Living With A Blind Dog.

[Lee1]

Hi

We are looking for advice from owners who have experience of living with blind dogs.

Saffy, our 20 month old female cocker, has been diagnosed with PRA and will be totally blind within 3-6 months.

Does anyone have any tips to help us make her adjustment easier?

Lee
 

[kookie]

I am really sorry to hear this, it is such a young age for any dog to loose their sight.

Dusty was practically blind by the time she was 7 or 8. She had cataracts, so could see light and shade which helped, and it was a gradual thing.
We never moved furniture around, and doors were either fully open against the wall or fully closed (she used to walk into the edge of them otherwise. Dusty was a very touchy feely dog and liked to feel you and hear your voice. I used to walk round chattering away all the time so she always had an idea where I was. Everyone thought I was a loon!
 When we were out walking she wasn't off the lead, she stayed on a flexi lead, and I never liked to advertise the fact that her sight was impaired, because people felt sorry for her and wanted to pet her, which freaked her out much of the time.
She was only ever off lead in our garden or in an enclosed field.
Dusty was a rescue and never liked other dogs, but if she did, we would have seen to it that she got to spend as much time with doggy friends as poss.
She liked things to be oredered and didn't like surprises, I think regular and habitual is best for a blind dog.
Someone will probably be able to give you more guidance, but good luck. You can still have a fun, rewarding time with a blind dog.

A spring on your gate is also a god idea.

[Pipers Mummy]

Hi Lee,

Very sorry to hear your news about Saffy.  Whilst I don't have personal experience of living with a blind pet, a close friend of mine had a cat who lost his eysight after being hit by a car.  Oscar went on to lead a near normal life and they did much of what Karen said she did with Dusty, ie. leaving doors open or closed etc.  

Have you contacted Saffy's breeder?

Wishing you lots of luck.

Louise


 

[tobycat]

Hi Lee


So sorry to hear about Saffy.  

My golden cocker girl, Scully, is blind. She has what the vet calls multi-ocular defects - although she does not have PRA.

We use an extending lead when we are in places she doesn't know or if there is traffic around (we are lucky to live where there are no cars but we do have tractors, bikes and horses!). When she is off the lead (ie in a field or on the beach) and we want her to come we call her, stamp our feet about, clap and generally keep making a noise until she locates us. Another thing we sometimes do (though not always) is to wear a small bell on my wrist so she can always hear us, but I think that as a blind dog she tends to pay more attention and listen out for us more than any of our dogs that have had normal eyesight!

She loves to play ball and we use a ball with a bell inside it. She loves to play "find it" too where we drop the ball somewhere and she sniffs around until she finds it!

We don't move the furniture if we can help it but if we do then we take her and 'show' her so that she won't just walk into it.

We never let anyone pat her without speaking her name and getting her attention first otherwise she gets really startled. And we are careful about letting other dogs rush up to her, especially ones she doesn't know.

Much of the time a stranger would not even notice there was anything out of the ordinary about her. She manages so well I don't know how she does it    I do try to treat her the same as if she was 'normal' as far as possible otherwise she is clever enough to know it! And then she plays on it BIG time!!  

She is now nearly eight years old and although she was born with cataracts so never had full vision she gradually lost what little sight she did have by the time she was about 2 years old. She has 6 monthly check ups with the vet for her eyes when he gets the opthalmascope out and has a good look around but otherwise she needs no medication. She went to an eye specialist when she was about 4 but otherwise has not had any special treatment.

If you want to ask anything or talk more then PM me anytime. I didn't know anyone who had a blind dog when we first got Scully and I would have loved someone to talk to who understood.  

 

[Jane S]

So sorry to hear about Saffy although even with a diagnosis of PRA it can sometimes take many years before a dog becomes totally blind, the deterioration is gradual and so it's easier for the dog to adjust to loss of sight. I have heard of a few cases where PRA leads to blindness more quickly but generally the loss of sight is very gradual. I often board a PRA-affected Cocker for a friend of mine & she copes brilliantly well once she realises where she is & works out where the steps, doors etc are. She will also fetch a ball, sniffing furiously along the ground until she locates it Her owner lets her off lead on walks she is familiar with as Tobycat does but on other walks, she is kept on the flexi lead (much to her disgust!). This little Cocker never stops wagging her tail & has adjusted so well to being blind, living as normal a life as poss.

You might find this website useful - it's American-based but has lots of great info.

