Although blind dogs will navigate their daily routines differently from a seeing pup, they can live equally long and happy lives. Be extra patient if your pup is still learning. But because blind dogs rely more heavily on their other senses to get around, you can do a few things to make your home even more accommodating for your four-legged friend. Veterinary vision expert Caroline Levin explains via the Humane Society of the United States that puppy-proofing your home is a must, as is never moving your furniture.
Remember to introduce your dog to small spaces to start, letting him build up confidence as he goes. Since blind dogs can be more vulnerable than their seeing peers, working with their comfort level is of extra importance.
Simple reminders such as dog-safe essential oils in places your pup visits often can go a long way in helping him map his environment. For example, Levin uses vanilla essential oil near all doors and lavender near pet beds.
She also places tactile mats of different textures to help her blind dog know where she is simply by the touch of her paw. If you redecorate, or when you bring your dog to a new place, bring them carefully around the area to show them obstructions.
If you find your dog bumping into things frequently, talk with your vet or canine ophthalmology specialist. Many blind dogs are able to happily return to activities they enjoyed before losing vision. However, make sure to always keep blind dogs on leash so you can prevent them from walking into things or getting hurt. When playing, blind dogs utilize their other senses to compensate for a lack of sight.
So, opt for toys that squeak, rattle, and make noise when they move, so that your dog will be able to find them. Even for experienced owners, it can be shocking to see how well most dogs adjust to going blind. Blindness need not create a change in your training routines with your dog. It just may require some shifts in how you cue certain behaviors. Obviously, your blind dog will not be able to respond to visual signals. Visit Modern Cat! Email this page. How to Help a Blind Dog Adapt.
Tips for living with a visually impaired dog. By Selva Freigedo Photographed by Andrew. This question is for testing whether you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions. Related Content. How to Introduce Dogs.
Your average cocktail party has a variety of characters making an Ask an Expert - Tackling Resource Guarding. Is Your Dog Dominant or Submissive? When it comes to dominance and submission in the dog world, there Sign up for our fun, free emails about cool dog stuff! Helena St. Search form. Dog of the Week! Meet: Tucker. Another uses echolocation by sending ultrasonic sounds out, helping a dog determine how close or far away something is.
Another easy way to train it is to have a small box or platform in front of your dog. Place one or more treats on the platform. Once he is predictably going up and down, you can add the cue just before he does the behavior. Practice in a few locations with different steps.
Teaching the name of a person, animal, or item is a simple matter of creating an association. With items, you can start with pairing the name in everyday occurrences. Blind dogs, like all dogs, can live full, active lives. With a little modification, blind dogs can participate in many of the same activities sighted dogs enjoy. Dogs who have lost their sight later in life may enjoy similar activities as before losing their sight.
For example, a dog who enjoys retrieve games may still enjoy fetch, finding their toys by sound and smell. Scented toys and toys that make noises may be particularly attractive for a blind dog. Scent discrimination games are also a great option for blind dogs. Many blind dogs also enjoy adventures outside of the home. Orbit has gone to training classes, travels with Melissa through her day-to-day life, and even goes to work with her. My name is Mina.
Could you share any article about this? My old Beardie has both problems, too. Along with hip problems. She does pretty well around the house and garden. I have the second edition. Sadly, the veterinary ophthalmologist who examined our dog knew nothing of this resource, nor any others.
Her prognosis for PRA was total blindness within a year. Happily, we followed the supplement regimen of Terri McCalla, DVM, veterinary ophthalmologist, and our dog, more than 18 months later, still has a little vision to get around. We know our dog will never regain the vision he lost, but at least he is not totally blind.
He sees well in bright sunlight, but is functionally blind at night and needs potty breaks on a leash. He can see well enough in household lighting with good contrast. In any event, I appreciate this article and the encouragement and advice from everybody here.
In his time with me, he earned his his CGC and we just recently passed our therapy dog screening with Pet Partners! The late Dr. There is a lot of information and a Facebook discussion group on this.
Gosh this has been so informative for me. I rescued a deaf, partially sighted male puppy Dec now a year old. The whole challenge has been beyond my expectations. Basic training has been good, by only introducing him to the back door for house training which was speedy. For every hour he is awake his pink nose is exhausted on sniff therapy, he then needs approx 2 hours sleep to recover.
Lots of very useful information on this site Thanks. I have mentioned before that our dog Tulip went first blind, then deaf in her old age.
She always loved spending most of her day out in the yard, but she would get disoriented and not be able to find her way back to the dog door. We found that one of the simplest adaptations we did was also one of the most helpful when it came to maintaining her independence.
We just put down an 8 foot runner rug that led to the dog door. She quickly learned that as soon as she felt it, it would lead her straight back to the dog door.
She regained a great deal of confidence and went back to happily spending much of her day in the yard again. Some wonderful tips! My 9yo Lab mix has slowly been loosing her sight over the past year.
Now I feel she is totally blind.
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