Basie is a deaf 1 year old (DOB January 2016) with some vision issues due to his double Merle genetics; sadly because of those genetics his right eye had to be removed. He does have some vision in his left eye and maneuvers well inside his foster home and outside during play time.
Because of his deafness and vision issues Basie needs to find the perfect home. Ideally someone who is familiar with deaf dogs, has a lot of time and patience to devote to his ongoing care and training and has a tolerant younger, active dog in the home – Basie needs a hearing/seeing dog buddy.
He is mostly a typical young Dane – a boisterous puppy with lots of energy to burn! He is usually a rough, mouthy player but can play more gently with constant supervision and lots of reminders. He loves to wrestle over a toy and chase or be chased by an active dog buddy. He uses his size and weight to smother his playmate and needs to be closely supervised with smaller dogs. Baise is not trustworthy around small animals but has done okay visiting and living with cats who are comfortable around big dogs. Like many teenage boys, Basie likes to puff his chest and act a bit bullish from time to time. He can be very persistent, and cannot hear common vocal warnings, so a patient and tolerant dog buddy would be ideal.
Basie is a vocal dog and during play he often uses loud, deep vocalizations that other dogs take a bit to understand as being playful. He also tends to “woof” quite frequently at shadows and vibrations he feels from things like loud bass or fireworks. He may even try and chase the phantom shadows through the house!
Basie has good leash manners in familiar areas and knows hand signals for basic obedience commands. Due to his low vision and inability to hear, he can startle easily. He will benefit greatly from continued structured socialization and additional obedience classes. He does not appreciate small children and his interaction with unfamiliar people needs to be closely supervised at public events. His handicaps cause him to become overwhelmed quicker than most pups and he can become cranky. He does very well with friends in familiar surroundings. Basie is also housebroken and crate trained.
When he finally slows down, he is a master cuddle bug and would be in heaven snuggling in bed with his family. He has a sensitive stomach and does very well on a limited ingredient diet. Basie has some allergy concerns and his skin is prone to minor irritations; another common result of double Merle breeding.
Basie is neutered, microchipped, up to date on vaccines and on monthly heartworm prevention.
