Hello again.
 
We have had a rescue male for over a year now and it finally clued in to us
that he might be deaf.  It went undetected because he lives such a normal
life.  There were just a few things that suddenly gave us the clue.  Jasper
was a very large (about 5 lbs), strong whole male who came to us when he was
about one year old (nobody seems to know exactly).  Like I said, he lives
pretty much a normal life but we were beginning to think that some things
were rather weird.  For instance, when all of them are in their cages (like
at night) and it is time to let some of them out, they all wake up, except
him.  All of them come to their names, except him.  When you sneak up on all
of them and speak, even softly, they all turn and look, except him.  When
all of them (we have 10 by the way) are preoccupied and you bang on a can or
make some other loud noise, they all turn and at least look, except him.
When he is in the play room and we are standing at the barrier, you can call
and bang till you are blue in the face, and he won't look but if he happens
to catch you in the corner of his eye he can't get to us fast enough so we
are sure that it isn't just because he is stubborn and refuses to come
unless he wants to.
 
We arn't worried about his hearing because he lives such a normal life but
there is one concern.  Because of his size and strength, when he plays, he
gets very rough but he can't hear you discipline him.  Even worse than that,
this past summer we got him neutered and have given him a playmate.  They
both think this is great and they get along fine but the female is only half
his size and when they play, he bites hard (doesn't break the skin) and she
cries but he doesn't seem to hear her.  How can we discipline him not to
play so hard?
 
Any opinions and help would be appreciated.  Thanks in advance to those
who answer.
 
Tryntje Miller                   Net:[log in to unmask]
Conrad Grebel College Library    Tel: (519) 885-0220 ext. 239
Waterloo, Ontario                Fax: (519) 885-0014
N2L 3G6
[Posted in FML issue 1724]