Bodhi…training a rescue dog that may be hearing impaired dog…or just never taught focus?

Bodhi seems to be some type of American Bulldog or APBT cross. His exact genetic make up is unknown. He has only been here a few days and is showing some signs of a possible hearing impairment…to some degree anyway.

The reason he is here for training is dog’s owner unfortunately passed away, and the parent’s of the owner decided they wanted to rescue the dog. Unfortunately, the dog had no control or no self discipline and was too much for them to handle. As a result, the parents brought him to me for assistance.

The dog seems intelligent and learns quickly when it is looking at me, but after noticing a few things I decided to do some hearing tests, such as tossing gravel behind the dog, or throwing a rock in the pond to see if he hears it go “ka-plunk” in the water, etc…& he does not notice mild sounds even if there’s no distraction. He does however hear loud sounds.

Fortunately, the dog does seem to respond to visual cues fairly well, & is making progress.