How to deal with your blind dog (lab, clean, vet)

[ssg II]

1) Know that she has no conception of blindness. She just thinks it's always dark.
2) Know that she will never snuggle with you for long, She wants her independence.
3) Know there will be pee spots when she gets confused.
4) Know it will break your heart when it's time for dinner and she's so excited for food, but not you.

[ssg II]

Apparently, no other owners of dogs who've lost their sight are on this forum, or care to comment. Wish I'd known what to expect. Aside from the initial shock, these are things I've experienced the past year.

[LifeIsGood01]

I would make get them a halo with things extending out so that they don't bump into things. I think at home they would already know the area pretty well.

[hothulamaui]

how sad, mine is starting to go deaf, but blind would be difficult to say the least. I bet she is still glad to see you, make an extra effert as I am sure you do to keep her feeling secure.

[ssg II]

SARDS caused her blindness, but I think she's losing her hearing, as well. The vacuum cleaner used to scare her, but now I have to push her out of the way!

She used to be terrified of being groomed, but today she almost fell asleep while being clipped.

I'm afraid I'm losing her. She's about 12 or 13 (the shelter didn't know, since she and her brother were dumped,) but in perfect health as of their last annual vet visit in November, other than being blind.

Thanks, hothulamaui, for your support. Deaf babies must be a challenge, too.

so954, thank you, also, but the halo thing would just confuse her more. At least she can smell her way around the house and can get out the doggie door, which she could never do with the halo. She's learned to be very careful, so when she bumps into things, it's a gentle bump.

[Rabrrita]

I have a great friend with a blind ACD.

First thing is to determine the degree of blindness. This dog was originally diagnosed as being 99% blind with a very faint ability to see bright lights. It ultimately turned out that the blindness was was at a distance greater than a foot or two. At the close up range (under a foot or two), the dog can make out lights and movements. So make sure you play with things and lights to see if there is a reaction that is consistent with some ability to identify movements or lights. In the group of blind dogs owners, some also have some form of sight at a very specific level. One can not see anything unless its a bright plastic bag tumbling in the breeze a couple hundred feet away and suddenly, its a white rabbit in flight. Another one has pencil sight only seeing a thin line of sight during the daytime. All were diagnosed with SARDS but many have some extremely limited sight. The point is to work with the dog to see what, if any, sight remains.

One thing I know is she can not move things around the house as the dog has mapped the place to inches. She as placed various textured area rugs or mats in places as a check point for the dog to reacquire it's location before bumping into things. This was extended out into the yard where a outdoor boat runner was placed in a Tee from the door to the yard areas. This acts like a roadway to help the dog find its way back into the house. Additionally, the inside and outside of the doggy door has a very bright LED light above the door and that seems to provide some sensory stimulation to always go into the door and not the walls or fence.

Sharp corners of the house are protected by bumpers. There were made from the standard round foam pipe insulators and from those pool noodles. Occasionally the dog will get excited over something and may get turned around; those bumpers avoid hard corner hits. I'm sure the dog appreciates them.

The dog is a lot more tuned to sound and as a result they may react to a sound that they would have ignored when they could see. And, the dog has also will accept a sound that before they would challenge it when they could see. before the blindness the vacuum use to be an intruder to be destroyed, now its just a Beta pack member to be guided around with some nudges and a bark.

I had posted this for someone else but I'll post it here as well. This is the hat the dog wears whenever it goes outside.
OPTIVIZOR PROTECTS YOUR DOGS EYES & FACE-Big Dee's Tack & Doghouse
The hat protects the dogs eye, nose and face from walking into a bush, hedge, tall grass, whatever. It's now is a signal that they are going out and is accepted because its a good thing. Too may blind dogs tend to end up under house arrest but they still love to be out and about, sniffing and marking like before. Also, they taught the dog commands like "step" which lets the dog know there's some step. Say Step up and the dog knows its a rise, say Step down and the dog knows its a drop. They taught it "Freeze" which means just that, stop and don't move. The dog knows that when they hear Freeze there is something that will hurt them if they do not immediately stop in their tracks.

The last thing I see is that the dog no longer jumps up and down on the sofa or bed except in a very specific spot after they test the water with a paw. So if the dog normally sleeps on the bed, you may have to give up a spot where they know its safe to jump up and not land on a person or hurt themselves. Or you can place a bed on the floor where you can reach down and give it a rub. I know she use to have the dog sleep on the bed but now it sleeps on the floor right by her side and can be rubbed if needed for reassurance. (of course the dog does jump onto the bed when nobody is in it because they know its now clear of people and they can use the center.)

I'm sure there are hundreds of other little things, but these are some of the things we talked about.

[HollyhockGarden]

We had a wonderful Golden lab named Sam who went blind at age 7. He left us to go to the Happy Hunting Grounds at age 16. We moved from a one story home to a two story home with two turns in the stair case. Prior to the move, Sam had always slept at my bedside. It took him a couple of months, but he did figure out how to climb the stairs and find his place again at our bedside. He learned his way around our new back yard, and certainly had no problem finding his food and water dishes. He remained a smart, loving, and affectionate dog until the end.....Good luck with your "Pup" -- may he have a long and happy life.

[gouligann]

I think a lot depends on the temperament of each individual dog. I think a calmer dog will have patience and take time to learn how to navigate with blindness, and excitable or nervous dogs will have a harder time adjusting.

[Deadbolts' Probie]

We have an 8 year old cavalier king Charles. He was born with a heart murmur and not expected to live much more than a year and a half. At 3 he was diagnosed with diabetes. He gets 24 units of insulin 2 times a day. With that comes all the ear infections and anal gland infections ect. He is now deaf and 90 percent blind. He can tell when someone walks up to him. He will follow you with his head for a short distance. He sleeps on our bed sometimes then gets down and sleeps on the tile floor in the summer. I have stairs for him to get up and down on our bed. He's only missed them a couple times. He doesn't go anywhere fast so he doesn't hurt himself bumping into stuff. But he does have his "land marks" that he uses. His teeth are getting quite loose now so that's another issue we have to look at. But I tell ya.... He is thee happiest little dog ever. He makes us laugh all the time. He loves to go camping and on car rides. He is a cuddler. He doesn't play with a ball anymore obviously but he loves those stuffed squeak toys. He don't squeak them at all but he tries. LOL Maybe he thinks he's squeaking them tho. I do believe that his blindness and deafness were slow coming on so he got used to it. It's harder for us as "parents" than it is him. We love him dearly.

[brightdoglover]

^^^
It sounds like he's living a good life and enjoying his activities. Best to him!