Woofie's going deaf

[White Bryony]

I think old age is catching up with the Woofalump 

We have had a few occasions on walks when he hasn't come back when we recall him.  He has, in the past, been guilty of selective deafness but it is gradually getting worse.

Now that we suspect it, it is actually quite obvious.  He doesn't respond to Maddie barking outside until she gets quite loud.  He doesn't react to the word 'pussy cat' as he usually would unless he is quite close.  He responds to a higher pitched voice and a whistle a lot better.

Do you think his hearing will get worse quite quickly or will it be a gradual decline as it obviously has been until now and we just haven't noticed. And we were wondering whether it would be too late to try and train him to recall to a whistle?

Mind you if you had seen him in the sea last weekend he looked like a two year old 

[bluegirl]

When my elderly dog started going deaf I didn't notice much more of a deterioration after that but I can't say for sure what was going on, just had to start shouting commands to her to get her to do anything. Her eye sight also got worse around a similar time.
Sorry don't know if whistle would work but definately worth a try.

[elaine.e]

My first Cocker, Josh, started going deaf when he was about 10. That was so many years ago that I can't remember for sure how long it took before he was completely deaf, but I think it was months rather than years.

Luckily for me I'd always trained him to respond to visual signals as well as verbal ones (not that he always obeyed them  ). My recall signals were saying "Josh come" and raising both arms at the same time. He was also used to me signalling a change of direction on a walk by saying "this way Josh" and turning my body and pointing one arm at the same time. I'd trained him like that because most of our walks were in the New Forest and he would often be at a distance from me.

When he went deaf he started to look round at me more often and I learned to watch out for him looking at me so that I was ready to signal him. It also helped that we had Sam at the same time. Sam was always the more obedient of the two and Josh would watch him as well as me to see where he should be going.

[mum2milly]

Oh bless him.    How old is he Lisa?
He certainly doesn't look like an elderly gent in your beach pics!

Love Jo & Milly xx

[waggytails]

Millie was around 10 when she started to go deaf,  when she could no longer here our voices i then started to use a whistle, i would whistle and treat, it turns out she learned very quickly and wish i had done it years ago, she is now just over 14 and totally deaf, she understands a few signs like wait, come.  She now also has bad eye sight so don't know how long she will be able to see the hand signals.  I would definitely give the whistle a try.

[White Bryony]

Thanks for your replies.

Woofie was 10 last May.  He is a very active dog and it has come as a bit of a shock, I have suddenly started thinking about him being old and am actually getting quite upset about it.

As I said, although it seems very sudden, alot of the signs were there, we just chose to ignore them I think.

He is certainly looking round more at me when we are walking, but he has always been a bit of an explorer and we have been happy to indulge him because he never fails to respond to recall (even though it is normally via another interesting bush on the way back!)

A couple of weeks ago he ended up back on the lead when he tried to join some water skiers at Rother Valley and didn't respond to our shouts but I think it was just because he didn't hear us.

I am going to buy a whistle today and see if that helps.

The vet told us three years ago that he was developing cataracts but they haven't advanced very much - I am hoping that they aren't suddenly going to cause a problem.

[waggytails]

I also got an extendable lead, so at least she can still explore.  It does make you feel sad when you can see them getting old, I have had an emotional week just looking at Millie and realising how old she is and watching her fall over her own feet on walks.  But she is a happy dog and still is the first to the front door to go for a walk even though we don't go that far, it always melts my heart.

[Mrs K]

I have no advice or experience, just wanted to say that the posts on this thread have made me quite emotional. I am sure Woofie has a long time ahead of him even if they are a bit quieter 

[elaine.e]

I remember how upset I was when Josh started to go deaf at about the same age as Woofie, so I understand what it feels like Lisa. He also had a heart murmur and heart failure diagnosed at about 10 and 12 years of age, but they were both really well controlled by medication so didn't cause him any problems.

You say that Woofie is also developing cataracts, but they haven't advanced much yet. Josh also started to develop them, but when he was about 13. I discussed them with the vet and because they were slow developing decided not to have them operated on. Although his heart problems were very well controlled, a general anaesthetic would have been quite risky and I agreed with the vet that as he was already 13, it was probable that something else would carry him off before he went blind with the cataracts.

With hindsight that maybe wasn't the greatest decision as Josh lived until he was 16 years and 51 weeks. He was completely deaf for the last 6 or 7 years of his life and coped with that really well, but he lost the sight in one eye when he was about 15 and the other one about 8 months before he died. So I had a deaf and blind spaniel    . But he was still eating well, enjoying his cuddles and being close to people and pottering about in the garden. He didn't have mobility problems apart from being just a little bit slow to get up after he'd been sleeping and as he approached the end he slept most of the time anyway. I thought about the quality of his life every day, and each day decided that as long as he was pain free, eating well and enjoying all the cuddles he had, then he still had a reasonable quality of life.

But I do wonder if I should have risked the cataract operations. I don't give myself grief about it, because I did what I thought was best, but I reckon he would have been a bit more active in the last year of his life if he'd still had a bit of vision.

[Mollycuddles]

Awww darling Woofie   he's an active chap for his age and i'm sure will enjoy life just as much as he does now and I've seen him at the beach he can give lots of dogs younger that him a run around 

The whistle sounds a good idea and also the hand signals, he would probably pick up hand signals quickly as you probably use some already without being aware of it  ...

[Hurtwood Dogs]

Awww Woofie (you have one of my favorite names on COL woofie and you're extra hansom with it )

Definitely give him some whistle training if he can still hear that well - I'm sure he'll pick it up really quickly if you do it in the garden first with some treats and teach him a hand signal at the same time..

As you say he's still very active and bright so it should be easy for him and lots of fun too, plus there is nothing like a bit of mental stimulation to keep a mature brain young  !

[White Bryony]

Thank you all again for your replies.

And a special thank you for those sharing their own experiences   

Woofies quality of life and safety are the most important things.  We have talked about where we walk him and what the possible outcomes would be if he didn't hear us recall him and we have agreed we can keep him safe by using certain walks more.  I am also going to try a whistle.

As for his cataracts I will ask the vet when I next visit.  As I said they were mentioned in a check up about three years ago but have never been mentioned again.  I know his eye sight is still good but it isn't perfect - we notice that he sometimes can't pick us out of a crowd and when we went to the beach recently, the OH went back to the car to fetch something and he ended up chasing up to some people on the beach thinking it was his dad, bless him!

I also realise this is more upsetting for me rather than Woofie as it has just brought it home to me that he won't live for ever.  But as ever I am probably being over dramatic and I know there is no reason why he shouldn't have plenty more active years left in him ... which is shown by everyone elses older cockers on here 

[Han]

No advice Lisa but  for the woofalump

[hovis]

Hugs to Woofie 

I though Hovis was going deaf but now I'm convinced its selective hearing! He can hear the rustle of a treat bag no problem!