Jane

PS As well as informing Saffy's breeder, please also let the Cocker Club Welfare Officer know (contact details here)

[cindere528]

Sorry to hear about Saffy, like others have said, that's a very young age to lose her sight.  All my Cockers have lost their sight due to old age, I always said if they were human, they would be able to wear glasses & that would help a lot  

Living with a blind dog isn't that difficult, but you have to remember not to move furniture about, and not to put obstacles in a regularly used path through a room.  My Bess who is nearly 13, has cataracts & is very nearly blind (& deaf) and Dillon, who was a rescue dog & had his age assessed at 5 (although I think he's younger) only has one eye, so in my house, furniture moving is totally forbidden.  I also have to be careful not to put things in their way and make allowances for them when they get in my way.  Walks are always on flexi leads, because Bess is nearly deaf as well as blind, she would get lost if I didn't have her on a lead.  They still enjoy life though & even Bess often has a little spring in her step when we go somewhere new for a walk.  They can get enjoyment out of new smells & sensations under their paws even if they can't see.  My first Cocker always loved flowers & when he went totally blind in his old age & he loved to go where there were flowers growing & just sniff at them.  This usually meant going to parks & I think this would be frowned upon nowadays, but it gave him enjoyment in his latter years.  

[Penel]

Very sorry to hear this - although dogs are amazing and they adapt so well.

As Louise said have you contacted her breeder - this is very important as PRA is an inherited condition.
 

[Mary P]

Hi,
My Tia only has one eye, and the only things I'd add to the above, is that she gets very cross with people surprising her on that side, and will sometimes go for them  eg people coming out of doorways out of home and kids with balls. I have her on the lead thankfully at these times.
She will also only accept a little time with bouncy puppies before she tells them off.
I'm sure you'll still have lots of great times!
Cheers,

[cbabe]

I'd like to say lucky Saffy for having such caring owners who obviously want to do the best for their little girl, and aren't going to let anything get in the way of their little girl having a fulfilling life!

Although it is sad, she will cope. We had a blind springer, jane, and she compensated by using her sense of smell! Infact she could get around the farm quite happily on her own and would move at a slow trot so she knew where she was. Her hearing deteriorated too but she always knew where people were!

As pointed out before, you will need to tell her breeder of the condition so that they can reasess their breeding plans (if any)  

[tracee]

we have a blind and deaf 15yr old cocker amber ( all due to old age ) that copes very well as long as we dount move things , and if we want her attention we use an apple sent spray which she likes so she then comes to use (as not to scare her by just walking up to her and touching her )
             she copes very well indeed
                             tracee xxx

[suzysu]

I have just read an article in Dogs Today mag (January) about a blind poodle called Higgins.  When he died - aged 15 1/2 ! - his owner wrote a diary to help other people with blind dogs.  Apparently it includes a CD rom showing Higgins coping with everyday life.

If you would like me to send you the magazine I would be happy to do that if you want to pm your address to me.

There is also a website where it gives extracts from the book and how to buy it.  The address is www.higginsdiary.com

Good luck x

[bluegirl]

We had a poodle years ago that went completely blind at the age of 9 yrs and she lived happily and virtually bump free until she was 15 1/2yrs old. As it came on gradually she was aware of her home surroundings, so we decided it would be best not to move things around and confuse her. Although we did take her in the caravan most weekends to caravan sites and as long as she had her lead on she felt safe and knew that we could be trusted to take her for a walk without hurting her. We introduced new words so that encounters like stepping off a curb to cross the road were less hazardous. We would call her name in the house and tap on the floor so she had a better idea of where we were and how far away etc.
She was fine in the garden as her sense of smell definately heightened after going blind. The only thing she couldn't understand was snow, as it covered up all the scents so if it was snowing she would just jump onto the back step and wee there!
Our dog adapted well and we adapted too, so I'm sure yours will be fine aswell!

[Lee1]

Thanks for all your advice and kind offers of help. I'm sure that as Saffy's condition deteriorates we will be asking for help for the problems she is likely to encounter.

Her condition was confirmed by an eye specialist yesterday and we immediately contacted the breeder. Jane said I should also contact the Cocker Club Welfare officer, but as we live in Melbourne, Australia, would they be interested? She is registered with the kennel club here.

Suzysu, thanks for the info. on the magazine, I'll call my mum and ask her to get a copy for me.

Saffy's condition only became apparent recently and it does explain some of her behaviour. At nighttime she barks aggressively if anyone moves or if there is a noise outside and we thought this was a dominance issue. We have another cocker, Romsey, and he never barks at us only the pigeons and possums. It was only a week or so ago, when Saffy bumped into a chair that we thought there might be a problem and arranged for her to see the vet. The vet said he thought she had PRA but referred us to an eye specialist to confirm his diagnosis. Although PRA normally affects older cockers the specialist said that he has seen cases in dogs as young as 5 months. He thinks that Saffy has had the condition for some time and that with cataracts developing in both eyes we will need 6 monthly check ups for other problems.

Thanks again for all your support, we will keep you informed of Saffy's progress and our experiences from time to time.

Lee




 

[tobycat]

Good luck Lee - keep in touch and let us know how things are going.