Hunting dog hearing loss

[willtim]

My 11 yo Chesapeake is losing her hearing. I worry about being able to call her back when hunting.

 

[K9kodi]

Very interesting question fellas. I’ve sat in on a few classes by vets for certain groups of people who use dogs in very dynamic ways. I’d have to pull my notes and go through and report back. Class was put on by a contracted veterinarian who specialized in canine hearing.

There were some similarities between peoples and canines and some differences.

All I can remember at this moment is yes, we all benefit from protecting them. I mean I run protective eyewear on the dog in certain instances to protect their eyes, why not ears.

In short they hear so well compared to us, or rather differently than us bc they hear on diff wavelengths, not that their ears necessarily magnify noises.

I know some old school fellas who used to shove cotton balls in their dogs ears at times work was being done indoors. There’s also some canine ear pro that has speakers in them for remote commands, I’ve often thought of using them duck hunting and using low level differing tones vs a whistle for directionals. Either way, if I can find the info I’ll report back

 

[UPThunderbolt]

I’ve had two Brittanys realize substantial reductions in hearing at advanced ages. While they both had a high number of birds shot (or shot at) over them, I think there is another factor folks tend to overlook. I hunt in dense cover in wolf country, as such I insist on running bells and or beepers at all times. A few years ago, I became concerned regarding impacts to my dogs’ hearing so I ditched the bell and moved the beeper back away from their ears. In the attached photo you can see on the front dog the beeper is actually mounted on her back (attached to the chest protector).