curns Posted August 1, 2007 Share Posted August 1, 2007 My beautiful 10 yer old cocker spaniel Amber lost the sight in her second eye 2 weeks ago and is now totally blind. We had just moved back to Perth from northern NSW so everything is unfamiliar to her. She had never seen our new home, local parks etc and is really struggling. I have tried to find local support groups/information but have had to buy books from the US online and have found nothing local from vets etc. I would love to set up a support group for owners of blind dogs to help each other as we are finding it really hard to know what to do to help her regain her joyous, happy nature and to rebuild some confidence and I'm sure there are others who are or have been in the same situation. Any help/advice/information on how to help her, where to buy things like ramps, clickers, doggles, harnesses to help guide her would be greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helen Posted August 1, 2007 Share Posted August 1, 2007 That is bad news. There is some information availble here - http://www.k9events.com/Pets_with_Disabilities.htm - has advice such as spraying things that she may bump in to with something smelly such as hairspray etc so the dog can smell them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted August 1, 2007 Share Posted August 1, 2007 Every dog is different & whether they still have good hearing & smell is also a big factor. The biggest problem is the owners,they fuss them even more which takes away what confidience they do have. We have had a number of blind dogs & what we find works is using carpet runners to get in/out of house,make sure you walk them via the carpets at all times dont carry. Water bowls place a few around but again place on a mat . If the dog can still hear use your feet ,stomp when you walk so the dog can follow the sound & feel the vibrations & above all lots of praise when she has succeeded to going outside but dont pick up the dog needs to walk the route as much as possible. What we find important is the summer months the dog needs to learn the ropes so if it gets disorientated outside they dont end up with heat stress . Ours have the doggy door access & there own fully covered yard so if they get a tad lost there always protected. If it was extremely hot then we left them in the kitchen Luckiliy we worked from home. You will find your dogs nature will dramactically change, our current blind girl has after 5 yrs of total blindness hit a purple patch & is struggling with her routines of life. The dog will bump into things but you need to patrol your house at ther level from a blind dogs point of view & ensure anything that could cause damage when walked into id either shifted or fixed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Anne~ Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 I have had numerous blind and partially blind rescue Pugs in over the time. As they are rescues they are new to my home, routines and my other animals and so, as you would imagine, they have alot of settling in to do. I have found scent training to be very beneficial for the Pugs. We use different scents to indicate different things. As I have Pugs who do not have a highly developed sense of smell I use very strong smelling scents such as lemon, pepermint and citronella but any would suffice. We use one scent for danger areas, for example stairs, and we reapply the scent every couple of days. Citronella is good for this as dogs do not like the smell although if it is stairs that the dog needs to use you would obviously use something else. We use another scent to indicate the water bowl. You could also use a scent the dogs likes for the areas that they can lay down or where their bed is. The important things is consistency. Don't alter the scents. Always keep furniture and objects in the same place. Follow a routine. Use a bell tied to your ankle or your other dogs (if you have them) so that the blind one can follow the sound. Be gentle and never force. If she is comfortable on a lead and she feels secure exploring while on a lead, then walk her around the yard while on the lead and let her explore. When you take her for a walk, tie a bell to you leg/ankle/wrist again so she can be reassured that you are beside her. Train her to a 'warning' word for steps and gutters. I use the word 'STEP' for a down step (for example stepping down from a path/gutter onto the road) and 'UP' when we are in the reverse and going off the road onto a path or when there is a step of some sort. If she is smart you might be able to train her to several words for uses such as when there are three or four steps up or down. Use a reward method when training her to sound and take it slwoly. You don't want her to associate the word 'step' with tripping or something that is scary. Most of them when they have tripped have taken several minutes beofre they feel comfortable about walking off again so take it slowly and gently and let her hear your voice encouraging her gently. I use a combination of things for the scents. Essentail oils (oil burner and massgae oils) and food flavourings (theones you use in cakes and things). Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackdoggette Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 My beautiful 10 yer old cocker spaniel Amber lost the sight in her second eye 2 weeks ago and is now totally blind. We had just moved back to Perth from northern NSW so everything is unfamiliar to her. She had never seen our new home, local parks etc and is really struggling. I have tried to find local support groups/information but have had to buy books from the US online and have found nothing local from vets etc. I would love to set up a support group for owners of blind dogs to help each other as we are finding it really hard to know what to do to help her regain her joyous, happy nature and to rebuild some confidence and I'm sure there are others who are or have been in the same situation. Any help/advice/information on how to help her, where to buy things like ramps, clickers, doggles, harnesses to help guide her would be greatly appreciated. Oh! poor puppy..... I have been watching this thread since you first posted. It does sound like you are getting some wonderful advice so I am very pleased for you. Good luck and lots and lots of cuddles for you both!