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Polly is a beautiful, pure
white plush coat, German Shepherd girl. She is about 11 months old,
spayed and up to date on her shots.
Polly loves to play with other dogs and enjoys people's attention. She enjoys playing with squeaky toys and tennis balls, but the rope toys are her favorite. It is fun to watch her toss a tennis ball and then pounce on it, pick it up and toss it again. She's really very goofy. Polly was surrendered back to animal control after being adopted out. Apparently her deafness led to issues that were too much for her people. Her previous family reported that she was highly destructive and suffers from severe separation anxiety. Polly has been with us about a two months now, and to be honest, we haven't seen any of these "issues" in her at all. Granted, we haven't gone out and let her have free run of our home, but we wouldn't do that with any pup of her age. Polly may have some of these issues in another home though, and we are not ruling it out. She is definitely a dog that needs to know where her people are at all times, and she keeps coming back to check that you are still there. Her anxiety likely came from her people going out while she was asleep, and she woke up to find herself on her own. This can be quite distressing! It is important to always wake a dog up so that they can see you are leaving, and they won't become panicked when they wake up and go searching for their people. |
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Dec. 06 Polly is in at the vet today, having her ears flushed out, as they were full of grass seeds and a bunch of other guck. While she is under, we will have some skull x-rays taken to see if we can ascertain what is actually going on with Polly and her hearing. We're not convinced she is totally deaf, as she does appear to hear "some" things. Depending on the outcome of today's diagnosis, a CT scan may be done in the near future to find out if there is any brain damage or any possibility of tumors. The concern right now is that she tilts her whole head and body to the right side. She often stumbles and falls for no reason. Polly appears to be able to hear some things, though she has trouble locating where sounds are coming from. She walks very nicely on a leash and can easily go on two or three mile walks and walks straight. She does fine in a kennel for a few hours or overnight.. |
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| Polly doesn't know that she is
different from the other dogs. She does rely a lot on body language, but
as she plays hard, she doesn't always realize when she has hurt the
other dog because she can't hear them yelp in dismay! She is very
lovable and affectionate, and leans right into you for a hug.
Polly is learning hand signals. She now knows sit, stay, down and down/stay so far, she has a good grasp on "leave it", "enough" "outside" "good girl" "walk" "car ride" "1 minute" and "bye" . We're working on come, heal, stop and bed/crate. This doesn't mean that she always does it, ha ha, but she does know it. ;) She is very much a puppy, and like all puppies, consistency is the key to any training. From the DDeaf site: Outside of an obvious hearing defect, deaf dogs are just normal, everyday dogs. Obviously they have a better excuse for not listening than most dogs, but they sleep on our beds, play with our children and ride in our cars. They go for walks, chase balls, bark at squirrels (yes, a deaf dog barks!) and at the end of the day, they collapse in front of the TV with the rest of the family. They share our lives and are our companions and friends. A person who has just discovered that their dog is deaf (or is considering the adoption of a deaf dog) will often be faced with negative warnings from ordinary people and misinformed experts. Too many spread horror stories about aggressive, biting, deaf dogs who can't be trusted or trained, and who would eventually break our hearts. The idea that deaf dogs are volatile time bombs is simply not true. As with humans, hearing impaired dogs rely on their other senses. Deaf dogs are just as easy to train as hearing dogs as they are constantly watching you to see what's happening. Teaching hand signs to a deaf dog is as simple as teaching basic obedience commands to a hearing dog. The main drawback to owning and working with a deaf dog is that you cannot display verbal emotions to the dog. It is very difficult to let them know a situation is "okay" or to tell them not to be afraid of something. Deaf dogs also become bored very quickly, so it is imperative to occupy them with mind-stimulating activities such as tricks, obedience, flyball, tracking, etc. Also, when crate-training a deaf dog, it is very important that the crate is placed where the dog can see a window, door, or other pets. Remember, they can't hear anything. If they also can't see anything, they may end up being very destructive within their crate. One easy way to relate to what they are experiencing is to step outside, cover your ears so you can't hear, and look around. It's a very quiet world, but it doesn't have to be dull.
