Title: Della - Deaf Red Merle
dom - April 13, 2009 09:56 PM (GMT)
Della is under the care of Friends of the Animals rct www.friendsoftheanimalsrct.org.uk
Della is a 12 month old red merle bitch who is vaccinated, spayed and chipped. She is a dream of a dog, and her future owner is going to be very very lucky to have this beautiful girl. She is very loving when she has learnt to trust you, and very clever and eager to learn. She will need a lot of input but will be a very rewarding dog to work with.
History
Della was born deaf (possibly from a double merle breeding ) and her breeder was going to put her to sleep, until her original owner when viewing the litter took her home. She lived with him until she was 10 months old, when due to his disability he could no longer give her the exercise she really needs and asked for help to re home her. She was much loved.
Health
Della cannot hear voices or other most sounds, indoors she can 'hear' the other dogs barking which unnerves her a little at the moment as she is not used to it. She sleeps very deeply and can be woken by gently blowing on her face, or a gentle stroke. Outdoors where she can't pick up on vibrations she relies totally on her sight. Della is now starting to learn sign language.
Della has 'starburst' eyes. Her vision is possibly not 100%, but does not affect her everyday life. Vet cannot confirm without specialist tests, which would have limited benefit compared to the trial of going through them. She can still catch a ball accurately and seems able to keep you sight out of doors (on long line at moment).
There are some suggestions that dogs with starburst eyes are more light sensitive, and her pupils certainly do visibly react to the light change when she comes indoors. Looking at this picture, it seems that her pupils are round, and the starburst is colouration on her iris.
Some useful links...
http://www.lethalwhites.com/eyes.html
http://www.ashgi.org/color/eyedefects.htm
Della is quite underweight at the moment. This may be in part to a bug she is getting over which gave her severe diarroeah, but also her 'good' poos are still quite soft and sloppy and so she may not be getting all she needs from her food. We are working to find a good food that suits her and firms her poos up, but she may always be the sort with a sensitive tum. She really dislikes being dirty, so her prospective owner should be prepared to monitor her food and weight, and keep her very fluffy 'trousers' trimmed and clean when she is having soft poos.
After her bath... :-*
Della has a beautiful thick coat that is still growing, so will her owner will need to have time to groom her often.
Della broke her front left foot when she was a tiny puppy. This was treated properly by a vet and she now had a lump on that foot. This may rule her out of very competitive agility competitions, and flyball due to having to hit the box to release the ball, but she may still enjoy fun agility or Rally-O or obedience competitions. She would be equally happy as an active pet playing fetch with someone who loves her.
This foot may suffer from arthritis when she gets older, so you would need to be aware of this and discuss preventative supplements with your vet.
Exercise
At 10/11months Della needs around an hours exercise a day, as her bones are still developing and she still has a bit of growing to do. Della absolutely loves going out and gets very excited when the leads come out. She walks beautifully in a harness. As she gets older her exercise needs will increase, and she seems to one that will take whatever you give her. However, as her owner you need to decide how much exercise and playing she needs, she will for example play fetch until she drops, so needs a little guidance on when to stop. Della is quite a worky collie.
Training
Sign language. Della is a little bit startled by sudden hand movements, but is learning about signs. So far she has learnt come/follow me and bring your ball ::) and uses visual clues for walk time and meal time as well as following the other dogs. She sits beautifully but doesn't have a sign for this yet, now that her tum can handle some treats we will work on sit/down/stand etc next . She has the potential to eventually take a lot of signs on board, so the ones she learns here will be passed on so her owner has a starting point.
Some examples of signs can be found in the links below. Often owners and dogs will adapt to what suits them best.
http://www.dfordog.com/deafdogs_signals.htm
http://www.bordercollierescue.org/breed_ad...niCommands.html
Outdoors Della is a very confident dog. She loves to meet people on walks, and trots like a little pony on street walks. She's a big sniffer and likes to have time to explore in parks.
Della will need a lot of input to possibly enable her to go off lead. Not all deaf dogs can go safely off lead, but because of her age and her exercise needs she would greatly benefit from this if she could be properly trained. Long line work needs to be put in to get her to regularly check in with her person, and so come back when her recall sign is used. A vibrating collar may be a possibility, but some dogs get on with these, some don't.
She has recently had a walk at the park on a long lead with Lassie off lead. This made Della very excited and she immediately went into round up mode, assumed the collie position nailbiting and nipped Lassie's legs so that Lassie then avoided her runningdog . Obviously this would not be welcome behaviour when meeting new dogs on the park, and Della needs to learn this.
