NancyPinkCook
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Hello everyone, first off, I'm Nancy, a 50 year old, retired RN, hearing-abled. I am also a foster parent to rescued dogs with problems. I have just agreed to take on Lola, a beautiful 11 month old Pit-bull/Dalmatian who was born deaf, she is white with the trademark Dalmatian spots on her ears. Lola has issues, she was caged 24/7 by her 'owner' who didn't know what else to do with a deaf dog. This woman surrendered Lola to my rescue group, and no one would foster her, till I stepped up.
My education in the deaf world has been very limited. I took two years of ASL in college when I returned 12 years ago. I remember very little of it. I will be needing to learn again so I can help Lola realize she is a dog, she is wanted, and she can be trained to understand and be understood.
Now I know, you may be asking "why are you coming here, we are for humans!" Deaf dogs learn sign to communicate too. I came here because, Lola, like a human child who has been neglected, needs special care and training... as I need special training.
I hope all of you are patient with me, and my (very possibly stupid) questions, and I apologize in advance if they seem like "DUH--stupid" questions to you... but think of me like Lola... a child that needs patience, please.
With Lola, I have a needy (what we call 'Velcro dog') that has absolutely no understanding of language and sign... less than I even have. She is called a 'Velcro-dog' because she will stick to your side, and even impede your moving trying to keep sight of your face and body language so she can try to figure out what you want her to do, also because she is very very fearful. The owner she had was not good, locked her in a crate 24/7 because she didn't know what else to do. So Lola got little to no physical touch or love. She is loving, and desperate for someone to love and train her.
The following is from our rescue group's director, pleading with anyone to take Lola on, or she'd be returned to the owner's home:
Just want to keep everyone in the loop that's been inquiring- Lola is being returned to XXXX's house tomorrow morning. She is a girl who is experiencing the typical transition issues for a dog coming from her circumstances (circling, pacing, on/off furniture, looking for something to do, crying in the crate, etc.. The first 72 hours of decompression from a street/shelter/hoarding situation are the absolute worst, the next week and a half is all about boundary setting. All of this takes patience, persistence and consistency. Lola has been isolated, yet in the middle of chaos for the last 9-11 months. That takes recovering from. She has no idea where she is, what's expected of her, or why she cannot sit on the sofa and of course she doesn't want to be alone... she is experiencing anxiety. It would be as if we took a human, plopped them in the middle of a foreign land with aliens that the human had no way of communicating with and no means of understanding what to do, how to live, etc.. She needs to learn how to be a dog, be in an obedience program and none of that can happen until she is in a foster home. Many of the dogs that many of you have fostered experienced similar adjustment issues, they just experienced them in my house before they came to you. Unfortunately, I cannot offer this to Lola, so until we find a foster that is willing to work through this process with Lola with the assistance of Frogs to Dogs, she goes back to XXXX's house. Re-entry will most definitely cause stress and the back and forth shuffling to an already confused dog will also cause stress. No one is more heartbroken than myself... it's a drive that I am dreading and I've already cried about.
I've been up since 4am working on a Hail Mary for her and networking with every possible contact. And please, keep you comments here POSITIVE.
It's the immersion program at Frogs to Dogs. The advantage over U.S. Canine is that the dog lives with the trainer for a month. Our primary critique of U.S. Canine is that it is a kennel environment, and while it is excellent for behavioral issues, it might not be good for problems related to living in a house. Like when I couldn't get Coco potty trained (after 8 months) they weren't much help. (After having her three weeks they didn't even remember it had been one of her big issues. And it was again when she got home to me.)
I was wondering if it would be a better option to teach Lola how to be a dog in a house. It's about the same price as U.S. Canine, unfortunately, but it's a) for a month instead of two weeks, b) it would give us a larger window to figure something out and c) it wouldn't burn out a foster with a very difficult transition.
It will have to go before the board. Our original agreement was that we would work our asses off marketing XXXX's dogs to find adopters or fosters, but that resources would not be used until we had a foster placement for any given dog. What happens if a month goes by and we have no where for her to go?
Laskey's Lucky Ones and Volunteers (LLOV rescue) Atlanta, GA 30344.
_______
Ok, so you all can see what I am starting with. Any and all help and suggestions with Lola's and MY training in basic ASL commands will be more than appreciated. Thank you. ... oh and if you know of anyone who would love such a beautiful loving dog, any help in placing her after she's trained will be so beyond a 'thank you!' !!!
