Ask Muddy
The Dog Who Knows What's Best For Him
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Blind Dog Help
HELPING YOUR BLIND DOG GET AROUND. Whether your dog arrives in your home blind, as Willie did, or becomes suddenly or gradually blind, they need to learn their way around your home so that they can have freedom of movement without your help. Whether you live in a single family home, or in a multi-unit building, they'll also need to map out the territory outside your home - your building, your yard, and, ideally, your neighborhood and local park too.
Our veterinary ophthalmologist, Dr Nancy Park, at Eye Care for Animals, in Chicago, says it's very important not to mollycoddle your blind pet. They cope extremely well with their handicap and can learn to have a full, active and enjoyable life. As this video of Willie and Tarka playing with friends in the park, on December 31, 2009, shows, Willie is living proof of this. The more time he spends off-leash in the park, the more secure he feels. In the video, Willie is the big, noisy one gallumphing around after the other dogs in a chasing game. He certainly doesn't let his blindness, or an arthritic left knee, dampen his enthusiasm.
Writing now in May, 2010, Willie has been with us over a year. Even when he first arrived, we were amazed by his self-confidence as a blind dog, though it was nothing compared to his self-assuredness nowadays. Obviously having another dog (at the time, Muddy) when he joined us was a tremendous help, as it gave him someone to follow. Willie learned his way around our house and yard very quickly, and negotiated the steps in and out of our house immediately. After two days he'd not only conquered the back porch steps we'd shown him, but had also, with Muddy's help, found the side and front porch steps as well. I actually watched Muddy help him with the front steps: Willie was standing at the top, hesitating; Muddy, down in the yard, seemed to understand Willie needed some encouragement; he walked over to the steps, put his front paws on the bottom step and looked up at Willie. Who knows what he communicated to him? Whatever it was, it worked (in fact, it was probably just his presence at the bottom of the steps, letting Willie know how far he had to go). Willie walked straight down and has never "looked" back.
PLANET DOG DOORMATS. This is another favorite of ours. You can use it as a regular doormat, or place it at the top of steps to let your blind dog know it's time to "step down". Tarka is not blind, but he likes the Planet Dog Doormat too and approves it for use by his big brother, Willie!
HELP WITH STAIRS. Willie had a little more trouble with the stairs inside the house. We barricaded the basement stairs for a while after he wandered unsupervised one day and slipped down a few steps. But our dogs sleep in the bedroom with us and we tried to encourage him to climb the stairs to the second floor. He resisted all our efforts, firmly sitting down and refusing to move if we tried to nonchalantly lead him up; he followed a trail of hot dog pieces up a few steps, but seven was his limit. One day he panicked part way up, suddenly turned and leapt all the way down. As he landed, he slid across the hardwood floor, and of course that frightened him and was a huge setback. After a few days of trying to help him, we decided he needed to work it out on his own, as he had done with the outdoor steps. Knowing that Willie loves being around us and was probably lonely by himself on the first floor at night, I got into the habit of visiting him if I woke up during the night; I was always greeted by a sleepy smile and his tail thumping on the floor. One night at 4 a.m., I came down and couldn't find him. I looked in the basement, in case he'd somehow managed to get around the barricade, but he wasn't there either. I went back upstairs, and there he was, with the same sleepy smile and tail thump, in the guest bedroom! He was so proud of himself, and spent the next few days going up and down stairs....showing off or practicing? Here's a short video of him doing that.
Nowadays there are no barricades, but we do use mats to let Willie know where the stairs are. Our favorites are the beautiful, yet practical, vinyl mats made by Chilewich, in the "Shag" style. They come in a great assortment of colors, whether your taste is for blacks and greys, neutrals or brights, and the sizes are perfect. At the top of our basement stairs we have the Utility size, 20 x 36 inches, pictured on the right. 