Indoors, she is very very ball focused, outdoors she likes her ball a little bit. If the ball obsession could be transferred to her outdoor self, this could be a real benefit in helping her remain focused on her person. She is lovely when she meets dogs usually, but the running seemed to set off her collie chase instinct.
Della may be able to hear a clicker at close range. This will be tested again.
Della is 95% clean in the house. Even when she was poorly she tried hard to keep clean. If she does have an accident, she does panic a little as though she has been told off for it, so gently letting her out and without a fuss is needed. She seems to be dry through the night.
Della is able to be left for an hour or so without problems, either on her own or with one or two other dogs. Everyone takes their turn here for walkies and she copes with this very well, watches you go and then is asleep when you return.
Della is fine with cats.
Della could live with children as she is very gentle, however she does nip gently when playing, and sometimes accidently nips (and holds) when she can't see the where a treat finishes and fingers begin, so this would need to be taken into account. The age of the children depends on how dog savvy they are.
She has guarded her food bowl only once while being here, but it was when she was feeling a bit poorly. She is happy to eat around the other dogs, but is just a bit jumpy if you touch her while she's eating, so we'll do a bit of work on dropping extras into her bowl. She's a very hungry dog and so sometimes forgets her manners when food is up for grabs, so if she lived with children she'd need to eat somewhere separate where she feels safe.
Wibbles and Well Dones
Della was clearly well loved by her original owner, and this shows in her affectionate nature. She gives lovely kisses. :-*
However, there was a female partner on the scene who didn't get on with Della, and as a result Della needs time to trust people in the house. At first she seems to favour male members in the household, but even in a week of living here with two women she has come round, so female owners need not be ruled out.
Outdoors she is a different dog, totally confident and absolutely loves to meet new people waggingd , and can't stop her bottom wiggling, although she tries very hard to do a 'sit' when meeting new people, as this is what she was previously trained to do.
She has fitted in very well with all of the dogs in her foster home, and is learning to play silly doggy games. She is still quite reserved, but is starting to let her guard down and occasionally you can see the giddy collie within just bursting to get out. *doggiehug* She is used to living mainly in the kitchen, and will take herself off there when she needs a rest or some time out. In this respect she is quite a calm, easy collie, when she understands that fetch is on hold, she will go for a rest. She'll think about coming for a snuggly cuddle, but is not quite there yet. :)
Della will need a home with Border Collie experience especially with regards to teaching her recall, and keeping her mind busy. Fetch is very important to her, and her new owners need to be prepared for that and celebrate it. :)
Experience of deaf dogs would be a bonus, but more importantly is patience and the commitment to learning a new training method. After all, all deaf dog owners need to start somewhere.
A few more pictures...
...snoozing in the kitchen...
...funny ears...
...out and about on the long line...
...and 'helping' in the garden with Dilys...
Della is doing well, she is putting weight on nicely, enjoying her walks and getting on well with the other dogs. And loving her ball of course!!
She is growing more confident each day and is a very affectionate little girl, coming for big fusses when we get home, and gradually coming for cuddles on laps when she's we're all fetched out.
Della is very food orientated and is coming on with her 'sit' and 'down', and other signs such as 'get off' (the bed) 'all finished now' (fetch) and 'no' (don't take Dilys' ball out of her mouth!) :)
As she settles in and shows more of herself, her true character is coming out. She is a happy and optimistic dog and will bring her new family a lot of joy, but you must be prepared to put the work in. Della is Border Collie through and through, and needs to be kept busy and taught new things.
As mentioned before on walks she is very confident, but can be in her own world, so at the moment is learning to watch me when I walk her, as I give out treats for watching me/ coming to me. This needs to be practised over and over if she is going to get to go off lead in the future.
She's also learning to play fetch at the park, which is useful for burning off a bit more energy, and helping her to focus outdoors.
In the house, Della will throw a ball at you endlessly, and is learning that there is time for fetch and there is time for playing on your own, nylabones are good for this. Her future owners need to be able to set her boundaries, as she is very bright, and will ask for fetch all the time, so she needs some of that energy to go into learning new things such as puzzles and tricks, and how to entertain herself.
