Distressed, Deaf Dog Cured By Therapy

Simba, who is totally deaf, took to barking continuously when left home alone and was showing clear signs of distress.

‘We knew pretty early on that Simba was deaf, but we managed to train her to hand signals and she grew in to a lovely dog.  For the first few years she wasn’t a problem because my disabled mother was always at home with her, but when my mother sadly passed away last year Simba just couldn’t cope being left on her own and took to barking’ says Kath.

Becky was often home studying when her mother was out at work, but if all the family were out at the same time they had to resort to kennels and dog sitters.

To try and alleviate the problem, the family decided to take on a second English Setter, six year old Wilma.

‘Wilma did help a lot, at least I could leave the room without her making a fuss, but the minute we left the house Simba would still bark’ says Kath.

With their concern for Simba’s well-being and to avoid complaints from the neighbours Kath and Becky knew that something had to be done.  ‘We are responsible dog owners and didn’t want our dogs to be a nuisance and apart from the problem with the noise we knew that Simba was showing signs of distress’ says Kath.

Eventually Kath and Becky decided to get some professional help from Bark Busters home dog training.  Steve Smithson, the Bark Buster Trainer in the Morecambe area, explains that Simba was suffering with classic ‘separation anxiety’.

‘Simba had not only to live with her deafness but also her nervous temperament which would have made her world feel insecure. The arrival of Wilma certainly helped to boost Simba’s confidence but that wasn’t enough to address the anxiety she felt when no one was in the house’ says Steve. ‘She showed all the signs of separation anxiety – barking, chewing and distress.’

Since Steve has worked with the family, which has included him sitting outside the house for 8 hours on one occasion to be absolutely certain that Simba didn’t bark, the dog is now quiet.

‘There has been a big change in Simba, she really is 100% better.  Not only is she quiet when we leave her on her own, but she is much calmer and seems for more confident.  Basically she is a happier dog and that is thanks to Steve.  We now understand how we inadvertently made Simba feel insecure and have changed the way we behave with her’.

Steve explains that the transformation has occurred by making Simba feel safe. ‘All we needed to do was provide the right type of leadership for Simba and explain to her in ways she could understand that we didn’t want her to bark – easy with a hearing dog, a little more challenging with a totally deaf dog! As Kath and Becky changed the way they interacted and communicated with Simba, they became top dogs making Simba feel safe and secure. For a deaf dog she did make a lot of noise but now she just sleeps when left alone!’

As well as stopping the barking, Steve also ensured that both the dogs stopped jumping up and were generally more obedient.  He also gave Kath and Becky some advice on the dogs diet and suggested they research natural feeding.

‘Not only has the diet helped to calm the dogs down, but it has also cleared up a lot of the ongoing health problems that Simba was having with her skin.  I used to be at the vets all the time, but haven’t needed to take her to the vet because of skin problems for months now and that is all due to the change of diet’ says Kath.

One trainer who Kath contacted before Bark Busters said that, since Simba was an older deaf dog, training wouldn’t work.  The truth is Simba may be an older, deaf dog but clearly not too old to learn some new tricks. 

For more information about Bark Busters take a look at www.barkbusters.co.uk

To contact a Bark Buster Therapist call Freephone 0808 100 4071

Bark Busters, the world’s largest, most trusted dog training company, started in Australia in 1989 and came to the United Kingdom in 1999. Since inception, over 400,000 dogs have been trained worldwide. With more than 230 offices in eight countries, Bark Busters is continuing its mission to build a global network of dog behavioural therapists to enhance responsible dog ownership and reduce the possibility of maltreatment, abandonment, and euthanasia of companion dogs. Bark Busters is the only international dog training company that offers a lifetime guarantee. Therapists will provide future sessions free of charge if problem behaviours recur, or if any new problems develop. For more information, call 0808 100 4071 or visit www.barkbusters.co.uk, where dog owners can complete a Dog Behavioural Quiz to rate their dogs’ behaviour.