# Temporary foster



## poolann (Jan 31, 2013)

This sweet girl is staying with me next week Mon-Sat. She has a dedicated rescue/foster home but needs out of the shelter after her spay. Unfortunately she is stone cold deaf & also light sensitive. Most likely a lethal white & I'm assuming BYB since she even exists & has rear dewclaws intact. She had 0 reaction to the dryer when we went by & bathed her today since she can't be bathed next week. It's going to be interesting having a deaf dog around but I already found myself talking to her a whole lot today lol


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## BorderKelpie (Dec 3, 2011)

Deaf dogs are fun - I currently am owned by two. I actually really rather like deafies, I don't feel guilty turning the stereo up a wee bit. 

Start really paying attention to you body language, you'll be surprised what she'll pick up from it. 

Enjoy! She looks like a lot of fun.


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

What a pretty dog! I once had a neighbor with a deaf Aussie and it was an amazing thing to watch him with it...that dog was so aware of what was going on around itself just by using his sight and the vibrations around him..... he was trained entirely with/to hand signals! Have fun with him as a guest!


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## Charmed (Aug 4, 2014)

She looks like a happy dog. I venture to say you are going to have fun trying to keep her quiet after the spay. We kept my daughter's border collie cross after her spay and we thought limiting her to a small dog run would keep her from too much exertion. That crazy girl trotted until her toenails bled...she was used to free reign on acreage and she was not having any of this "restricted activity" thing. Hopefully your guest will not be quite as determined.


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## Carolinek (Apr 2, 2014)

She looks happy, and is a pretty girl. We know that double merle is not good, but she looks like she is having a good life. Enjoy her- I think collies have great personalities. Sometimes I miss having a big dog - my collie mix was a great dog, one of my favorites. She was smart as a whip, but in a different way than poodle smarts.


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## georgiapeach (Oct 9, 2009)

She's a beauty! I recently learned about the percentage of deaf (and/or sometimes blind) double merle dogs (25%) in several breeds, which is very interesting.


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## peccan (Aug 26, 2014)

So happy that she has found a good foster home, especially considering her special needs! I hope she'll have a good time with them and have a great doggy life.

In case you can get some good photos, I (and other fellow editors) would be super thankful if you could donate some to the Wikimedia Commons since we don't really have many good photos of double merles, especially with proper info (i.e. are they deaf or not), and next to no photos of abnormal eyes/unpigmented noses/unpigmented ear interiors/intact dewclaws. As you can imagine, people don't really tend to upload such photos to Flickr under free licence...

In case you're interested, feel free to contact me. I'm a very experienced Commons editor and can help you with pretty much anything, including licencing, categorisation, licences, and uploading details.

Cheers for taking care of this sweet girl!


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## poolann (Jan 31, 2013)

Yes I think as an Aussie she's going to be pretty high energy. She'll get crate time to rest & cuddle time because everyone gets that at our house lol

I will definitely try to get some photos for you Peccan as she exhibits all of the characteristics you listed. 

This dog just craves human attention so she'll get plenty here for a week. I might even try my hand at simple behaviors on signal to help her out in the future. 

Not knowing her background I can't say 100% that she is double Merle but Kim,my boss & agility trainer, who asked me to act as temporary foster has seen many over the years and believes it to be the case with her. I have to come up with a name even though she can't hear. I just have to call her something.


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## Carolinek (Apr 2, 2014)

Oops- guess I missed that she is an Aussie! I think my brain just wanted to flip back to my old collie mix :act-up: 
Pretty dog either way- hope she finds a good home.


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## BorderKelpie (Dec 3, 2011)

We always blame double merle, but people don't realize that a merle with heavy pied markings can have the same color related deafness issues, too. 

Not arguing the double merle thing (my ******* are a 'merle' breed, so I am very aware of MM issues), but people need to be aware that heavy pied markings can do that as well. I have a Mm (single merle) with irish markings and a lot of white due to the pied gene, she is also hearing impaired - which seems odd since her litter sister shows more white and is perfectly sound, while mine has a full mask and colored ears (on the outside only apparently) and is not 'sound.' Oh, and to add to the fun - her (full) sister. (I own her, too) looks solid tan - she's a cryptic merle showing no pied or irish markings - she's actually a black sable merle, looks like a Dingo (acts like a Dingo, too *sigh*). Genetics, what a fun little prank Mother Nature likes to play.


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## poolann (Jan 31, 2013)

BorderKelpie said:


> We always blame double merle, but people don't realize that a merle with heavy pied markings can have the same color related deafness issues, too.
> 
> Not arguing the double merle thing (my ******* are a 'merle' breed, so I am very aware of MM issues), but people need to be aware that heavy pied markings can do that as well. I have a Mm (single merle) with irish markings and a lot of white due to the pied gene, she is also hearing impaired - which seems odd since her litter sister shows more white and is perfectly sound, while mine has a full mask and colored ears (on the outside only apparently) and is not 'sound.' Oh, and to add to the fun - her (full) sister. (I own her, too) looks solid tan - she's a cryptic merle showing no pied or irish markings - she's actually a black sable merle, looks like a Dingo (acts like a Dingo, too *sigh*). Genetics, what a fun little prank Mother Nature likes to play.