My education in the deaf world has been very limited. I took two years of ASL in college when I returned 12 years ago. I remember very little of it. I will be needing to learn again so I can help Lola realize she is a dog, she is wanted, and she can be trained to understand and be understood.
Now I know, you may be asking "why are you coming here, we are for humans!" Deaf dogs learn sign to communicate too. I came here because, Lola, like a human child who has been neglected, needs special care and training... as I need special training.
I hope all of you are patient with me, and my (very possibly stupid) questions, and I apologize in advance if they seem like "DUH--stupid" questions to you... but think of me like Lola... a child that needs patience, please.
With Lola, I have a needy (what we call 'Velcro dog') that has absolutely no understanding of language and sign... less than I even have. She is called a 'Velcro-dog' because she will stick to your side, and even impede your moving trying to keep sight of your face and body language so she can try to figure out what you want her to do, also because she is very very fearful. The owner she had was not good, locked her in a crate 24/7 because she didn't know what else to do. So Lola got little to no physical touch or love. She is loving, and desperate for someone to love and train her.
The following is from our rescue group's director, pleading with anyone to take Lola on, or she'd be returned to the owner's home:
Just want to keep everyone in the loop that's been inquiring- Lola is being returned to XXXX's house tomorrow morning. She is a girl who is experiencing the typical transition issues for a dog coming from her circumstances (circling, pacing, on/off furniture, looking for something to do, crying in the crate, etc.. The first 72 hours of decompression from a street/shelter/hoarding situation are the absolute worst, the next week and a half is all about boundary setting. All of this takes patience, persistence and consistency. Lola has been isolated, yet in the middle of chaos for the last 9-11 months. That takes recovering from. She has no idea where she is, what's expected of her, or why she cannot sit on the sofa and of course she doesn't want to be alone... she is experiencing anxiety. It would be as if we took a human, plopped them in the middle of a foreign land with aliens that the human had no way of communicating with and no means of understanding what to do, how to live, etc.. She needs to learn how to be a dog, be in an obedience program and none of that can happen until she is in a foster home. Many of the dogs that many of you have fostered experienced similar adjustment issues, they just experienced them in my house before they came to you. Unfortunately, I cannot offer this to Lola, so until we find a foster that is willing to work through this process with Lola with the assistance of Frogs to Dogs, she goes back to XXXX's house. Re-entry will most definitely cause stress and the back and forth shuffling to an already confused dog will also cause stress. No one is more heartbroken than myself... it's a drive that I am dreading and I've already cried about.
I've been up since 4am working on a Hail Mary for her and networking with every possible contact. And please, keep you comments here POSITIVE.
It's the immersion program at Frogs to Dogs. The advantage over U.S. Canine is that the dog lives with the trainer for a month. Our primary critique of U.S. Canine is that it is a kennel environment, and while it is excellent for behavioral issues, it might not be good for problems related to living in a house. Like when I couldn't get Coco potty trained (after 8 months) they weren't much help. (After having her three weeks they didn't even remember it had been one of her big issues. And it was again when she got home to me.)
I was wondering if it would be a better option to teach Lola how to be a dog in a house. It's about the same price as U.S. Canine, unfortunately, but it's a) for a month instead of two weeks, b) it would give us a larger window to figure something out and c) it wouldn't burn out a foster with a very difficult transition.
It will have to go before the board. Our original agreement was that we would work our asses off marketing XXXX's dogs to find adopters or fosters, but that resources would not be used until we had a foster placement for any given dog. What happens if a month goes by and we have no where for her to go?
Laskey's Lucky Ones and Volunteers (LLOV rescue) Atlanta, GA 30344.
_______
Ok, so you all can see what I am starting with. Any and all help and suggestions with Lola's and MY training in basic ASL commands will be more than appreciated. Thank you. ... oh and if you know of anyone who would love such a beautiful loving dog, any help in placing her after she's trained will be so beyond a 'thank you!' !!!
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to AllDeaf Forum. I don't know much about raising dogs, let alone with a Deaf dog. But we do have Deaf trainers and/or Deaf owners who knows about Deaf dogs and hearing dogs. They will come around soon to answer your questions and help you in the long run. There are some signs that the dog can understand like command signs. Just be patient. 
