Living with a blind pet

[Mrs. CountryGuy]

We have just learned that our dear little Abby is going blind, pretty well there.

So, have any of you had the experience of living with a blind pet and do you have any ideas/suggestions/tricks that you used to deal with this.

She is only 9, and we hope that she will be with us for a number of years still, yorkies can get to 13 to 18. My last two were 13.5 and 15.5 before we lost them to the Rainbow Bridge. So, we may have to live with this for a number of years.

[315RLS]

Carol,
Sorry to hear this. This isn't something we've encountered with any of our dogs but a friend who does have a blind dog suggested this website
http://www.blinddogs.com/
and this forum
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/blinddogs/

[Countryfolks]

Carol, some pets seem to find their own way around, by feel and scent. Can't give you anything else but our sadness, our dog is going blind, but confind to his bed mostly. Sure will be hard to take for Al since Abby is his baby.
Mary

[Chuck and Carol]

My little Sammy was blind. Just don't move any furniture around. He did great until I moved something. Then he ran into it. I quickly moved it back.
When he went outside he was OK until he wandered too far and lost his bearings. Then we had to go get him. He followed our voices.
In the fifth wheel he couldn't go down the stairs to go for a walk but went back up them just fine.
He did great up until the end.

Carol

[Wannabe Full-timer]

Carol, I am so sorry about your precious furkid (as well as others that have this issue to deal with). I have an elder dog as well, my Ko-Ko, who is almost 12 but sees okay thus far.

Anyway, I posted to a Shih Tzu list that I belong to and following was the suggestion from a member of our list who is a Pastor and who recently lost his Shih Tzu, Rocky. So this is from Rocky to you and yours, with love:

"A couple suggestions. Tell her to get down to her dog's eye level
and see what obstacles she might encounter. Keep the area clean and
free of obstacles as much as possible.

Use a clicker, finger-snapping or voice to guide the little one
around. Once she gets the hang of where things are she should be
alright.

Watch out for stairs; we always put a baby gate up when we left the
house.

Since she is blind, she will need to know exactly where she is when left
alone. I suggest blocking off the kitchen or some other handy place
and leaving water and food for her. It might sound a little silly,
but their sense of security is enhanced if they know where they are
and know that they have food and water handy.

I suggest the kitchen because ours has tile floors; much easier
cleanup.

Use toys that are auditory based or have textures. And food that has
good 'nose appeal'.

Blind dogs are not helpless, they just need a little extra love and
attention, and someone who knows what their special needs are.

Anyway, just a few tips that helped us with Rocky."

[Mrs. CountryGuy]

Thanks everyone, I will check out those web sites!! So far the worst we are dealing with is that she has tumbled down the stairs a couple of times. That was when we started wondering what was going on! Luckily, she did not hurt herself. WHEW!!

Now, we think this is why she has been so "antsy" lately.

Any other suggestions or hints are more than welcome.

[gkbutler]

Carol,

Our Pepsi puppy is blind. He started losing his sight about three years ago. We think he is totally blind now. In the Monty it isn't hard, he has been in it since we bought it and knows exactly where he is; however, he still rubs against the furniture once in awhile to find his way. When he comes in from a walk, he puts his nose near the bottom step and "feels" his way up the steps until he is inside. When we go for a walk, we talk to him constantly so he knows where we are. He finds his way from us. We also tighten his lead when he gets too close to trees and fences.

He still doesn't have any problem jumping up into the back of the truck. We stop him near the running board and he feels it with his nose then jumps up onto the floor board of the back seat. Getting out is also the same. We tap the floorboard and he jumps out. Need to say that he is a retreiver mix so he is bigger than Abby. Also he is 14 this year.

[Mrs. CountryGuy]

Again, thanks everyone, this information is very very helpful!!!!

Some of the feedback, and the web sites are explaining some of her behavior lately, all makes sense. We could not figure out why she was acting so "whiny" for lack of a better description. NOW, we know!!

I am not sure how much of her vision she has lost, I did not think to ask Dr. Ed. I will next trip in, which is next week for some more shots.

[JLBOZ60]

Carol,sorry to hear about Abby,some great info here from members, hopefully that will help. Marge

[Dustytuu]

So sorry to hear about Abby losing her sight.

Our older Schnauzer that went to the rainbow bridge a few years ago,had cathartics and could not see well. As suggested we didn't move any furniture around and would watch her close when she was in the yard. She wouldn't go to the end of the yard. Also used gates on the stairs. She lived to age 14.

Please keep us posted about Abby.

[TheRanch]

Carol, We have a lil springer spaniel Roscoe 6yrs old now. He was born blind Im sure it was much easier for him cause he learned how to deal from the start. But LOVE and Patients my friend is all it takes! Abby will be fine just keep her close and happy.