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mita Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 We had a Sheltie boy, Danny, who gradually went blind. I can add little to the excellent advice given by Showdog & Puggles. Just overall, I made sure he had familiar tracks througout the house & garden....& that nobody moved things onto those tracks. Another thing I found was that he could get a fright if someone just touched or grabbed him...even with the nicest intentions. So the rule was that people had to say his name so he got the idea that someone was near before touching him....& it always had to be done gently & gradually. No sudden grabbing. We were also lucky to own a second slightly younger Sheltie girl....who was a born organizer. If Danny ever got stuck somewhere or wanted to get up steps & couldn't....Shelley would give a special bossy bark to tell us. Also Shelley made an excellent guide dog for Danny in all ways. He's follow behind her doing everything. If we weren't sure where Danny was, we could just tell her, 'Find Danny'....& she'd lead us to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kymbo Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 I have a blind dog, who went gradually blind from PRA. He has been totally blind now for about 7 years. The above posts are very good advice I notice that my fellow uses different surfaces to know where he is eg, when coming across the grass, when he hits concrete, he immediatly turns left and follows the path to the house, and stuff like that. The carpet/plastic runners thru the house is a great idea for this very reason. My guy was obsessed with fetching his ball, when sighted. We carried this on as a blind dog by stabbing a hole in a tennis ball, and inserting a cat bell. We bounce the ball when we throw it, so he hears where it has gone, and also said 'hot' and 'cold' when he was searching for it. Now he goes off looking for it, and we just have to play hot & cold when he gets close You have to be careful with the bell tho and make sure dogs etc can't get it and chew it and choke. Supervised play only basically. I have never used scents to mark where stuff it; I find he bumps and remembers pretty quickly, tho I often wonder about a little soft helmut sometimes hahahha. We have put soft rubber witches caps over stuff in the back yard that he could be hurt on. Wrapping the clothes line pole with a pool noodle ( $3 cheap shops) slit up the middle is handy too Murphy is pretty obedient and always knew voice commands, so that hasn't changed at all. I would really encourage owners of blind dogs to know one emergency word that their dog consistantly obeys; either stop, or sit, or drop etc. Might one day come in real handy. When out walking with his doggles on, no one would even know he is blind Tho he does sniff around a lot more now; allowable as his nose is his eyes now. All the best with your special little dog Curnes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kymbo Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 Mita, my Papillon has become Murphys eyes too. Murphy follows him, and the pap opens the back door for him, or goes finds him and leads him back in the paddock too. He seems to know almost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mita Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 Mita, my Papillon has become Murphys eyes too. Murphy follows him, and the pap opens the back door for him, or goes finds him and leads him back in the paddock too. He seems to know almost. Kymbo, it's lovely isn't it how a second dog in the family seems to know it must become the doggie carer for the blind dog. At least your Pap does the work & opens the door. Shelley the Sheltie used to give a special single-sound bark to tell US that a door had to be opened or Danny carried up the steps. We used to say she was calling 'Work!' Even our neighbours used to respond if they heard Shelley. They'd call out to us...'Shelley says Danny needs something!' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schnauzer Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 Hi Curns, Fantastic advice from both Puggles and Showdog. One of my schnauzers is also totally blind and has been for a about a year now. It was very difficult for me at first because I felt so sorry for him. I always go on the same walks with my three dogs, so that he knows the scents and is happy to trot along. I have taught him various commands such as "down' for stairs or "up" and "careful" if he is getting too close to something that he could bump into. He seems very happy and walks in and out of the dog door comfortably. My other male seems to watch out for him and touches his nose and then leads him - just gorgeous. A support group is a great idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogbesotted Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 you can also make an angel vest... it has a little halo which helps keep blind dogs bumping into things http://www.angelvest.homestead.com/ here is link to support group: http://www.blinddogs.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony mazzeri Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 Is PRA very common in Cocker Spaniels in Australia? I've heard it is in the UK, but here as well? I've just picked up my 8 week old puppy and the breeder said it's not an issue in her dogs. But I worry anyway as Curns' situation with Amber is something I wouldn't want to be looking forward to in 5 to 10 years time, especially with a steep tile staircase which could be very dangerous. I wish you all the best Curns with Amber and hope she copes well in your new place. The two links Dogbesotted posted have a lot of useful info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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