vireyda Posted November 21, 2015 Report Share Posted November 21, 2015 Hello, I'm new here and recently adopted a border collie from a shelter who is about 1 and a half years old. He's partially blind (not a lot of forward vision, eyes always dilated fully) and more peripheral vision. Our vet said the condition was likely hereditary. Can anyone direct me to some good books, threads etc where I might find information on how best to care for him? Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvmycash Posted November 21, 2015 Report Share Posted November 21, 2015 Aw, thanks for adopting him!! Blind dogs aren't too hard in my opinion. I have a lab that's blind in one eye and have had dogs that were mostly blind in the past. They adapt so well that most of the time you can't even tell. Generally just keep the layout of your home as consistent as you can and limit or close off obstacles. (Stairs, etc) I try to talk to them first before I pet them, just so I don't startle them. Also try to keep other dogs from climbing all over them. You don't want them to become defensive anytime there is another dog near them. Someone else might have some good links for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aschlemm Posted November 21, 2015 Report Share Posted November 21, 2015 I don't have any links to share but I had a blind cat for 16 years and currently own a blind horse. You are a great person for adopting him!!!!! In my experience once a blind animal adjusts to being blind and has a person to trust things fall into place. Just consider things from his point of view and you'll do fine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vireyda Posted November 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 Please don't think too well of me, my partner and I didn't realize he was blind until several hours after we got him home and it became apparent he wasn't just excited and running into things.You really can't tell he can't see much until you've been around him for a little while. He's so smart and good at navigating through his other senses. He's perfect for us, we just unfortunately don't know how to be perfect for him yet since neither of us have had a border collie or a visually impaired pet before He's really a wonderful sweet dog though. We've had him just a few weeks now and he's so cuddly and playful all of the time. We just keep running into problems where we go "DUH! Should have done that days ago to stop x problem" and we would love to head off more problems so we can keep him happy and safe at the same time. Thanks for the advice so far and if anyone has a link or a book suggestion please post! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Coyote Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 Make sure he can'take walk thru the slats and off the deck. You can use aromatic oils to let them know they are close to stairs or other dangerous areas. One of my customer's wrapped all sharp-edged with towels so if the dog ran into them it wouldn't hurt itself. Once adjusted they do pretty well. You just have to watch out for them and make sure they aren't somewhere they can walk off into space. Dogs have such a good sense of smell that they learn to use that instead of their sight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 Senses of smell, hearing, touch (their feet can be very sensitive to surfaces), and spatial awareness all come together to help the blind or visually-impaired dog. As pointed out, avoid situations where your dog (who is very lucky to have you) would be prone to fall or get trapped. While dogs do use their eyes a lot, they also do rely heavily on smell and hearing naturally. We had a dog that was shot by a hunter and sustained a bad concussion from the wad of the shotgun shell. He lost much of his sight and did well without it for many years - in fact, if you did not know, it was hard to tell that he had poor to no vision as he aged. He even continued to work cattle very effectively, was a hiking and biking trail buddy for our daughter, and had an amazing ability to know where he was and proceed with confidence. Very best wishes to you three! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denice Posted November 23, 2015 Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 I do believe there is a book, something like "Living with a blind dog" Have not read it. I do remember talking to someone years ago and them mentioning they put a certain scent on legs of furniture ect and the dog learned to navigate around things. Good luck - Dogs are so adaptable and other senses so acute I bet he adjusts quickly. The hard part for me would be anticipating potential problem since people are so visual Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted November 23, 2015 Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 The hard part for me would be anticipating potential problem since people are so visual Yeah. Blind dogs do so much better than people expect them to because they simply don't rely on sight as much as we do. That's not to say that it's not an important sense for them, but it's not as important an information gathering sense for dogs as it is for humans. and we just don't have as nearly as acute smell and hearing as dogs do, which they rely on much more than we do. I'm thrilled you're not put off by the dog's being vision impaired and that you're looking into ways to do the very best by him, but I think you'll find it's pretty manageable. Enjoy him! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Coyote Posted November 23, 2015 Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 I took care of one young blind pug and it was amazing how well she got along. She ran out back with the other dogs and went down the stairs to the back yard. And she got along really well in the house. You had to be careful not to open doors or cabinets because she would run into them. She learned to jump up on the couch by rubbing along it and feeling the cushions before she jumped up. It was amazing really. I have had some older dogs that went blind who had a harder time of it. They would get turned around and get confused and then panic. But I would just grab their collar and get them going the right direction. But they also had hearing problems so that made it harder for them. And I have one customer with a deaf, blind dachshund that was the result of a merle breeding. And it is amazing how well she does. And she is just such a happy dog. I couldn't believe it. But her owner is very careful with her. She makes sure she isn't anywhere near steps or any place she could fall off. And she always stays in her crate when she is alone. She likes to push her blankets all over the place. We always keep her on an extension leash when she is out in the yard and she just runs and jumps and is so joyful out there. I also had an old blind, deaf min pin that loved to push her blankets all over the place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfreda Posted November 25, 2015 Report Share Posted November 25, 2015 http://www.amazon.com/Living-With-Blind-Dogs-Low-Vision/dp/0967225345 I believe this is the book mentioned above.... looking forward to seeing Lori Anderson's new film, The Heart of a Dog --I guess it is, in part, about her dog Lula Bell who went blind... they got her a piano... :-) Your dog sounds like a sweet heart and a fun one :-) I hope you'll post some pics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vireyda Posted December 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 I haven't quite figured out how to post pictures directly, but that's Buddy in my profile picture. He's missing a good bit of hair at the moment from where we had to cut out burrs and tangles. Wow to everyone who has shared about dogs they've known who were blind. I can't believe one could still even herd. So far we've mainly learned not to walk him over hollow places (manhole covers, bridges) and he's taking really well to directional commands. I'm ordering the book above. Hopefully we'll get some good advice from it. Thank you everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teresaserrano Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 I once had a dog that went blind at 7 yo. She lived till 12. The first few years she did all right, appart from me having to be carefull when walking her as if I got distracted about something on her path she would bump into it. But not right at the beginning, for a few years she would control the space around her very well. And when she bumped into my other dog she would pick a fight, as if it was the other dog's fault, so I had to manage that carefully. She never much liked her space being invaded and then she couldn't control the fact that she was the one doing the space invasion. When she got old she would get disoriented easily. Once I took her leash off at the beach thinking it was about the only place she could run a bit off leash as there where no obstacles. So she went straight to the sea and started swimming towards the horizon. I called her and she sure heard me as she started swimming faster. Towards the horizon. She had a great recall but couldn't understand where I was. I was beggining to think about taking off my clothes and swimming after her when she finally turned around and swam back ashore. I think it was the last time I let her off leash, afterwards I always used a long line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katilea Posted May 2, 2016 Report Share Posted May 2, 2016 My old girl went blind. She did ok as we'd lived here for years by then and she knew where everything was and walks. She had cataracts so as her sight got worse I did notice her losing interest in some toys she had enjoyed before (interactive puzzle toys where pieces were too small) or they didn't hold as much interest cos she couldn't see anything. I started a Pinterest page to find toys for her and ideas for games https://uk.pinterest.com/katilea9/toys-for-blind-vi-dogs/ She got the Buster Activity Mat for xmas which was a great hit as she could play it laying down and JJ (my younger collie) enjoyed playing with her on it too (though it wasn't his 'main present' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katilea Posted May 2, 2016 Report Share Posted May 2, 2016 I loved the story of The Wily Sheepdog too, just shows how intelligent collies are and how well they can compensate http://www.bordercollierescue.org/dogs/Case%20Histories/WilySheepdog.html And Chica the amazing collie in US who has radar like senses and runs round her farm without hitting anything even though she has no eyes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vireyda Posted May 3, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2016 I loved the story of The Wily Sheepdog too, just shows how intelligent collies are and how well they can compensate http://www.bordercollierescue.org/dogs/Case%20Histories/WilySheepdog.html And Chica the amazing collie in US who has radar like senses and runs round her farm without hitting anything even though she has no eyes! Wow. That's a great story at Border Collie Rescue "The Wily Sheepydog", and seeing Chica in action was cool. Buddy is very much like that. Once he knows his space, he's totally happy and unencumbered. He likes exploring, going on hikes as well, but he tires a lot faster from being more tense as he moves. We went on a hike in the Organ Mountains recently where there were rock stairs and scrambles and he just webbed out his paws and high stepped to make sure he didn't hit things. On the way back down I would go first noisily and then direct him, and then he would follow me down. He liked that less though. We have learned to really watch him though, because he fakes not being tired for a while, so it's easy to wear him out. If he sits down unexpectedly at any point we just go ahead and assume he's done for the day now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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