The beginning

We weren't in the market for a puppy.  We have three dogs, two of which are young Australian Shepherds and with two of us, that seemed just right.  But things happen...

You meet a lot of people on Facebook, especially if you belong to groups and I happened to belong to an Australian Shepherd group.  My husband, Curt is a dog trainer and we frequently provide advice to folks who need a little help.  I've become good friends with some of them so it wasn't unusual for me to be messaging back and forth with someone I never met but with whom I share the love of the Australian Shepherd breed.   This person;s youngest bitch had just had her first litter of puppies.  It was very exciting. 

But to make a long story short, she had a pup with a nearly all white head.  That's a sign that there's a good chance the pup could be deaf.  Now Aussies, as a breed aren't for everyone, high drive narrows the pool more and then add deaf and you've got a very small number of potential owners.

Don't get me wrong, I was flattered when she asked if we would take the pup.  After all,  Curt has trained blind, deaf and blind/deaf dogs so it made sense, but we talked about it long and hard because taking responsibility for a special needs dog isn't something to do on a whim, no matter how good your intentions.

She is not a double merle or lethal white (lots of information on exactly what that means here  http://www.lethalwhites.com/).  She is just deaf which means she won't likely have some of the additional health issues that often plague those dogs.  And so, we decided that we'd take Rogue into our home and our hearts.

Rogue was treated just like all the other puppies.   She was stress tested.  (http://breedingbetterdogs.com/pdfFiles/articles/early_neurological_stimulation_en.pdf) and socialized and even taught recall.  At 5 weeks, she was recalling to tapping on a hardwood floor.  We are very lucky to have such an awesome breeder who is working so hard during those first 8 formative weeks to make sure our girl is as prepared for her new life away from her mother as possible.

So, puppy is coming home.  What do we need?   I like this book by Paul Owen (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001QCX7VA).  He gives a lot of advice on what to do BEFORE you bring your puppy home.  It's all positive reward based training.  We're also big fans of clicker training.  Everything you always wanted to know about clicker training is here http://www.clickertraining.com/.

Now you might be wondering how do you clicker train a deaf dog?  Well, the clicker is just a marker, it doesn't have to be a sound.  It can be, a sight.  For Rogue, we bought little squeeze flashlights and dimmed their beams.  Research is starting to show a link between laser pointers and OCD in certain dogs so best to just avoid it.  (http://blog.porchpotty.com/the-dangers-of-laser-pointing/).

It's three days until I go and get her.   She was 7 weeks old yesterday and shows every sign of being a normal puppy of her age.  We're puppy proofing the house, we've stocked up on paper towels and chew toys.  We bought her a collar and harness and toys... and more toys.   Her puppy food is sitting in the garage waiting for her arrival.

So, I'm going to Canada with a friend I met on the internet to get a dog from a friend I met on the internet.  Sounds a little odd, doesn't it?   I am thankful for the breeder and all of the support we've had from the Australian Shepherd group where all this started.   We start our first puppy class tomorrow taught by a woman who has a two year old deaf Aussie.  No dogs the first class so we're safe.  .  I'm hoping, when all is said and done, that this will be a helpful resource to others who find themselves with a deaf dog of any breed at any age.  I'm sure looking forward to the adventure.