Willie has a tendency to get very excited in the morning, and occasionally decides to jump down the last couple of steps. Since he is such a tall, long dog, we need a bigger mat to prevent him from slipping on the hardwood floor if he decides to jump; so, at the bottom of the stairs to the second floor, we have a Big Mat, 36 x 60, shown below.
Willie has a tendency to get very excited in the morning, and occasionally decides to jump down the last couple of steps. Since he is such a tall, long dog, we need a bigger mat to prevent him from slipping on the hardwood floor if he decides to jump; so, at the bottom of the stairs to the second floor, we have a Big Mat, 36 x 60, shown below. These mats are incredibly practical: they are hard-wearing, fade- and mold-resistant, and best of all, easy to clean. Most of the time, vacuuming or a shake is all they need, but if a spill occurs, you can simply take them outside and hose them off.
In fact, you can also use them outside, and we have one at the top of our basement steps in the yard (we'll blame the snow for the bad photograph).
Below, on the left, is Willie at the top of the basement stairs (Tarka watches in the background), and, on the right, a very poor photo of his rear view going downstairs in the morning (quite calmly and carefully, for a change).
We carry Chilewich mats in our store in the Utility Mat size, 24" x 36". We can also order the Doormat (18" x 28") and the Big M at (36" x 60") if you'd prefer one of these sizes.
PLANET DOG DOORMATS. This is another favorite of ours. You can use it as a regular doormat, or place it at the top of steps to let your blind dog know it's time to "step down". Tarka is not blind, but he likes the Planet Dog Doormat too and approves it for use by his big brother, Willie! 
GETTING AROUND OUTSIDE. When Willie first came to us, he was quite cautious out on walks. He hadn't learned his way around yet, and he would sometimes run into inanimate objects. In fact, the first few days, we nicknamed him "Bonk". Sometimes he didn't trust us, and would sit down and refuse to move until he was ready (occasionally in the middle of a street, when he was confused by traffic noise around him). But we got better at guiding him, and not just with the leash: teaching him some verbal cues was extremely helpful. These days he never "plants", and he rarely hits his head. If he does have a collision, it's because I missed the fact that he was about to hit something, or he was so excited that he forgot to listen. Obviously, you can pick your own words, but these are the ones we use most.
CAREFUL! This is the most important one for Willie. It means he's about to run into something, and needs to stop, slow down or veer away. We find it essential to deliver this command in a very sharp, loud tone of voice with a sense of urgency, so that he gets the message that he needs to react quickly.
WAIT. I think this is one of the most useful cues for any dog, blind or sighted, in order to keep them safe; it means just what it says, and can be used in many different situations: going through doorways, getting out of the car, crossing the street, or while you're picking up poop, putting on your gloves, grabbing a dropped leash.....etc. It was the one word Muddy was absolutely solid on; Willie also responds very reliably, and even Tarka understands it's important to his safety and listens quite well.
SLOW. This is useful when Willie is excited and about to dash too fast downstairs, or run across a patch of ice in the park. He responds well to it. It doesn't have the urgency of "Careful!", but it reminds him to be more cautious.
STEP UP/STEP DOWN. We use this when we encounter new stairs or steps that Willie's not familiar with, and also to step off and on sidewalks as we cross the street. Willie now knows that, if he's stepped off the curb, a "Step Up" is coming, and starts high-stepping as we near the other side of the street. He's obviously learned the distance across the streets in our neighborhood, and his timing is amazingly good.
STEP: We added this for small obstacles like branches that he can step over easily. Willie actually listens very well to the person he's following, and if he hears you step over something, he starts high-stepping; but it's helpful to cue him exactly when he needs to step.
BIG STEP. We use this when we're out in the woods when Willie needs to negotiate a bigger log. Again, he will hear the person he's following step over a larger obstacle so he usually knows something's coming. When he hears BIG STEP he walks up to the obstacle, sometimes moves from side to side to figure out where it's lowest, and then hops or scrambles over.
