White Shepherd mom Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 can someone from all-knowing DOL please recommend the best collar or harness for a dog with slightly impaired vision. This is a recent development so she's a bit apprehensive, especially when the day's light fades. She tends to stumble and slip off pavements a bit. I want her to feel safe and to be able to "steer" her without stressing her. I also need to be able to support her weight if she tries to climb up or down things (like the steps in the back yard) Much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 I have a dog with mobility issues, I use a harness when walking her so that if she stumbles I can help her stay upright. If you need extra "steering", then you could put a collar and a second lead on your girl. T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Fox Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 Would something like this be useful for you? http://www.friendlydogcollars.com.au/#!shop/cjg9 (blind dog) Otherwise the Ruffwear webmaster harnesses are pretty supportive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackJaq Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 There was another thread with some good links: http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/244408-harness-with-handles-on-the-back/page__view__findpost__p__6049919__hl__%2Bharness+%2Bwith+%2Bhandle__fromsearch__1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Shepherd mom Posted December 20, 2012 Author Share Posted December 20, 2012 you guys are quick, awesome! tdierikx: I cannot put a second leash on her as I need the other hand to hold Casper's leash! SecretKei: thank you for the link but I don't think the collar is going to help, it looks like the harness is the way to go BlackJaq: thank you for posting the link to the other discussion...I have opened all the links and am about to read them all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DobieMum Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 (edited) I was going to suggest Friendly Dog Collars too They make harnesses too. Edited December 20, 2012 by Pauchel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boronia Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 Blind Dog Collar Halo Vest---> http://www.halosforpaws.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 You can't really steer a dog effectively with a harness. To control the dog you need to control the head. What sort of a collar is she in now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty Miss Emma Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 I'm tempted to say don't change collar/harness but look at training some different things. When Emma went blind I had to make a few changes. One was that 90% of the time I needed to walk her on her own as she would run in to Kenz, or if Kenzie crossed the path she would run in to Em. It ended up just being easier to walk her on her own so that we all enjoyed our time a bit more. But she was totally blind (well almost) when this was going on. I did a lot of training with her though to teach her "careful" (something is coming up you're not expecting), "step up", "step down" and "close" (and she already knew directional cues but we did a lot more reinforment of those). By knowing those verbal cues it was easier to keep her safer when we walked. I also attached bells to me when we walked so that she could get her orientation of where I was and how close she was to me. I started this early when she was losing her vision so that by the time she was blind she already knew most of it and that increased her confidence. Oh and I probably sounded like an idiot when we walked because I spoke almost the whole time!!! Particularly reassuring her and letting her know that if she stumbled it was ok and to just get up again and keep going. I found with Em when she first started losing her vision she lost a lot of confidence, but it had to be her getting back up and being resilient to know that she could. In the end if she stumbled she'd just get back up and keep walking. Just be careful about doing too much for your dog as it loses it's vision, teach it that it will be ok to keep going. I now think of it a bit like puppy socialisation - if they are scared of something don't mollycoddle, show them that it is ok and nothing to be scared of. It's a similar principle when training a vision impaired dog. The funny thing if you do traing them to "step" and be "careful" is that you suddenly become accutely aware of every crack in the footpath!!!! Little steps for us are big steps that they trip over!!! Good luck with your dog, and look in to the Blind dog websites/resources as there is lots of great information out there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Shepherd mom Posted December 22, 2012 Author Share Posted December 22, 2012 thank you all. She's gone. I have written an update in the "what's wrong with my girl" topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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