Della will be happy to go to a home with or without other dogs. If she is an only dog, her family will need to give her time to regularly meet up with/ see other dogs as she is very social and loves to play. (Once she has learnt not to round up other collies ) waggingd
If you are interested in adopting Della, please read about our adoption procedure and complete a Pre Adoption form (link below) and Katherine will contact you to discuss this :)
http://www.friendsoftheanimalsrct.org.uk/14.html
Della is a 12 month old red merle bitch who is vaccinated, spayed and chipped. She is a dream of a dog, and her future owner is going to be very very lucky to have this beautiful girl. She is very loving when she has learnt to trust you, and very clever and eager to learn. She will need a lot of input but will be a very rewarding dog to work with.
History
Della was born deaf (possibly from a double merle breeding ) and her breeder was going to put her to sleep, until her original owner when viewing the litter took her home. She lived with him until she was 10 months old, when due to his disability he could no longer give her the exercise she really needs and asked for help to re home her. She was much loved.
Health
Della cannot hear voices or other most sounds, indoors she can 'hear' the other dogs barking which unnerves her a little at the moment as she is not used to it. She sleeps very deeply and can be woken by gently blowing on her face, or a gentle stroke. Outdoors where she can't pick up on vibrations she relies totally on her sight. Della is now starting to learn sign language.
Della has 'starburst' eyes. Her vision is possibly not 100%, but does not affect her everyday life. Vet cannot confirm without specialist tests, which would have limited benefit compared to the trial of going through them. She can still catch a ball accurately and seems able to keep you sight out of doors (on long line at moment).
There are some suggestions that dogs with starburst eyes are more light sensitive, and her pupils certainly do visibly react to the light change when she comes indoors. Looking at this picture, it seems that her pupils are round, and the starburst is colouration on her iris.
Some useful links...
http://www.lethalwhites.com/eyes.html
http://www.ashgi.org/color/eyedefects.htm
Della is quite underweight at the moment. This may be in part to a bug she is getting over which gave her severe diarroeah, but also her 'good' poos are still quite soft and sloppy and so she may not be getting all she needs from her food. We are working to find a good food that suits her and firms her poos up, but she may always be the sort with a sensitive tum. She really dislikes being dirty, so her prospective owner should be prepared to monitor her food and weight, and keep her very fluffy 'trousers' trimmed and clean when she is having soft poos.
After her bath... :-*
Della has a beautiful thick coat that is still growing, so will her owner will need to have time to groom her often.
Della broke her front left foot when she was a tiny puppy. This was treated properly by a vet and she now had a lump on that foot. This may rule her out of very competitive agility competitions, and flyball due to having to hit the box to release the ball, but she may still enjoy fun agility or Rally-O or obedience competitions. She would be equally happy as an active pet playing fetch with someone who loves her.
This foot may suffer from arthritis when she gets older, so you would need to be aware of this and discuss preventative supplements with your vet.
Exercise
At 10/11months Della needs around an hours exercise a day, as her bones are still developing and she still has a bit of growing to do. Della absolutely loves going out and gets very excited when the leads come out. She walks beautifully in a harness. As she gets older her exercise needs will increase, and she seems to one that will take whatever you give her. However, as her owner you need to decide how much exercise and playing she needs, she will for example play fetch until she drops, so needs a little guidance on when to stop. Della is quite a worky collie.
Training
Sign language. Della is a little bit startled by sudden hand movements, but is learning about signs. So far she has learnt come/follow me and bring your ball ::) and uses visual clues for walk time and meal time as well as following the other dogs. She sits beautifully but doesn't have a sign for this yet, now that her tum can handle some treats we will work on sit/down/stand etc next . She has the potential to eventually take a lot of signs on board, so the ones she learns here will be passed on so her owner has a starting point.
Some examples of signs can be found in the links below. Often owners and dogs will adapt to what suits them best.
http://www.dfordog.com/deafdogs_signals.htm
http://www.bordercollierescue.org/breed_ad...niCommands.html
Outdoors Della is a very confident dog. She loves to meet people on walks, and trots like a little pony on street walks. She's a big sniffer and likes to have time to explore in parks.
Della will need a lot of input to possibly enable her to go off lead. Not all deaf dogs can go safely off lead, but because of her age and her exercise needs she would greatly benefit from this if she could be properly trained. Long line work needs to be put in to get her to regularly check in with her person, and so come back when her recall sign is used. A vibrating collar may be a possibility, but some dogs get on with these, some don't.
She has recently had a walk at the park on a long lead with Lassie off lead. This made Della very excited and she immediately went into round up mode, assumed the collie position nailbiting and nipped Lassie's legs so that Lassie then avoided her runningdog . Obviously this would not be welcome behaviour when meeting new dogs on the park, and Della needs to learn this.