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When I Got My New Dog
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The ideal home for Polly would be where
at least one person is home during the day. A home that enjoys training
and is excited to be working in a new and different way. Someone that
will not look at Polly's deafness so much as a handicap, but more of an
opportunity. Someone that will not let this hold Polly back. She is
raring to go, and would dearly love to be able to do all the things that
"normal" dogs do.
Ideally, someone who had owned or lived with a deaf dog before and is already a veteran at this sort of special needs. This is not a requirement. Polly is new to this and is learning as she goes. She would be just as happy to learn along with her new people. All she needs is your commitment. Every one of the dogs that comes through our rescue teaches us something new. Polly is no different. When she goes into her new home, she will have taught us, just as she will teach them. She will leave her mark here, and will have educated us along the way. We all grow when we learn.
January 15th ~ Update Polly has had her CT Scan done, a neurological exam and myringotomy test done. The CT scan came back mostly normal, but did show a narrowing of her right ear canal. This is likely from an ear infection she suffered from as a puppy that went unnoticed or untreated. While any tumors were ruled out, (good news!) there was a suspect fluid in her inner ear, which we sent off for further testing. The tests have come back as a positive for a bacterial infection, which we are currently treating her for. The neurologist felt her reflexes were fine and ruled out any kind of neurological disorders. Polly will remain on her medication (inexpensive) for the next several months to ensure that the infection in her inner ear has cleared up completely. Already, her head tilt is better. She is doing really well and has settled down considerably since she first entered into our program. She is like the white whirling wonder! Polly LOVES the snow, and will stay out there playing for hours if you'll let her. Thankfully, all her playmates come inside in a hurry, and she follows suit pretty quickly once she sees them running for the door! Can she hear? Will she ever be able to hear? The answer: We just don't know yet. First we'll treat the infection and see if we notice any change in her. After we are sure the infection is gone, we will send her for the BAER test to find out for sure. GSRBC will cover this even if Polly is adopted before she is ready for the test. We hate guessing, and always want to know for sure and give as much information as we possibly can to potential adopters. We're likely looking at around March for that. In the meantime, Polly continues to excel. She is a dream with the other dogs, and very much enjoys playing with them. She is mostly polite, and when she isn't, it isn't purpose, she just doesn't know. Polly is a large girl, who very much wants to cuddle up on the couch and snooze in your lap. (mostly so she knows when we move!) She is still working on house training, but her accidents are getting less and less. She does very well at hand signals, and obedience and is enjoying learning. What a beautiful girl she is!
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June 11th 2007 Miss Polly has been adopted!!! Her new home writes: Polly is doing
really well. She seems to be relaxing, and just fitting into the
family. She still wants to get up at 5 am so we are working on
that. Oh and she can swim! She fell into We would definitely
like to adopt Polly. She just seems apart of the family now and we
couldn’t imagine her being anywhere else. Also as far as the
raw diet – I have looked into the diet and found a book to get to
read on it. So that maybe down the road I can start making it. I
have also been trying it with the little dogs and they seem to be taking
to it. I was looking at Polly’s teeth and comparing them to the
other two dogs and what a difference!
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Special thanks to all Polly's sponsors: Barb Ingle Melissa K. ~ In loving memory of Dexter Deborah Z. ~ a special Christmas gift for Barb Ingle Tim, Gerry & Zeeva ~ In loving memory of Dexter Kelli Taylor The Bennett Family ~ In Memory of Ben B. Jordon Liz H. December ~ A heartfelt donation has been made on behalf of Debbie Zack in lieu of a Christmas gift from Barb Ingle. Merry Christmas Debbie! Sue, Tom & Jet ~ January Lynnette D. ~ April - From Tasha & Bobby, who switched to raw after Polly came to visit showed their mom how easy it is to feed a raw diet.
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