Hazel

Wondered if I could pick the collective brains of folks here about Hazel. She's always had a remarkable ability to navigate and track me.

She seems to have lost her ability to navigate by the sound of my
voice. I thought she might be losing her hearing--and she still
might--but she clearly DOES hear me, but doesn't seem able to track my
voice any longer. It's like her Navigational Software is off line.
This is fairly new--within the last week. She's always been fine at
tracking me--even during the renos, but not so much now. And it happens in the house, in the yard and at the park--so I don't think it's necessarily related to the fact that all her scent trails are gone (in the house).

I've cleaned her ears out in case that was an issue--but it doesn't
seem to have helped. No other signs of problems. Mind you, she's
probably 12 or 13 years old so hearing loss wouldn't be a big
surprise--and I do wonder if maybe she's lost more of it on one side
than the other. I've noticed when I call her, she tends to head in the
opposite direction--which is odd.

It will be interesting to see if this too normalizes when I get the first floor back.

Any thoughts? I'm not panicking and she's not in pain, but she sure has gone from Deadeye Dick to WrongWay Wainwright.

Her going the opposite direction puts me in the mind of Mickey.

He's not totally deaf as we found out after the weeks of antibiotics but he does have an oddity.

If you are in a different room and call him , he can hear well enough to go but always always goes to the left, even if you're in a room on the right side of the hallway. It's like he hears and responds but doesn't have a right hand turn signal.

He didn't come with any software so I'm afraid I'm no help though.

My thoughts go to an inner ear infection (leading to disorientation in general) or possibly something with her ear drums? Does she have a history of ear infections? I know you would notice one, but sometimes they can start pretty deep in the canal, and the ear drum is something a vet would have to check out.

thminis wrote:My thoughts go to an inner ear infection (leading to disorientation in general) or possibly something with her ear drums? Does she have a history of ear infections? I know you would notice one, but sometimes they can start pretty deep in the canal, and the ear drum is something a vet would have to check out.

I wondered about that, but she has never had ear issues and the one time she did have a "circling" event, it resolved on it's own within 24 hours and the vet couldn't find anything--we did check her eardrums at that point. If it doesn't resolve, I will have Judy take a look at her. she doesn't seem disoriented--it's more like she hears me only out of one ear and heads in that direction--but I'm guessing.

She's not circling or acting in any other way "off". Just can't seem to follow my voice like she used to.

No insight, but good thoughts you can get to the bottom of it.

I don't have any answers. Toby does something similar with me, but it's always been this way, not a new occurrence. With Toby, I feel that it's a sight/hearing thing. I notice it a lot more when we're out in the yard, but there are some weird things in the house too. I'll be curious to see if it changes for Hazel once the strangers are out of the house and things get back to normal. I'll keep her in my thoughts.

No ideas, just good thoughts and a prayer for Hazel.

If dogs' hearing is anything like humans, it very well could be hearing loss. I have hearing loss and sometimes it's near impossible for me to tell what direction a sound is coming from, either I can't tell a direction at all or guess the direction opposite of where the sound is actually coming from.

dieselsmom wrote:If dogs' hearing is anything like humans, it very well could be hearing loss. I have hearing loss and sometimes it's near impossible for me to tell what direction a sound is coming from, either I can't tell a direction at all or guess the direction opposite of where the sound is actually coming from.

Yep--this is what I'm thinking. I also have bad hearing in one ear and can get discombobulated trying to orient based on sound. And I think between that and the renos, all her earmarks (as it were) are off. I'd chalk it up to the renos completely, except that she's off course in the yard and park as well.

In any case, I'm not going to sweat it. We'll deal.

a total guess here - - but if she is stressed about being off at home, might she remain off outside?

Altho I'd expect her to "always go the same direction" i.e do her most comfortable thing if she is off or stressed... it sounds (ha ha) more as if she is trying but wrong...

give her some extra loving from me... she is my dearest blinker of all time (and I never even met her!)

Sounds like hearing loss, but localised in one ear, which can really muck up her ability to localise sound.



Don't panic, two of my seniors were both blind and deaf before the end, they just end up using their nose more and not being really aware of stuff not in the immediate vicinity...no big deal.

