My dog is going blind. Any advice for me?

[Anonymous]

When your dog is sleeping and you walk up to them, pat the floor about a foot way from their face and talk gently so the patting wakes them and your voice tells them who is near. Do that before you pet.

:at, pat, pat:: "Hi Rosie"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When your dog is sleeping and you walk up to them, pat the floor about a foot way from their face and talk gently so the patting wakes them and your voice tells them who is near. Do that before you pet.

:at, pat, pat:: "Hi Rosie"

Good point. I’ll need to tell guests to do that too. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

I’m sorry you’re dealing with this. After an initial adjustment, your dog will likely do fine. Number one rule is try not to rearrange furniture and make sure you keep stuff off the floor (shoes, backpacks, etc). Also be more aware about leaving the door open if you’re going in and out bringing in groceries or whatever. A blind pet dog won’t likely do well if they get out and get disoriented. Talk to your dog a lot, and they’ll follow you by smell too.

Our dog went blind at 9 and lived to 15. We all got so used to it, we’d forget about it until we had visitors. Good luck to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve looked at some of the “halos” for blind dogs to keep them from bumping into things, but they’re almost all for smaller breeds. My dog is a greyhound, so he’s 75 lbs and has a very long snout. I’m honestly not sure those will work on him.

Honestly he probably won’t need one if you just keep everything consistent at home and guide him on walks. If you’re worried about the stairs, you can get a baby gate (or two — one at the top of the stairs, one at the bottom) that’s held in place with tension (so you don’t have to screw it into the wall), so he only can go up or down stairs when you’re with him.

[Anonymous]

I appreciate the suggestions and commiseration.

[Anonymous]

10 years ago we adopted a dog with end stage progressive retinal atrophy. That is, he was already blind but had not been for long. He’s 13 now and it has never really slowed him down. I can’t tell you how to get through the initial stuff but for ours, voice commands and talking to him a lot have been key. We also taught him “step” for approaching curb or stairs and “whoa” for “hey dude you’re about to bump into something.” He loves other dogs and has done super well in a variety of boarding including group day care, I just make sure they are aware he needs to be with predictable, friendly dogs. Most dog care people are kind of suckers for him tbh and I think they do look out for him.
He really doesn’t like car rides, I assume somehow not seeing makes that less fun. But otherwise his life has been pretty normal.

[Anonymous]

Our dog went blind, can't remember the age, and lived to be 17. It was surprising to me how easily she adapted. She was just as playful, calm, even naughty getting into things as before. The only issue was rearranging furniture but she adapted pretty quickly to everything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had a cat who survived being hit by a car and was blind as a result. Here are the things I found helpful. Don’t move furniture, they can memorize placement of furniture and can get around better if the doesn’t change. Helps to have colors of floors and walls different (dark vs light colors), if they will be able to have some ability to see color differences, keeps them from banging into walls. Gates around steps.

Yep, in their own home they will have memorized the layout. We had a blind dog and he pretty much knew his way around the main level of the house and the fenced in yard. We kept the stairs gated off and he did fine.

[Anonymous]

Just saw these additional posts. Thanks everyone.

[Anonymous]

I am from 10:29, 22:28 with the 13 yo with PRA. Wanted to add that we are military and have moved 5 times with this dog. He’s done fantastic with new homes and with travel/ hotels as well. We have a collapsible kennel we travel with and he’s quite comfortable retiring to that in hotels and whenever.
I know everyone says don’t move furniture… and we don’t, once we’re in (much), but he figures it out super fast. But l I don’t think that part is as much of a crisis as it seems at first. Dog is happy to have his people, his toys, etc. New back yards are also pretty interesting for him, it seems. Could be personality but he just doesn’t seem to mind and more than that, seems pretty happy all around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am from 10:29, 22:28 with the 13 yo with PRA. Wanted to add that we are military and have moved 5 times with this dog. He’s done fantastic with new homes and with travel/ hotels as well. We have a collapsible kennel we travel with and he’s quite comfortable retiring to that in hotels and whenever.
I know everyone says don’t move furniture… and we don’t, once we’re in (much), but he figures it out super fast. But l I don’t think that part is as much of a crisis as it seems at first. Dog is happy to have his people, his toys, etc. New back yards are also pretty interesting for him, it seems. Could be personality but he just doesn’t seem to mind and more than that, seems pretty happy all around.

I’m really glad to read that. We will need to move in the next few years.