Indoors, she is very very ball focused, outdoors she likes her ball a little bit. If the ball obsession could be transferred to her outdoor self, this could be a real benefit in helping her remain focused on her person. She is lovely when she meets dogs usually, but the running seemed to set off her collie chase instinct.
Della may be able to hear a clicker at close range. This will be tested again.
Della is 95% clean in the house. Even when she was poorly she tried hard to keep clean. If she does have an accident, she does panic a little as though she has been told off for it, so gently letting her out and without a fuss is needed. She seems to be dry through the night.
Della is able to be left for an hour or so without problems, either on her own or with one or two other dogs. Everyone takes their turn here for walkies and she copes with this very well, watches you go and then is asleep when you return.
Della is fine with cats.
Della could live with children as she is very gentle, however she does nip gently when playing, and sometimes accidently nips (and holds) when she can't see the where a treat finishes and fingers begin, so this would need to be taken into account. The age of the children depends on how dog savvy they are.
She has guarded her food bowl only once while being here, but it was when she was feeling a bit poorly. She is happy to eat around the other dogs, but is just a bit jumpy if you touch her while she's eating, so we'll do a bit of work on dropping extras into her bowl. She's a very hungry dog and so sometimes forgets her manners when food is up for grabs, so if she lived with children she'd need to eat somewhere separate where she feels safe.
Wibbles and Well Dones
Della was clearly well loved by her original owner, and this shows in her affectionate nature. She gives lovely kisses. :-*
However, there was a female partner on the scene who didn't get on with Della, and as a result Della needs time to trust people in the house. At first she seems to favour male members in the household, but even in a week of living here with two women she has come round, so female owners need not be ruled out.
Outdoors she is a different dog, totally confident and absolutely loves to meet new people waggingd , and can't stop her bottom wiggling, although she tries very hard to do a 'sit' when meeting new people, as this is what she was previously trained to do.
She has fitted in very well with all of the dogs in her foster home, and is learning to play silly doggy games. She is still quite reserved, but is starting to let her guard down and occasionally you can see the giddy collie within just bursting to get out. *doggiehug* She is used to living mainly in the kitchen, and will take herself off there when she needs a rest or some time out. In this respect she is quite a calm, easy collie, when she understands that fetch is on hold, she will go for a rest. She'll think about coming for a snuggly cuddle, but is not quite there yet. :)
Della will need a home with Border Collie experience especially with regards to teaching her recall, and keeping her mind busy. Fetch is very important to her, and her new owners need to be prepared for that and celebrate it. :)
Experience of deaf dogs would be a bonus, but more importantly is patience and the commitment to learning a new training method. After all, all deaf dog owners need to start somewhere.
A few more pictures...
...snoozing in the kitchen...
...funny ears...
...out and about on the long line...
...and 'helping' in the garden with Dilys...
Della is doing well, she is putting weight on nicely, enjoying her walks and getting on well with the other dogs. And loving her ball of course!!
She is growing more confident each day and is a very affectionate little girl, coming for big fusses when we get home, and gradually coming for cuddles on laps when she's we're all fetched out.
Della is very food orientated and is coming on with her 'sit' and 'down', and other signs such as 'get off' (the bed) 'all finished now' (fetch) and 'no' (don't take Dilys' ball out of her mouth!) :)
As she settles in and shows more of herself, her true character is coming out. She is a happy and optimistic dog and will bring her new family a lot of joy, but you must be prepared to put the work in. Della is Border Collie through and through, and needs to be kept busy and taught new things.
As mentioned before on walks she is very confident, but can be in her own world, so at the moment is learning to watch me when I walk her, as I give out treats for watching me/ coming to me. This needs to be practised over and over if she is going to get to go off lead in the future.
She's also learning to play fetch at the park, which is useful for burning off a bit more energy, and helping her to focus outdoors.
In the house, Della will throw a ball at you endlessly, and is learning that there is time for fetch and there is time for playing on your own, nylabones are good for this. Her future owners need to be able to set her boundaries, as she is very bright, and will ask for fetch all the time, so she needs some of that energy to go into learning new things such as puzzles and tricks, and how to entertain herself.
Della will be happy to go to a home with or without other dogs. If she is an only dog, her family will need to give her time to regularly meet up with/ see other dogs as she is very social and loves to play. (Once she has learnt not to round up other collies ) waggingd
If you are interested in adopting Della, please read about our adoption procedure and complete a Pre Adoption form (link below) and Katherine will contact you to discuss this :)
http://www.friendsoftheanimalsrct.org.uk/14.html