BIG STEP. We use this when we're out in the woods when Willie needs to negotiate a bigger log. Again, he will hear the person he's following step over a larger obstacle so he usually knows something's coming. When he hears BIG STEP he walks up to the obstacle, sometimes moves from side to side to figure out where it's lowest, and then hops or scrambles over.
LEFT/RIGHT. We haven't found we need these much but they're helpful if Willie need to be guided to find a toy on the ground. Some people use the mushing commands, Gee (Right) and Haw (Left).
MAPPING. Blind dogs do this extremely well. We were amazed when, after just a few visits to our local park, Willie had learned all the obstacles - benches, picnic tables, a raised playground, trees, shrubs, and a bike rack - and managed to avoid them. He is also very familiar with the large park we go to in the mornings and runs around confidently off-leash there. Willie does very well in new places too; we go for walks in forest preserves, unfamiliar parks and on golf courses and he romps happily along, trusting me to tell him "Careful" if he needs to slow down or turn. He has been on several road trips. When we reach a new place, he walks slowly around, mapping the place in his head. Most motel room layouts are very similar, which helps! But we also stayed in private homes; in every one, he got his bearings around the house, and even learned new stairs and yards, quite easily. Willie does best when he's given the freedom to explore new places; he moves carefully so that bumping gently into walls and other obstacles doesn't hurt him (or the furniture), and memorizes the layout very quickly. Some people find it helpful to their dog to perfume rooms and doorways using different essential oils, or scented candles (unlit, of course), but we haven't found that necessary with Willie. It's also not a good idea to rearrange your furniture once your dog has mapped out his or her home, although Willie does quite well with dining chairs that get pushed into different spots, and managed to avoid the Christmas tree too.
HEARING. Willie's hearing is extraordinary and no doubt this is true of any dog that's been blind a while. He can hear sounds like a cat crossing the street 100 yards behind us, or a ball dropped by another dog in the park - and of course a kitchen cabinet door opening or a hand going into the treat pocket gets his attention immediately. He orients himself primarily by sound, as I learned one night when I put drops in his ears and then noticed that he kept running into the furniture, until his "swimmer's ear" had subsided. Solid objects obviously give him some feedback and if he's moving slowly enough he always misses them; sometimes he has trouble with things like wrought iron or chain link fences, which have too much space to warn him of the obstacle. I've tried to understand what he experiences: if you concentrate yourself as you walk past a large tree, you can sense a change in the sounds around you, and of course it's much clearer to a dog with hearing that's many times more sensitive than a human's. One thing I've had to learn is never to call Willie when there's an obstacle in between us. He is so trusting that he comes straight to me; so if there's a tree or a chair between you and your blind dog, step to one side before you call, to give him or her a clear path to you.
Too much information? Willie was a stray for a while, and the sound of rain used to make him very anxious. During the summer, if he heard rain at night, he would want to leave the bedroom and go downstairs where the sound of water on the roof wasn't so close. He's become less sensitive to that now, but we suspect he probably had some cold, wet nights when he was out on his own. But we've also noticed that rain makes him uncomfortable in other ways. When we're out on a walk, the sound of heavy rainfall is very disorienting to him. The same is true if we walk on a busy street with loud traffic noise. He doesn't appear afraid, but seems to have trouble walking in a straight line. We've concluded that the noise around him prevents him from hearing the normal sounds that he uses to guide himself, and orientation becomes more difficult. When that happens, we keep him on a shorter leash and walk beside him, instead of letting him trot out ahead as he usually does.
