Episode 14. Christina Lee of Deaf Dogs Rock

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
• All the ways Deaf Dogs Rock provides support for deaf dogs and their families
• The role of positive reinforcement training for deaf dogs, and how the training methods are very similar for hearing dogs
• Christina gives a perfect description of how to crate train any dog
• How Christina learned American Sign Language to communicate with deaf people who adopt deaf dogs
• The danger of dogs running loose and the measures Christina takes to protect her dogs and herself on walks in her rural mountain area
• The safer alternative to giving dogs some room to wander in nature while still keeping everyone safe (Hint: Long line leash)
• Some of Christina’s favorite rescue stories

 

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
Instagram: @believe_in_dog_podcast
Email: erin@believeindogpodcast.com

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