This one is personal.

My own dog Penny has been dealing with a chronic health issue for the past 6 months. In May, she was prescribed a common ear medication by our vet. A few days later I noticed that Penny wasn’t responding to things normally, like not barking at the mailman and not greeting me at the front door.  I realized Penny wasn’t hearing properly. Apparently in a tiny percentage of dogs, this ear medication causes an “ototoxicity” reaction that causes hearing loss that's hopefully only temporary. This was totally unexpected and I’m having a lot of Dog Mom guilt.

This experience has me curious about communicating and living with a deaf dog, so I reached out to Christina Lee of Deaf Dogs Rock.

Deaf dogs hear with their hearts.

In 2010, Christina Lee and her husband were contacted by a friend who worked the local animal shelter where Christina volunteered. There was a tiny 8-week-old white boxer puppy who had been found abandoned.  The puppy was deaf. The shelter hoped Christina’s family would adopt the dog because they knew he would have a safe and loving environment. Christina and her husband, Chris, took the leap and Nitro joined their family.

While researching how to best care for a deaf dog, Christina and Chris didn’t find a lot of information. Looking for guidance, they quickly got Nitro into training classes and he excelled. A local news story highlighted Nitro’s training progress and the story went viral.  Suddenly Christina was being contacted by people all over the U.S. who had questions about caring for a deaf dog. And Deaf Dogs Rock was born.

Christina & I discuss:

• How Nitro became an ambassador for deaf dogs and his exciting life

Transcript available:

A transcript of this episode is available for download here.

Find Deaf Dogs Rock online:

Website: https://deafdogsrock.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/deafdogsrock/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deafdogsrock/

Links Discussed:

• Beginning Sign Training with Alisha McGraw

Deaf Dogs Rock Training Video Library (including Savannah who signs while training)

Deaf Dog Rescue of America

Amanda & Winston of Dog Mom Days

Long line leashes on Amazon. Give your dog room to explore while keeping them (and everyone around you) safe.

Let's Connect:

Find photos of Christina, her family, Nitro’s adorable smushy face & more at:

Facebook: @believeindogpodcast

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