French Bulldog Specialist Visit Update/Titan is deaf.

blushy · Jan 20, 2015

First I am sorry I am all of a sudden flooding the forum with my dogs! You guys all understand since you all love Frenchies and other dogs alike, so this forum is kind of my backbone, especially now with a sick pup.

Jakeyjake · Jan 20, 2015

Oh Jessica I'm so sorry you are going through all of this right out of the gate with your new lil pup. He's so sweet and I hope he feels better soon and that he is not completely deaf.

Squishy Walnuts · Jan 20, 2015

Poor little guy!! And poor you! Although I'm super glad you have found a great vet that understands Frenchies it must be so hard on you (and your wallet!). I do hope he's not completely deaf but even if he is he will be able to live a full life. He's such a sweetie!

Have you contacted the breeder about his potential hearing issues? Do you have a health warranty for him?

blushy · Jan 20, 2015

Jakeyjake said:
Oh Jessica I'm so sorry you are going through all of this right out of the gate with your new lil pup. He's so sweet and I hope he feels better soon and that he is not completely deaf.

I hope he's not completely deaf either but he's staying no matter what. We already can't imagine our home without his stressful little self! I hope his bloodwork comes back good and this is our worst outcome, it'll all be alright in the end!

eeturk · Jan 20, 2015

Oh man, I'm so sorry you're going through all of this. I second the health guarantee. With Hudson it was written down and we signed the document, so if yours was similar it should be legally binding. A good breeder should be stepping up and taking responsibility for many of these issues, and that includes financial responsibility. Pet insurance also sounds like a great idea! It is a nice safety net to have. Sounds like this vet is way, way better so at least that's a step in the right direction!

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Squishy Walnuts · Jan 20, 2015

That breeder should be ashamed. I'm glad you contacted a lawyer. Insurance is really expensive here but if it's doable for you it's a good thing to look into. I hope his blood tests come back negative and you only have to deal with the parasites and potential hearing issues. Good luck!!

blushy · Jan 20, 2015

Mavis · Jan 20, 2015

Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry. You are such a good mommy. I think his deafness is harder on you than on Titan - I mean, he doesn't have anything to compare it to, so to him, he is just fine! I was just talking about deafness (human) with a group of people over the weekend. One of the group just saw a PBS show about deafness and the research shows that people hear with their minds as much as their ears. For sure Titan will be able to pick up and read your moods and enjoy his life as much as any hearing babies. Please keep us posted.

Mavis · Jan 20, 2015

blushy, P.S. How wonderful it is that you have a vet who has so much experience with the breed!!! That is such a huge resource!

Tgirl · Jan 20, 2015

His whole situation makes me so mad at that breeder. How uncaring and irresponsible! I can't imagine how you feel. I wish him the best though, and he is lucky to have ended up with you.

blushy · Jan 20, 2015

Thank you [MENTION=1070]Mavis[/MENTION]!

I agree it will be a small set back for us and take a little longer to teach him basic commands with hand motions instead of words, but it will all be okay!

blushy · Jan 20, 2015

Tgirl said:
His whole situation makes me so mad at that breeder. How uncaring and irresponsible! I can't imagine how you feel. I wish him the best though, and he is lucky to have ended up with you.

Thank you so much for your kind words!

There was a reason that night we changed plans and went and picked him up instead of driving to Michigan for another pup. He was meant to be with us.

2bullymama · Jan 20, 2015

Dear LORD you have had your fill and then some.... so sorry all this is going on with him -- I hope he heals up quick and the hearing is not total.

we have a member over on EBN that has a deaf pitbull and she trained her on everything - video to show it all so if you need it, there are people out ther to help you work with him.

sending lots of positive thoughts to all of you

blushy · Jan 20, 2015

2bullymama said:
Dear LORD you have had your fill and then some.... so sorry all this is going on with him -- I hope he heals up quick and the hearing is not total.

we have a member over on EBN that has a deaf pitbull and she trained her on everything - video to show it all so if you need it, there are people out ther to help you work with him.

sending lots of positive thoughts to all of you

Gosh yes I'm pretty tapped out. Haha! Titan slept all night TIL 8am last night so I at least got some sleep!

