty cats. He writes about his love for his deaf dogs Edison and Foster. He shares stories of their antics and how he is constantly entertained by his deaf dogs. He is a Veterinary technician who worked for many years in Animal Welfare in Miami FL. He works closely with our Deaf Dogs Rock team fostering and rescuing deaf dogs in Florida. Bernard is a regular contributor to Victoria Stilwell’s Positively.com website and Deaf Dogs Rock. Bernard spends much of his time raising awareness about deaf dogs, their needs, capabilities, giving deaf dog training advice, educating us on safety considerations and he adds a vital voice in our deaf dog community. Bernard also shares his personal experience with his readers educating them about holistic health and nutritional options for their pets. You can check out Bernard’s new blog The Graffiti Dog by clicking here.