Blind dog help

[Mark powell]

Hi there, my 7 year old cross silky was run over last week amazingly there was no broken bones, but he lost an eye at the accident and the other is badly damaged and and sight is not expected, he is a real trooper but I feel he may be suffering from depression, has anyone else had to deal with sudden total loss of sight with their dog, any advice would be great..... mark 

[Boronia]

Google 'blind dog halo'

this is one type---> https://www.handicappedpets.com/walkin-blind-dog-halo/

I am a member of the Dandie Dinmont FB page and there are posts from the owner of a blind Dandie (some Dandies have Glaucoma and require eye removal) who is also a member, her Dandie copes very well (usually well-able to find a sunny spot) I will try to find a post from her today and edit this to pop in the link

The main thing is to not stress too much about your little one, they can handle blindness...just don't move furniture around.

Also search for 'making a scent trail for blind dog' there are some very useful tips

[Pjrt]

It’s likely he’s still a bit battered and bruised generally. As above, just try not to stress out about it, take a deep breath and take one day at a time. 
Along with using scents, use sound.  I had a friend with a blind dog who had set aside a special set of slip on shoes to wear around the house that had a bell attached so the dog could relax a bit having a sense of who was moving around. They also attached a bell to the handle of the walking leash to give the dog a clear indication of where it was in relation to the owner and help it navigate. They also started a routine of announcements to the dog in clear short phrases, such as ‘Henry we are home, Henry we are in the kitchen, Henry I’m having a shower, Henry we are in bed, etc etc  It didn’t take long for the dog to associate the instruction with the activities and react or relax, depending. 
another big tip is to get down on your hands and knees and move around your home. Check things out from his perspective and open up navigable pathways at your dogs level. 
You have to start thinking a lot more about things for your dog. 
Leave the tv or radio on if you leave the house. If you think he is likely to have trouble, wander about aimlessly, get stuck or could hurt himself, set him up for success by blocking off just a small area of the house or yard that is safety checked. Try to make it an area that is his favourite or more comforting or interesting, such as under cover by the back door (not down by the back fence) or just the one room in the house. Leave him with a bone to chew, treat dispenser toy etc. As his confidence increases, possibly open up more space. 

And if he likes toys and balls, either get ones with bells, or attach a bell to his favourites. 
Try putting down different textures mats in strategic locations to help navigate and indicate. 
everything in his world needs to be much more tactile now. Sounds, smells and touch. Watch him move around the environment and think outside the square to find a solution to problems that arise. 
 

another thing you could consider is getting him a suitable companion. Perhaps not a puppy but a small size dog over a couple of years old. 

[Loving my Oldies]

What a traumatic experience for you both, @Mark powell.   I hope your dearest one is on the mend soon and that you, too, can start to feel better.  

 

@Scratch has set out what I would consider the most detailed and carefully considered excellent plan of action.      .

 

I have had a few blind dogs over the years, but never one who became blind immediately from an accident.  Given time, your little one, will manage very well, but as Scratch said, he is probably still hurting quite a lot from the accident and would be very confused.  Has your vet put him on pain relief?  

 

My blind dogs have managed very well, but have always been in a family of several dogs and only one human.  So the furniture isn’t moved around, there aren’t lots of different noises of people coming and going or confusing signals.  My latest little dog is blind and came as a foster in January of last year.  Despite being severely compromised healthwise through neglect, she adapted very quickly and within days was finding her way unerringly around the house.  

 

You are both probably in shock, but when this starts to wear off, you will be surprised at how quickly your “real trooper” starts to return to the happy active little dog he was before.  

 

Good luck and please keep us informed as to progress.  We do really care on this forum.    

