HOW DO I DEAL WITH A BLIND PET?
If you woke up tomorrow and couldn't see, you would eventually adjust to
being blind and learn where things are in your house. Your pet too will learn
where everything is and will adjust to your house and yard if given time. Here
are some ideas that will help you and your pet adjust to its blindness sooner.
1. Your pet doesn't need to be put to sleep just because it is blind.
2. Don't re-arrange your furniture if your pet is mostly indoors. If your
pet is an outdoor pet, don't plan major landscape projects!
3. If you have a hot tub or pool, a cover or barrier is necessary. Your pet
could fall into the water, not find the sides and drown.
4. Don't let your pet play in traffic. If you have an outdoor pet and no
fence, please check into an "invisible fence".
5. If you live in a house or an apartment with a balcony, be sure that your
pet cannot walk between the vertical supports and fall to the ground. If
necessary, plexiglass should be applied or the vertical supports modified to
prevent your pet from getting through.
6. Feed your pet and keep its water dish in exactly the same place each and
every day. Also, try to have your pet sleep in the same area on a routine basis.
These areas will then become reference sites if your pet becomes disoriented.
7. If your pet gets disoriented, take him/her to its bed or food bowl. This
will be a land mark that will re-orient your pet.
8. Put your chair back under the table after meals. Things that are left out
will cause your pet to bump and lead to disorientation.
9. Until your pet learns about stairs, you will need to place a barrier to
prevent him/her from falling down the stairs. The same is true for stair
landings.
10. Most clients remark that going up and down stairs is the most difficult
of all things to "re-learn". Be patient, your pet is trying to do its
best.
A woman who contacted me via
the internet gave this wonderful idea for blind cats: "My cat recently went
blind. Fortunately, we have a large screened-in porch where he can spend nice
hours. Since cats are nocturnal and I know "Bear" paces late at night,
I place treats in different places as a nighttime surprise -- a kitty treat in
his favorite box top, where he likes to snooze; another kitty snack on the path
to his litter box.... and so on. I like to think of him at three in the morning,
having a sudden and happy surprise. Thought you might want to add this to your
page. Thanks, again. >Tanya" Tanya, we thank you!
Another client, Nancy, gave these ideas: "Just
wanted to add some ideas for you on blind dogs that I know work. Dogs noses can
be put to use to help them 'see' things in the home. Using spices or aerosol
sprays one can mark things in the house with which dogs can orient themselves.
Lysol spray for example on the dangerous cellar step entry spot, cinnamon around
the sides of the foot stool that gets moved around. A scent up the inside/wall
side of a staircase, across door ways or tops of stair cases etc. A light trail
of something from dog bed to doggy water and food dishes helps too. If you use a
unique scent for each spot or trail (keep a list of what you used where in case
you need to renew it), and it can be done very lightly so as not to offend any
humans, the dog can literally nose its way around a home. One man even did a
trail out the dog door and around the yard and back and his blind cocker used
the dog door went out and pottied and came in tail wagging back to his owner for
the first time since the sudden onset of blindness. Bells on shoes or slippers
make moving people more 'visible' to the dog too. A 'stiff' leash can be made by
running a lead through some light PVC pipe and knotting it either end to give
the owner a better way to guide a dog on a walk with a more controlled 'leash'
direction." Thanks, Nancy!
Some time ago, I was contacted by a gentleman in Britain, Dave Higham, who has a
6-year old, Jack Russell Terrrier pup who had developed loose lens in both eyes
(unfortunately as Jack Russell Terrier's do), had surgery, then developed
glaucoma and finally went blind. The pup had trouble navigating around, bumping
into everything. The client developed the unique harness shown on the next
pages. (The images are about 100 Kbytes each so I set it up to see only those
that are of interest.)
To see Dave's harness off the pup, click here: 
It is made from a metal strip from a curtain valance track (the valance is
the small "curtain" that hides the top of the full curtain) which is
bent and "pop riveted" to the pup's harness. Pretty unique, huh!
To see how the pup looks with the harness on, click here:
To see the dog viewed from the side, click here:
To see the pup from the "top down", click here:
I offer this as a unique and wonderful way to allow our furry friends to
have mobility and yet not smash into things and injure themselves!
Thank's Dave for this wonderful idea! An internet "client" modified the harness for Duke 
Have any questions on this subject? Contact
Dennis Hacker via E-mail:
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Cerrito, CA. * All Rights Reserved