OK I get the deafness from pied markings due to lack of pigment but do they also get the eye disorder? 

I've always had GSDs or mutts & then Racer my spoo. I know very little about merles.


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## BorderKelpie (Dec 3, 2011)

When I saw her eyes, I assumed her issues were caused by the MM. Pied can affect the hearing, but the eye thing is a MM issue. What folks don't realize is the other issues caused by the MM - and it would take a while to explain (I'm better explaining in person than here lol) but it's not just the eyes and ears - it can affect other organ systems as well. Kind of depends where the 'two coats of merle paint' end up. 

Either way, she's lovely and deafies are FUN to work with. Wait until she figures out that you can't 'call' her when she's not looking at you. I have one that no matter how 'loudly' I wave, if she is playing, she will NOT look my way. Reminds me of a strong-willed kid not wanting to stop a fun game to come inside for dinner. (keep treats in your pocket and become a pez dispenser - every time she 'checks in' with you, she gets treats - teaches her to always keep an eye on you).

Yup, and let's see how long it takes before the lightbulb goes off and you know exactly what I mean by 'waving loudly.' 

*giggle* 

I can't wait for that moment.


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## poolann (Jan 31, 2013)

BorderKelpie said:


> When I saw her eyes, I assumed her issues were caused by the MM. Pied can affect the hearing, but the eye thing is a MM issue. What folks don't realize is the other issues caused by the MM - and it would take a while to explain (I'm better explaining in person than here lol) but it's not just the eyes and ears - it can affect other organ systems as well. Kind of depends where the 'two coats of merle paint' end up.
> 
> Either way, she's lovely and deafies are FUN to work with. Wait until she figures out that you can't 'call' her when she's not looking at you. I have one that no matter how 'loudly' I wave, if she is playing, she will NOT look my way. Reminds me of a strong-willed kid not wanting to stop a fun game to come inside for dinner. (keep treats in your pocket and become a pez dispenser - every time she 'checks in' with you, she gets treats - teaches her to always keep an eye on you).
> 
> ...


Lol!! I can just imagine the loud waving. She will only be here 6 days with me & won't be off of a long line. Since she will be freshly spayed when I get her Monday evening I'm going to do my best to keep her quiet & rested. She's young & a very happy girl so I'm not sure I'll have any luck with that. I won't be making introduction to my dogs because my female shepherd doesn't really like other dogs & the boys play too rough.


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## Suddenly (Aug 8, 2013)

Poolann. She looks just wondeful. Very exciting. Someone mentioned body language, that will be pretty amazing to see how she reacts to yours. Keep us posted. Best wishes.


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## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

That is just wonderful that you're doing this for her. It will be fun and interesting. Dogs are so wonderful in how they adapt and don't carry all the baggage that humans do when they have a handicap such as this. And sometimes it doesn't wind up being that bad of a handicap since they're so resilient and adaptable to their situation. She looks like such a cheerful, happy girl. I bet you'll both enjoy each other a lot. Good luck after her spay and I hope she finds a great forever home.


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## peccan (Aug 26, 2014)

Just a quick aside, MM also tends to cause broken pigment on nose while extreme piebald markings leave the nose pigment be. And as said, eye abnormalities such as micropthalmia, starburst or eccentric pupils, and colobomae are a MM thing and not related to other patterns.


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## poolann (Jan 31, 2013)

Well she's here. Hates the cone but needs it. She's also pinned into the shirt because she's trying to scratch. Being deaf has not interfered with the ability to growl. She warned my dogs away from her crate & they politely stepped away.


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## poolann (Jan 31, 2013)

Terribly sweet girl. Needs to touch you at all times. If I could afford potential medical on another dog she might be a foster fail.


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## peccan (Aug 26, 2014)

So glad to hear her vocals are working and she can communicate so clearly. She'll be fine I'm sure. Was a bit worried because doggy bloggy surfing brought me to quite a heart-wrenching video of a near-white MM bitch who was all but blind, totally deaf, totally mute, and quite clearly had some serious neurological issues as well... So hard to watch her snapping invisible flies while owner just laughs 'aww how cute is she bothering you Spot? Yes, what is she doing? Aww' OmO

So, so happy to hear your girl can growl.


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## poolann (Jan 31, 2013)

peccan said:


> So glad to hear her vocals are working and she can communicate so clearly. She'll be fine I'm sure. Was a bit worried because doggy bloggy surfing brought me to quite a heart-wrenching video of a near-white MM bitch who was all but blind, totally deaf, totally mute, and quite clearly had some serious neurological issues as well... So hard to watch her snapping invisible flies while owner just laughs 'aww how cute is she bothering you Spot? Yes, what is she doing? Aww' OmO
> 
> So, so happy to hear your girl can growl.


Oh she growls & barks. Boy can she bark. Really really loud & high pitched. Usually when she wants out of the crate. I'm trying to teach her a signal for quiet.


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