Thursday, September 4, 2008

Bad News aka "Pearl Doesn't Hear A Who"

Pearl is DEAF. And here I was thinking she was just "slow". I had been suspecting something was up for awhile, so last night Bran looked it up and we're now sure that's what's going on. Poor poor little Pearl. You should see just how deeply she sleeps. Anyway, it is what it is. We're going to have to call a place that specializes in placing "special needs" dogs. Can anyone see us signing to our dog?? Me either. Poor poor little Pearl. At least now we understand her better.

12 comments:

Brenda said...

That makes me sad.

Sally said...

Poor Pearl. Yes, I do think you can sign to a dog. If Jack can sign, a dog totally can. Maybe she won't bark because of this? Just trying to find the silver lining for you.

brandi (and tim) said...

Oh man, that sucks. You just ruined my day, thanks.

~b

Cheeseboy said...

I think you can sign to a dog, but I am not sure if they can sign back. If you can get Pearl to sign to you, please post pictures.

Autumn said...

Awww, poor Pearl! She is such a cutie. Can dogs really understand sign language? Angie knows sign language...maybe she can be your dog signer/communicator (now picture that and laugh). <3!

Ang said...

Would you like to borrow my signing books and videos? hehe. Oh, poor Pearl - but it makes me love her even more.

Kacy said...

Okay that is so sad. I know that it is because you already labeled her as Retarded in your last post. She did not want to disappoint you. I know some sign. I can help you. I use it on my deaf children and stupid drivers too. LOL

Adele Marshall said...

I bet you can develop a communication with her in a lot of ways. A special needs puppy is so precious!! I wonder if it has anything to do with her developmental challenges. You're amazing for taking such good care of her. She was sent to YOU on purpose for that reason. I had a deaf dog once. He had such expressive eyes and we kissed him a lot. They feel the love no matter what.

Hugs,
Adele

Anonymous said...

Actually, dogs understand hand signals better & more easily than they do words. That's why most good trainers teach you to use a hand signal as well as a voice command. The only difference here is that she'll only get one of those 2 modalities.

Please reconsider giving her up just because she's deaf. She wouldn't even be here if it weren't for your decision to breed your dog, so the least you can do is stand by her now instead of dumping her off on someone else to deal with....Lastly, I do hope this means you won't breed your dog again. Deafness in dogs is greatly determined by genetics & obviously, not something you want to keep producing & passing on.

CaraDee said...

Worry not, "Anonymous". Emma will be spayed, along with any puppy we keep. I have told the owner of the "Dad" about this. From research we did, dogs with parts of white on their bodies have higher incidences of this congenital defect, and that trait is from the dad.

Omgirl said...

Well, Caesar Milan says it's more about your energy than her hearing (he did a show about a deaf bulldog), so maybe there's still hope? you just have to start meditating a lot so there is calm energy around her!

Hillary Hall said...

Pearl is so precious. I once had a runt kitten named Lovey. Pearl reminds me of her. Her eyes were totally too big for her body, but I loved her none the less. That is so cool that you were able to nurse her back to health and get Mommy to bring her back into the family. You rock, Cara Dee!