FrenchieDante · Jan 21, 2015

This is so sad. Deaf or not, at least he has a loving home where he will be taken care of and appreciated for his entire life. I remember while doing my research on Frenchie's before I bought mine that deafness is common among French Bulldogs with heads that are almost completely white, because of a recessive gene. I wonder if this is true? And if so, maybe more Frenchie owners out there you can share training techniques with.

blushy · Jan 21, 2015

FrenchieDante said:
This is so sad. Deaf or not, at least he has a loving home where he will be taken care of and appreciated for his entire life. I remember while doing my research on Frenchie's before I bought mine that deafness is common among French Bulldogs with heads that are almost completely white, because of a recessive gene. I wonder if this is true? And if so, maybe more Frenchie owners out there you can share training techniques with.

Yes I think it applies to all types of animals actually. The white mixed with blue eyes. My friend had a cat who was all white with blue eyes and she was deaf. You couldn't even tell she was deaf. They rescued her from the pound where she was going to be euthanized due to her deafness and them assuming nobody would ever want a deaf animal. She lived a great life! If they can do it with a cat with no training at all then I can do it with a puppy who can still be trained with some modified training methods.

Our new vet suggested a hearing test once he is feeling better as I mentioned above, so that will determine what our next step is. I'm going to ask her for references on trainers with experience or specializing in deaf animals and see if I can get in contact with one close to me. She also suggested a vibrating collar, which you train them to look at you with a small vibration in their neck. She said she's seen many a deaf dog respond so well with them!

eeturk · Jan 21, 2015

We actually thought Hudson was deaf as a puppy and even the vet wasn't sure. But it turned out he was just a terrible listener. Maybe you'll get good news with the full hearing test!

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blushy · Jan 21, 2015

eeturk said:
We actually thought Hudson was deaf as a puppy and even the vet wasn't sure. But it turned out he was just a terrible listener. Maybe you'll get good news with the full hearing test!

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Oh my gosh! That is crazy! [emoji23]

Yeah she said they are so extremely well at hiding it you'd basically never know either way.

I hope he at least has some type of partial hearing that he could maybe respond to a dog whistle at least? Something, anything to make training him easier haha!

But if not we move on to the vibrating collar and sign language!

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winginit66 · Jan 21, 2015

[MENTION=894]blushy[/MENTION] - Hi Jessica! Wishing you all the best with Titan!!! Deaf Dogs Rock (deafdogsrock.com and they are on FB) is a rescue that is run in my town, and they have really great resouces and videos on teaching hand signs.

We went through something very similar with Wilson when we brought him home (passive regurgitation issues, I was weighing him on a food scale on the kitchen counter twice a day and when he dropped under 3.5lbs I flipped!). However, our breeder was very supportive, offered to refund our money, pay vet expenses, etc. Like you, at that point, Wilson was OURS. He absolutely wasn't going back. And, it turns out he is also unilaterally deaf! Before hooking up with Deaf Dogs Rock, I had NO idea there are as many deaf dogs out there as there are.

That is so great that you found something to laugh about (his name) in all of this!!! We were thinking about calling Wilson 'Bubbagump' for a while. But I realized I didn't think I could be in public calling for Bubba to come here...

Keep us posted with all of this.

blushy · Jan 21, 2015

winginit66 said:
[MENTION=894]blushy[/MENTION] - Hi Jessica! Wishing you all the best with Titan!!! Deaf Dogs Rock (deafdogsrock.com and they are on FB) is a rescue that is run in my town, and they have really great resouces and videos on teaching hand signs.

We went through something very similar with Wilson when we brought him home (passive regurgitation issues, I was weighing him on a food scale on the kitchen counter twice a day and when he dropped under 3.5lbs I flipped!). However, our breeder was very supportive, offered to refund our money, pay vet expenses, etc. Like you, at that point, Wilson was OURS. He absolutely wasn't going back. And, it turns out he is also unilaterally deaf! Before hooking up with Deaf Dogs Rock, I had NO idea there are as many deaf dogs out there as there are.

That is so great that you found something to laugh about (his name) in all of this!!! We were thinking about calling Wilson 'Bubbagump' for a while. But I realized I didn't think I could be in public calling for Bubba to come here...

Keep us posted with all of this.

Thank you so much for that site! I already love the info! (Recall info is the first thing I saw)

LOL about bubba! I live in the city and call my son monkey and I get dirty looks

I'll definitely keep everyone posted!

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