No cones please! After Willie was neutered, I bought a padded cone (thinking this would be better than the usual plastic e-collars from the vet), to stop him licking his incision. However, I learned that, padded or not, a cone was not a good thing for him. Because it interferes with hearing, it made him extremely disoriented and panicky. We also tried a special wide collar designed to prevent wound-licking or biting, but Willie is so long that he could still reach his stitches. Eventually some fancy "swimming trunks" - actually doggie diaper pants - did the trick. If you use this solution, you need to buy the female pants, even for boys, because the male ones don't cover the right parts! SMELL. Willie's sense of smell is also extremely acute. Tarka seems to have noticed this too. If Willie stops to sniff something that Tarka has missed, Tarka always goes back to see what it was (it must be good!). Willie seems to use scent,not to orient himself, but to find objects. He knows when there's a favorite toy on the rug or under the furniture, and will sniff his way to it; in the park he runs around with other dogs in a wide open space, and then returns to find the toy he was playing with; he knows which dog has stolen his toy too. When we get out of the car and I have two or three toys in my pockets, he knows which one he wants, and barks at me until I take out the right one and give it to him. Willie especially likes certain of his doggie friends, and if one of his favorites is on the other side of the park, he identifies them from a long distance, and dashes across to greet him or her. And he certainly sniffs out a slice of pumpkin loaf on the kitchen counter!
TOUCH. Physical contact is very important to Willie. According to Dr Park, he doesn't even see light and shadows, so his world is dark and sometimes lonely. He's very comforted by petting and grooming, and is happy to snuggle with Tarka (who also finds touch a great comfort). We love to hug Willie when he's standing: if you kneel beside him, put your arms around the base of his neck, hold him close to your chest and give him a good cuddle, he responds by leaning his weight into you and snuggling right into your body. His huge, soft, furry, lion-like mane (currently about six inches long) is wonderful to bury your face in, so these giant bear hugs feel good to everyone involved!
PLAY. Willie seemed to know nothing about play when he arrived, but Muddy was obsessed with it, especially ball play, and Willie learned quickly. My favorite video is of Willie engaging in self-play with a tennis ball, out in the park, while Muddy barks encouragement. The sheer joyful exuberance of it is heartwarming to watch. There's a link on Willie's page, but in case you missed it, here it is again. Willie, in turn, taught Tarka about toys. Tarka is naturally very playful, but didn't seem to have experienced toys before. Willie patiently showed him toys until Tarka got the idea. Willie's favorite toys are ones that make noise, whether balls or stuffed animals, and he's quite destructive when he finds one he likes, so we're going through Muddy's old toy box quite rapidly (Muddy was not a chewer). For some of Willie's favorites, see our Toys page. We've found that if you throw a ball quite hard so that it bounces along the ground, Willie can hear it and will chase it quite a long way. Willie wrestles gently and plays tug-o'-war (less gently) with Tarka, and he also joins in chasing and keep-away games with other dogs in the park.
TOYS. Please refer to our Toys page. All the toys we recommend and sell are good for blind dogs: they either make noise (squeak or grunt), or have a strong minty scent, and Willie can find them easily. We find he plays more and more with toys, and now, when we go to the park, he starts barking at me as soon as we get out of the car, until I give him the toy he wants. He knows which ones I have in my pockets and he knows which one he wants: he discards the rejects and keeps barking until he gets the right one. It's quite annoying!
TOYS. Please refer to our Toys page. All the toys we recommend and sell are good for blind dogs: they either make noise (squeak or grunt), or have a strong minty scent, and Willie can find them easily. We find he plays more and more with toys, and now, when we go to the park, he starts barking at me as soon as we get out of the car, until I give him the toy he wants. He knows which ones I have in my pockets and he knows which one he wants: he discards the rejects and keeps barking until he gets the right one. It's quite annoying!
If you asked Willie, he probably wouldn't consider his blindness a handicap at all!
OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION.
Book:
Living with Blind Dogs by Caroline D Levin, has a wealth of information, ranging from background on various forms of canine blindness, to useful advice on helping your blind dog and teaching him or her the new skills needed. Click on the image below to buy it from Amazon.
Online:
Blinddogs.net is an excellent site offering advice, tips, resources, and a support board to share information, as well as plenty of encouraging and heartwarming stories about blind dogs.
Blinddogs.com is a similar site, also providing good information and resources.
There is also a Yahoo Groups message board for owners of blind dogs, where members ask and answer questions and share information about blind dogs.
