runt of a litter

Question
Hi, my girlfriends soft coated wheaten terrier has had eight pups, one wee bitch seems to be the runt of the litter and looks as if she only has hearing in one ear, is it still possible to train her to be an obedient and happy healthy pup. She is so cute and i would love to have her but having never had a dog am i giving myself a huge problem by taking her in.  Many thanks. norma.

Answer
I don't know how you could ascertain that she only hears in one ear. I would get her to a vet and find out for sure before you adopted her. It's hard for most vets to tell, so I can't see how you would know this for sure.

But for the rest of your question, while your inexperience will make this a challenge for you, if she is indeed deaf, she is still trainable with the right techniques and patience.

There are probably thousands of deaf dogs in the world that do amazing things. She just might be the love of your life.

Make sure the rest of her is okay and then dive in. Get yourself some books, get some professional training, whatever it takes. But she must be trained in order to be a happy, productive dog.