Best Practices Now that Lily Can No Longer Hear!

October 18, 2021 9:25 AM

My beloved 13 and one half year old, black Labrador Retriever, has in the space of three months, lost most of her hearing. In all other respects she is healthy and, in spurts, very active. Looking for best practices for living with a pet that has lost their hearing.

We live in a house surrounded by woods. She has lived "leash free" except when she is on the road with us. She goes out by herself and sticks close to the house. However, when we are walking in the woods she will follow a smell and occasionally leave the trail. A couple of weeks age I lost her for 15 minutes until she came back to the place last seen. Bells have been suggested, but they may not be loud enough to show her current location. I was thinking there might be a bluetooth device of some kind, similar to a car alarm that might help.

Also, I would like suggestions on how to increase her overall comfort in a world that no longer has audio commands and stimulation.

I spoke to our vet, which we like, but they were not of much help.

posted by Xurando to Grab Bag (8 answers total)

There are GPS dog tracker collars, though they're not a perfect solution. I would also get one of those flashing lights for her.

Is she completely deaf? I.e., could she hear a very high or very low sound? If so, I would consider trying to train her to recall to a whistle (high) or horn (low). Might be a fun game for her.

However, it might be time for her free-roaming days to come to an end. I know it's hard to do anything that takes pleasure away from a beloved older dog, but it would be terrible to lose her and I'd worry about her wandering into any nearby traffic.

You can definitely use hand signals for commands generally.
posted by praemunire at 9:32 AM on October 18, 2021 [3 favorites]

Both of my dogs have pretty much lost all their hearing to old age, and I don't think they especially realize it. But getting their attention is a little bit of a challenge - we have a fenced yard so it's not that critical, but I do have them trained to come back if I wiggle a flashlight in their vicinity at night (I try not to blind them, just flash it around the yard to get their attention and then point it at the ground).

You can get a collar device that vibrates and train her to come when it buzzes. You can also get a GPS tracker that will show you on a phone where she is - I haven't deep-dived but I'm not sure if any of them can also chirp or otherwise make a noise when you ask it to.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:33 AM on October 18, 2021 [1 favorite]

Take this for what it's worth, we've got an older mostly healthy cat who lost his hearing at least 4 years ago. I do not think it impacts him the least little bit. We can no longer get his attention with sound but he definitely responds to vibration, a light tap on the floor near him will get his attention. Nothing really spooks him any more which can be a good or a bad thing. We live in the country and he still goes outside and has free reign to do as he pleases.
posted by jmsta at 9:34 AM on October 18, 2021

Get a tag for her collar stating that she's deaf, though she obviously knows the territory and comes home. Flashing light, collar with reflective threads, flashing light, maybe a blaze orange vest. Just as you trained her as a pup to come when called, train her to come when you do something she can perceive; she may have enough hearing for something that makes noise, gestures work when she's nearby, flashlight is a great idea at night or twilight. Vibrating collar is interesting. GPS collar would give you peace of mind. She gets the idea, this should be pretty easy. Lots of treats/ rewards/ hugs; you want to to be happy to limit her wandering. She knows her territory, older dogs don't usually range far. I tend to be confident that dogs will come home, barring cars. They're smart and have skills we don't.

I've had some hearing loss most of my life; adaptation is amazing.
posted by theora55 at 9:54 AM on October 18, 2021 [1 favorite]

My dog is inside most of the time, but one thing that our trainer recommended that has been so helpful is stomping on the ground when we approach him, especially when he’s sleeping deeply. That way we don’t startle him into a reflexive and totally unintentional snap at us.
posted by bananacabana at 9:59 AM on October 18, 2021 [1 favorite]

There are already great suggestions in the answers, but I wanted to put the word out about long-line leashes. It seems like a lot of pet stores won't stock anything more than the standard 6ft, but the shop I linked sells leashes up to 30ft. I think they're a great way to give your dog a sense of freedom and autonomy while still keeping you connected.
posted by shesbookish at 1:08 PM on October 18, 2021

Vibe collar, long line lead, blind dog alert sash, all of those are solid.

It's tedious, but you may also be able to start teaching her commands using floor or wall vibrations. I think you can actually teach recall and emergency recall this way (dog morse code). You may be able to teach a style of recall by scent as well. Other senses will begin dialing in without sight. Thankfully, old dogs can learn new tricks.

And yes, maybe GPS collar or apple air tag accessory. Hopefully this is more fascinating than stressful.
posted by firstdaffodils at 6:05 PM on October 18, 2021

Extra: you may wish to see if she can still hear high pitch/frequency. I think* there are whistles built with this in mind.

Ruff Wear also makes a 'dog anchor' for camping. It consists of climbing rope and some caribiners. It's usually intended to anchor a dog to camp, but I use it for loose lead training and to train a dog at different lengths. The current dog has learned to return at various tugs. If you're nervous about free range walks, this could be an option.
posted by firstdaffodils at 6:13 PM on October 18, 2021