Deafness seems like something that you should be able to recognize in your dog immediately, yet symptoms of deafness are slow to develop. Dogs have such heightened senses that even if their hearing is diminishing, a great sense of smell can help compensate for a while. There are classic signs of hearing loss that most dogs exhibit. It is up to the owner to have a watchful eye because these signs are easy to miss.
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Unresponsive to Verbal Commands
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A dog that is beginning to lose its hearing or is completely deaf will stop responding to verbal commands. This may seem obvious, but many times verbal commands are accompanied with either purposeful or subconscious hand signals. For example, it is common for people to point downward if they want their dog to either sit or lie down. The physical cue will still cause the dog to follow the command. However, a deaf dog will not respond to a purely verbal command. If your dog doesn't answer to the sound of his name, this may be even more telling than unresponsiveness to a verbal command.
Easily Startled
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Dogs naturally have a strong ability to hear sounds. Once this ability has been diminished, the dog can be easily startled if someone approaches him from behind or wakes the dog up. In fact, deaf dogs sometimes bite because they become startled and fearful. If your dog was never easily startled before but is now becoming a little jumpy, the ability to hear may be diminishing.
Sleeping More
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Dogs, much like people, wake up to different sounds in the morning and throughout the day. For example, your dog may wake up to the sound of your alarm clock every morning or will wake up from a nap when he hears the door open when you arrive home from work. All these sounds serve as cues for the dog to wake up. Once a dog goes deaf, he does not perceive these cues. A dog may continue sleeping, unaware of the events that are occurring. The dog cannot perceive any sound that will disturb even a light sleep.
Confusion
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Confusion is something that occurs when a dog has only the slightest amount of hearing left. When this occurs, it becomes impossible for a dog to tell where sounds are coming from. For example, if an owner shouts loudly for their dog from the kitchen and the dog is able to hear it, the dog will not be able to decipher the location of the owner. The dog will search and search, giving the appearance of confusion.
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