 

      

 

 

 

 

[Boronia]

I can't find that original post in the Dandie page but there as an update, as you see she is managing well and is happy so hang in there and Google search for 'ways to help your blind dog'

Hello Everyone,  I'm Lexie and today is my 11th Birthday. I had a piece of Dad's toast & marmalade at breakfast and then Dad took me out for a nice walk. We went down the road to the green and Dad put one of the streachy leads on and I had a nice trot on the grass. When I had got to the end of the lead, Dad call me and I had to find him. He said I was his clever girl. When we got home, Mum brushed me and took me outside and sat me on a chair for a while. Later, my daughter Fudge said, " If you had seen what Mum put on you, you would not have sat still on the chair" !

She goes on to say:

Thank you all for the Birthday comments, can't stop as I can hear Mum rattling the food bowls. I'm with Dad in his 'office' making sure he does the spelling right . I'm sure I've got something delicious, so must get Dad to carry me downstairs. Don't tell him, but I'm sure if I put my mind to it I could find my way down  Love from Lexie, have a Happy Easter xxx

 

 

[Dogsfevr]

Yes we have owned blind dogs .

 

I can only be brutally honest some cope very well others don’t .

 

Given the whole trauma your dog has been through it will be struggling .

 

Be prepared to be firm but fair ,you need to be prepared to suck up your feelings and be ready to give your dog new life skills and confidence you can’t be a wuss .

 

Keep it simple ,build him back up with small successes.

Carpet runners are great for giving touch tools to waster bowl,outside ,bed .

 

Your dog is going to walk into things minimize the risk and make it simplistic.

Have a puppy pen for time out or when getting overwhelmed .

 

Encourage and reward head ring and smell cues ,those 2 tools will be its life saver .

 

It May become overwhelmed hearing noises differently and smells making its head spin each way but this is when you need to be positive and encouraging .

Clicker training can be great ,onlead walking the mud map .

 

Your dog will likely walk with a goose step in the front legs as those front legs become its walking poles 

 

 

 

 

[persephone]

Ouch It may take weeks for your little mate to settle  after "just" a road accident trauma- let alone losing sight - his life has changed- and he doesn't understand any of it . (luckily)  
there are some excellent suggestions above , from experienced people

the main thing is PATIENCE - and understanding how dogs work .  Dogs use their nose a LOT ..so scent trails (not too strong - remember, they can smell MUCH fainter scent than us ) ... different textures underfoot ..and remember, too, dogs sense things with their whiskers!  leaving things in the same place is VERY important  
I would suggest getting one or more ADAPTIL products for now ...they use a pheromone which can give a dog a feeling of comfort , and may be useful in this post traumatic time .  

Looking forward to progress reports , and more photos of the little trouper

[PossumCorner]

We are coping with a blind dog now Mark powell - one of the key things as above is how much they rely on whiskers to not hit their face on things, if you get him clipped (what's his name by the way) be sure to ensure none of his whisker are clipped either by accident or intention.  And use lots of touch in his day to day doings, because one day years from now, like most dogs he will lose some or a lot of hearing.  That makes its own problems for communicating with a vision challenged dog, so being accustomed to some touch communication lessens that distress.  He looks a super little dog, I hope all goes well for him.

 

I also have a totally blind pony - and a lot of the same commonsense advice works well, like different footing near food and water, or around anything dangerous to walk into such as a tree (or a coffee table).

[Guest]

So sorry to hear about your little one's accident. I hope you and he will cope with this new situation. Please give us an update.
I have no experience dealing with a blind dog. But a few years ago, for some strange reason, saved two documents on the topic.
Will attach them. Hope they turn out to be useful.

Blind dog Living with.pdf

Blind dog Tips & suggestions to help.pdf

[Mark powell]

Thank you all for you caring advice, booka is doing well, he is still on pain meds which are slowly being withdrawn, he is starting to explore a little each day, and he is starting to find his food and water on his own, he is still in the cone as he doesn’t vget the stitches out till next week, and we have ordered a halo for him. My partner had taken 6 months off work, mainly for self isolation and we had 3 month’s in Europe as well that has now gone down the tube, so booka will have plenty of company and love during his long re hab, I’ll up date as things progress, once again thank you all for your kind thoughts.......

[Loving my Oldies]

Thank you for the update.  Booka has the kind of loving humans we would wish for every dog.