Friday, June 21, 2019
Post #3 Hearing loss
I have a thirteen year old dog named Teddy. Over the past year we noticed that he wasn't responding to when we would talk to him or he wouldn't react to sounds that usually would get him up. We realized due to his age and big floppy ears, he could hear very little. We say hes "almost-deaf". Teddy used to be able to hear someone peeling a banana several rooms away, but now it appears that he relies on his sense of smell much more. With his sense of hearing almost gone, the vet said he would probably start to rely on his nose a lot more. This is a little sad for us, but its also super convenient because he no longer hears the door bell or other dogs barking. In the section of the book where the professor tries to imitate a dog and follow scents using his nose made me think of my dog. I wondered if my dog's sense of smell is now heightened now that he can no longer hear well. Luckily he still is happy as can be and people commonly mistake him for a puppy in his energetic attitude and appearance.
Teddy
Sorry to hear about your dog's loss of hearing, Justin. If he is otherwise functioning normally it seems he found a way to live with it and is still living his best life. This is good news, dogs can adapt well too! - Annmarie Ciulla
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ReplyDeleteJustin, your question is an interesting one ! I am now wondering the same, if mammals' senses are able to adjust the way ours do. I would assume yes. It seems as though Teddy is adjusting to his new sensory information which is great ! Although, I am sorry to hear of his hearing loss.
ReplyDeleteJustin, sorry Teddy's hearing has faded over the years. I agree with you on Teddy utilizing his sense of smell since his hearing has faded. In the past my dogs have faced similar situations. Recently, I got a puppy. It is interesting to see how dogs use their senses over the years. Every time the ice machine sounds, my puppy is there to retrieve an ice cube. Currently he is tasting everything in and outside of the house. I can imagine you have experienced the same with Teddy over the years.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear about your dog's loss of hearing. I also wonder if the other senses increase since the one is depleting. One thing I found out at least is that because one of the senses is slowly going away, is they will of course use the other senses more. Since you can't use the one depleting, you figure out ways to do anything.
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