My dog went deaf

matt s.

matt s.

Member
Guys, has anyone had experience with their dog going deaf from gun shots? I recently went hunting with two others all separate boxes side by side 5-10 yards apart. My 5 year old chocolate sits directly behind me. After a fair number of shots i was trying to give commands to a second downed bird and he did not turn and sit once. Very unlike him. When i got to him i could tell he literally could not hear a thing. After a nights rest he seems to have most of his hearing back but i am worried. More so than he is for sure.
 
My dog Luke, the one pictured in avatar lost most of his hearing around seven years old from a combination of years of shooting over him and a bad ear infection he had during the summer that we did not catch early enough. He was hunted mostly out of pit blinds with multiple shooters so I believe that caused most of the damage over the years.
His loss of hearing resulted in him starting to "pop" on blind retrieves. He would stop turn around and sit and wait for a cast about every 30 yards whether I stopped him or not. I assume he thought he was hearing a whistle and stopped. He would eventually get to where I cast him, it just took a little longer than before.
If he had been ignoring whistle commands I think I could have converted the whistle commands over to the buzz function on an electronic collar, but he functioning and I was lazy so I just dealt with the popping.
When not hunting he was easily controlled with hand signals and body language.
Hope this helps.


Jay C
 
Hi Matt, I do hope your dog's hearing loss is temporary. Having him behind you is a very responsible move. I've had two labs loose their hearing at about 8 yrs old, which I think was due to a combination of age and environment. The younger lab has had multiple ear infections on one side and I think she lost a bit of hearing there around 3 yrs old. When you yell at her to get her attention on walks and stuff, her head pops up, but she can't seem to locate the direction right away. That happened to the older dog as well, and she compensated by watching what the pup was doing.

I find it interesting that with both dogs, and there will be guys here with way more experience than me that can help out, they could still hear a whistle pretty good.

The older dog lost her hearing by 10, and then her sight, and taking her out for walks was a bit of an adventure. When we got a new pup I trained it to "go find Sara" which helped a ton. We never did loose her, and she lived to be almost 15.

Mike
 
My wife and I thought our 9 1/2 year old lab was def. This sounds crazy but I'll give you the short version. One day he just stopped listening. Out of the blue. I could scream his name from 5 feet away and he didn't even turn to look at me. Clap next to his ear still nothing. I checked his ears, cleaned them and then took his to the vet. They checked him out and said there was no visable damage but his age and the fact that he is a hunting dog pointed to the fact that he could indeed be def. Heres the strange part, weeks later after telling my family and everyone else he was def HE STARTED LISTENING LIKE NOTHING EVER HAPPENED. Swear to God, all of a sudden he was fine again. It's the strangest thing that has ever happened. This was about 6 months ago and he is perfectly fine. He hears everything. No one can say why or what happened. He was hunted from cement pit blinds the first 3 years of his life and boats after that. Never in front of me, always to the side or behind. Hope your dog has the same miracle.
 
My Maggie who lived to be 171/2 was stone cold deaf for he last 3 years of her life. She had 1000's of shots fired over her. I thought that's what did it. My Cindy was not a gunning dog lived to be 141/2 never had a shot fired over her and was deaf for about 3 years. When I question the vet he thought old age was more the cause. 5 years old does sound young to me. Check to see if there is any past history, it could be heredity.
 
have him checked by a vet, sudden on set makes me wonder about an inner ear issue or infection
 
Thanks guys. Perhaps he does have an infection of some kind. I will most definitely make an appointment. Just seemed so sudden right after a volley of shots and ive never seen or heard of that. He can hear me when im close to him but he isnt at the door when i pull into the driveway like he usually is.
 
one thing that could happen ( at least to human ears - don't ask me how I know)

a repeated concussion to the ear ( such as shots) can cause a fluid build up behind the ear drum, it effectively deadens the vibration of the membrane

the result is a sudden and nearly complete loss of hearing
 
Alot of hunters are using ported chokes or ported guns. They cause alot of side concussion when swinging to the side. Was a bad problem years ago with poly chokes and cutts comps. Would check with the vet first...
Merry Christmas to all and a good shot pattern...
 
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