Help with Blind Dog?!?!

[CoopsMom]

Hi everyone. It's been a while since I've been here... Last time I was here, it got kinda ugly, so I thought I would take a break for alittle while... I hope you are all doing well.

About a month ago, one of my Mom's dogs went blind. She was diagnosed with Diabetes about 2 months before she went blind... and the blindness happened, what seemed overnight... literally. One day she was fine, the next day, she was walking into walls.

Does anyone out there have a blind dog? We've had dogs that GRADUALLY went blind... and it was much easier on them... this, being all of a suddun seems very hard for her. Since she went blind, she's been doing better, and she seems less scared... but some days it seems like we're back at square one where she's walking into things, falling down stairs (she has to go down stairs to get outside-even when we are helping her, she will trip)...

We've been trying to teach her "left" and "right"... but I don't think it's working yet.

Thanks for your help.... any other suggestions on how to make this trasition alittle easier for her would be appericiated!
Val

[tatsxxx11]

Welcome back I'm so sorry to hear about your Mom's dog I have never owned nor trained a blind dog. My friend's dear Lab Zeke was blind from diabetes but with time and a little help, he adjusted wonderfully and lived a very rich and happy life, full of fun and adventure. Here's a link to an excellent blind dog support group. There's lot of excellent advice, support, message boards, useful links, etc. I hope it helps. Blind dogs can and do live very full and happy lives with a little help from their friends! Please let us know how it goes. Good luck!

Help for guardians of blind dogs

[ramanth]

Here's a nice message board with people who have blind dogs.

Blind Dogs EZBoard

I'm so sorry about your mom's dog. I hope this site can help.

[CoopsMom]

Thank you both for the links. I'm going to forward them to my Mom.

[ParNone]

Hi Coops Mom!

My lil' Cairn Terrier, Maddie went blind about 6 yrs ago. It was
gradual, so she had a lil' bit of a chance to adjust to it.
I try not to treat her differently because she's blind, so that
she'll be happy go lucky about it. But I do have a tendency to
carry her more than I use to and spoil her a lil' more than I
should.

All in all she does very well. If I see her about to bump into
something, when she's padding along, I'll just say "Careful"
and she's learned to slow down and use her nose to kind of
feel her way around the object. But being a terrier, bumping
into stuff doesn't seem to phase her much. So she bounces off
and keeps going merrily on her way.

Her sense of hearing and smell are good, so she'll still play with
her toys, search the kitchen floor for any fallen crumb, attack
moving water when we go hiking and light into my other two
dogs if she feels they're out of line. Nothing quite as funny as
a 65lb dog doing the Collie hop step, desperately trying to get
out of the way of a 20lb blind cranky terrier, on a mission to yank
some of his hair out.

Par...

[CoopsMom]

Thanks Par,

I know what you mean about your dog getting chased. I have a 7 month old Black and Tan Coonhound, and my Mom's dogs, the blind one is a ShepX and the other is a TerrierX. My dog, Cooper, pesters both my Mom's dogs (both older) and the terrier just can't catch Cooper, but the old blind dog catches Cooper every once in a while and will make him yip! She doesn't hurt him, but just enough that will make him leave her alone!! Not bad for a blind dog!!

Thanks again!!!
Val

[mruffruff]

My shih tsu/poodle, Bear, is blind. He also has diabetes. He developed cataracts and went blind rather quickly. We got his diabetes under control, but it was too late for cataract surgery.

The first clue that he couldn't see was when he tried to get on my bed and kept missing. Now I lift him up and put him down when needed. He does fine with the couch. I pat the seat twice and he knows it's OK.

At first he was a little confused. He learned to listen for the other dogs' jingling tags. He 'senses' objects that are near him so he doesn't run into ALL of them. He feels the floor for vibrations when I walk. He has a very detailed map of the house and yard imprinted on his mind. It took a while for him to get a grip, but I didn't pamper him a lot and he figured it out for himself. I do try to give him a little consideration when I walk around him instead of expecting him to get out of my way.

Bear will let me know when it's time for supper or his evening shot.

There is a lot of help at the Blind dogs Message board at ezboard. I visit there every weekday morning.

Does your mom's dog have cataracts or was there another reason for the blindness?

Mary

[oodlesofpoodles]

I have a GSD puppy that was terribly abused and due to this is blind. She is 7 months old now. and doing great. She still runs into the things falls off the bed, down the steps and off the porch. But she keeps on going. Here are some sites and books that can keep you. My Sweet Noel even though blind is a working dog and does her job well. She teaches schoolchildren.

Sites:
www.blinddogs.com
www.blinddogs.info
www.4mdogbooks.com

Books:
All these are written by the same author Caroline D.Levine

Living with Blind dogs
Dogs Diet & Diseases, An owners guide to Diabetes and more
Blind Dog Stories, Tales of Triumph, humor, and Heroism

here are so pics of Noel working