Puggered wrote:Sounds like hearing loss, but localised in one ear, which can really muck up her ability to localise sound.



Don't panic, two of my seniors were both blind and deaf before the end, they just end up using their nose more and not being really aware of stuff not in the immediate vicinity...no big deal.

No panic here, Angela--Theo was blind and deaf and did fine. Just came on so suddenly with Hazel that it surprised me.

it almost sounds like what Donna's experiencing with Stewie......

Gus is totally blind and his hearing isn't great either. We always make fun of him cause he only goes to the left. He'll literally get stuck in places cause he going to the left and it's blocked. He's always been like this with us, so who knows how long he's been this way, but he manages pretty well for an old fart.

My hearing is the same way -- I often can't tell what direction sound is coming from, and I get teased by family and friends because when something happens, I inevitably look the wrong way. And if there's a lot of ambient noise around? Forget it.

Odd that it came on so suddenly with Hazel, though. Perhaps it was a slow deterioration and just finally tipped over to a point where you notice it???

SacramentoPugs wrote:My hearing is the same way -- I often can't tell what direction sound is coming from, and I get teased by family and friends because when something happens, I inevitably look the wrong way. And if there's a lot of ambient noise around? Forget it.

Odd that it came on so suddenly with Hazel, though. Perhaps it was a slow deterioration and just finally tipped over to a point where you notice it???

I found the suddeness a bit startling as well--and it was sudden--one day she oriented well as usual and the next day she was WrongWay Wainwright.

It does seem to be better though. Meesh has decided if I won't allow him to hump her, then he'll engage in "no holds barred" ear cleaning. And that seems to have helped=--even though I've cleaned her ears myself several times. Maybe chin spit has magical properties.....

northernwitch wrote:

SacramentoPugs wrote:My hearing is the same way -- I often can't tell what direction sound is coming from, and I get teased by family and friends because when something happens, I inevitably look the wrong way. And if there's a lot of ambient noise around? Forget it.

Odd that it came on so suddenly with Hazel, though. Perhaps it was a slow deterioration and just finally tipped over to a point where you notice it???

I found the suddeness a bit startling as well--and it was sudden--one day she oriented well as usual and the next day she was WrongWay Wainwright.

It does seem to be better though. Meesh has decided if I won't allow him to hump her, then he'll engage in "no holds barred" ear cleaning. And that seems to have helped=--even though I've cleaned her ears myself several times. Maybe chin spit has magical properties.....

He's such a helpful boy!

Rocky sometimes is like that. He can't see very well, and he sometimes gets confused about where I am when I call him. I assume (in his case) that my voice is bouncing off a wall or something and he is directing that direction. His ears are clean, too.



Once your house is back in order, Blanche, Hazel might have to learn all over again. Your voice might 'bounce' more with the new floors.

Maryjo wrote:Once your house is back in order, Blanche, Hazel might have to learn all over again. Your voice might 'bounce' more with the new floors.

Oh, good theory!!! I'm betting my $ on this one. And magical chin spit, of course.

Maryjo wrote:Rocky sometimes is like that. He can't see very well, and he sometimes gets confused about where I am when I call him. I assume (in his case) that my voice is bouncing off a wall or something and he is directing that direction. His ears are clean, too.



Once your house is back in order, Blanche, Hazel might have to learn all over again. Your voice might 'bounce' more with the new floors.

I think MJ is right! Our new house has harwood floors and tile only in the livingroom and kitchen areas and Gus seems to have a harder time with the sounds as a result.

No question, the renovations have impacted on her ability to find me in the house--but it doesn't explain her inability to find me in the yard or the park where nothing has changed.

She's learning the new layout as she goes, but I think the magical chin spit is the real miracle.......

Blind Farnsworth is also hearing impaired but not totally deaf. When I talk to him, he responds but can't determine where the sound is coming from and usually heads the wrong way. I've just always figured that he's deaf in one ear and that's throwing him off. I have to cue him with touch. I try not to carry him too much as he doesn't get much exercise and so I want him to walk as much as possible. But obviously, I need him to walk in the right direction.