[Steve and Brenda]

Our beautiful beagle named Scarlett is 3 1/2 and has juvenile cataracts that have robbed her of the majority of her sight. They have to be complete before she can have the expensive surgery. It has amazed us at how well she does. You can hardly tell she is going blind when she is at home or in the Montana, as they are her familiar space. We don't move furniture, etc. as that tends to cause her to walk into things at night. We put up the Christmas tree at home and she stumbled upon it and looked at us like "who left that here?" For a day or two she would lay in front of the fireplace and bark at it, but now she is used to it. Our most loved little friends adapt well in any circumstance. We love her so much that we accomodate her whenever possible.

Brenda

[trukdoc]

My old Pit "Blondie" went blind due to a brain tumor. She had to go through us moving houses. We led her around until she knew where things were. Something I did for taking her outside that worked real well and still allowed her some freedom, was a radio. The radio gave her a reference point. With the radio on I walked her around her boundrys leaving a buffer zone.Always use the same volume. She picked up on it right away. In the old house I did not realize she was blind. Just figured her sight was going bad. Never did miss a beat when it came to Bye Bye!

[PartyCrashers]

Here's one for you... Our Mini poodle lived for 21 years. The last 5 years of her life she was blind, the last 3 years she was death. So for 3 years she was both death and blind. It was hard, but we loved her. It is amazing how these dogs can get around. Our "Misty" did a good job of training us to answer her needs. Misty has been gone now for 4 years. We now have a 2 year old mini poodle named Nikki. Hopefully we can fullfill her time with us the way we did Misty.

[HamRad]

Carol and Al,
We are sorry to hear that your little Abby is going blind. Our little Roscoe was almost to the blind stage but he could still get around with no problem.

My brother has had a blind dog for about 15 years. I thought sure she would not last very long. My brother lives on about a 3 acre parcel with all kinds of animals and machines. With each visit or phone call I would expect to hear that Popeye was gone. But she is still doing great! She is an outside dog and always has been which would in my mind make things even more dangerous than being an inside dog. She uses smell and sound to navigate and hardly ever runs into anything. It is amazing to see her go about her business. It helps, I think, that she has always had a pack of at least 4 or more other dogs to run with. I believe that really helps her get around.

If you just watch to make sure she is getting her share of water and food all should adjust easily. I know that you have a small pack that she lives with.

Good luck and don't worry she will adapt. Just let her go about adjusting and following the pack around. I'll bet you won't even be able to notice which one is blind after a few months.

Dennis and Mary Kay

[Mrs. CountryGuy]

Brenda, truckdoc, PartyCrashers, Dennis & Mary Kay,

I cannot tell you how much Al and I appreciate all of your feedback and ideas, plus those received earlier from everyone.

What we are realizing is that it is MOM and DAD that need to adjust, that Abby has been for a while!!

She was giving us fits when she was crated alone, after reading those fab web pages, we realize she was suffering from some seperation anxiety type stuff, cause she was scared being in there alone. Not knowing what was going on, but realizing that we had to do something, a few weeks ago, we started crating her with Captain Hook. This has settled her down quite a bit.

So, here, ya go, Mom and Dad needed to listen and then figure out what she was saying. We finally got it!.

Now, it is a matter of more adjustments, and that is OK, cause we know we can do it, specially now that we know what we are dealing with.

Her appetite is grand, potty breaks good, water intake good. I hand feed them their breakfast, so I know what she is getting and their dinner is fed in seperate crates or areas of the house, so again, we know right off if any of them are not eating like they should. Did this years ago, when Captain Hook came into the household, he was rather shy, to say the least. He would not go out side unless I took him on a leash. He would not eat if any dog came near him. So, we seperated everyone. This worked out real well later when we had illness or special diets. Cappy got what he needed, and likewise through the pack.

Their outside potty areas are confined, and have been for years, so again this is something that we don't have to figure out. Whew!!

Again, thanks all, it is so reassuring to hear from our friends and fellow MOC members that our little fur friends do so well. Your stories and suggestions have helped us through a stressful event in our lives. THANKS!!!

[Gonfishin]

Carol,
I hope that by now you have found all that you need to help you care for that little princess... Rick and I will keep you and Al as well as the little princess in our thoughts and prayers.
Abby however I know will be fine.. you and Al are great parents and she will live long and prosper with or without her site.
Sharon

[Mrs. CountryGuy]

Sharon,

She is doing quite well, I asked the vet, he could not tell me how blind she was, in other words, does she have some sight left, they could not answer that.

She is bounding around in Tana as she always has, even jumping over the legs of my office chair.

I was a bit concerned how she might act while walking her on a leash, but I sure cannot tell the difference, she gets out there and walks along as if she can see 100%.

So, now that we know what we are dealing with, and have made a few adjustments, we are doing fine.