Going deaf??

Question
My 14 yr old standard poodle is in perfect health. Acts as if 8 yrs old. It appears he is nearly deaf...seems he went from hard of hearing to nearly all deaf rather quickly. My question is, should I take him to the vet in case this is something treatable? Could there be something causing this other than old age? Are there any corrective measures? He has survived full-blown bloat and cancer.

Answer
Hello Ric,
If your dog hasn't been in to see the Vet in awhile, then it may be good just to get him seen for an elderly dog check-up.  Otherwise, if he seems in good health, there is nothing much a Vet can do.  
If you want, you could call a few Vets and ask if there is anything that might help with hearing loss in an older dog.  That might put your mind at ease and they may have some suggestions that will help you.
 
You might check his ears and make sure that they are clean.  Poodles get hair that grows down in the ear canal and can also have an accumulation of ear wax and debris, so its a good idea to make sure that nothing is clogging his ear canal.  
Other than that, I would suggest that you do things like when he is outside, turning the light on and off to get him to come inside.  When you play with him with dog toys, get ones that make noise or light up when you throw them, and you may even try to teach him silent hand signals for the basic commands (sit, down, stay and come).

For Sit, the hand signal is with the palm facing down, twist the wrist and bring the palm face up (like making a backwards J)

For Down, keep your arm straight and start with it down at your side, then bring it straight up over your head.  

For Stay, palm in front of the dogs face, with the fingers together.  

For Come, arm down at your side and bring it across your chest.  

To praise your dog, shake both hands back and forth in front of him.  

To teach these silent commands, try using both verbal and hand signals at the same time.  If the dog doesn't react, place him in the desired position, then praise.  

I hope this helps you some.  If you have other questions, please feel free to ask.

Thanks for using AllExperts.com,
Kim