My Preacher was blind. He passed away in December 2006 from issues completely unrelated to eyesight. He was 14.

Have these dogs always been blind or did they have sight at one time?

If I didn't point out to people that Preacher was blind, you couldn't tell. He got around just fine.

We couldn't rearrange our furniture. He knew where everything was and moving anything confused him. He used his ears and whiskers to navigate. He would walk close to walls with his ear touching the wall to guide him.

Do you have a sighted dog? Two of my other dogs would often act as guide dogs for Preacher. He would follow the sound of Sleet's tags jingling when on a walk. Franklin used to herd him away from holes. Eventually he got his own space where nothing was moved and no new holes were dug, except the ones he dug. He did love to dig!

Preacher was a sled dog and knew directional commands. I used those to guide him when we were someplace unfamiliar to him. Blind dogs can be trained just like any other dog. Teach commands like "Stop", and directions. I used gee and haw, but left and right would be just as easy.

Always make noise when approaching a blind dog; make sure they know you are there before you touch them. A startled blind dog might nip. "It's just me buddy" was what I used to say to Preacher as I walked through the porch where he liked to sleep. Still find myself saying it some nights out of habit.

There is a really good group on Yahoo groups for blind dogs and their owners. I'm not on it anymore, but I got lots of information there when Preacher first lost his sight.