Any breed of dog can have congenital deafness (present at birth), and breeds with white pigmentation are most affected. There is a test known as the brainstem auditory evoked response or simply BAER, which detects electrical activity in the cochlea (ear) and the auditory pathways in the brain. This test is performed around 6 weeks of age in dogs and can determine if a dog can hear in both ears (bilateral), one ear (unilateral) or if the dog is deaf. Statistically about 8% of dalmatians will test deaf, about 22% will be "Uni's", and 70 % will hear in both ears.
Yankee Dals is happy to report all eight puppies in this litter can hear bilaterally! For dalmatian breeders, hearing test day is stressful. The worry of what the test results may be, make for a very long day. While we felt fairly confident the puppies could "hear" in some manner, we are very excited about the results, and relieved we have made it over this very important hurdle in our puppy's lives.
I do want to stress if you are considering a dalmatian, make sure your puppy has been hearing tested. If you are offered the opportunity to live with a dal that is a uni (only hearing in one ear) - take it! We have had a uni in our life before, and they compensate very well for the deficit.
While there are many avenues available for hearing testing to be done, we are fortunate to live not far from the University of California at Davis where there is a school of veterinary medicine and hearing testing is offered. They even make house calls!
Hear are some pictures on the NYC kids going through the hearing tests.
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| Brooklyn |
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| Liberty |
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| Hudson - slept thru the entire test |
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| Bronx |
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| Madison |
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| Staten |
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| Manhattan |
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| Rockefeller |
