Hopefully Helpful Tips
The first thing is —
DON’T PANIC.
You will be surprised at how well a blind dog will cope their other senses really coming into their own as well as his hearing and smell, he also recognises surfaces by touching them with his paws, quite amazing really. Try not to pander to your pooch as it is more confidence building for him to learn. He’ll turn the Ahhhhh factor totally to his advantage and you’ll end up doing everything for him. It also ruins their confidence, the more they do the better they get at coping.
House training can be a bit of an issue if, like Bailey you think that because you can feel the fresh air on your nose you must be outside and not just stood on the doorstep with your face out the door!!
I got around this by mopping up his wee with an old tea towel and putting it far enough outside that he had to go all the way out to smell it, I kept taking him out to the towel at the usual times he would wee, after meals, a decent sleep etc and sure enough it didn’t take long for him to go to his scent. You must remember to poop scoop after every motion as he goes to the same spot over and over and will walk in his mess.
Stairs are another major issue, a baby or doggie gate at the bottom ensures he won’t go bump in the night! Bailey has now mastered the stairs but it took a while for him to be able to come down them.
One of the biggest problems I’ve come across so far is Bailey gets his confidence from me which is great that he trusts me so much but can be a problem when I’m in the kitchen so I just put a blanket on the floor a safe distance from the cooker and keep taking him to it and saying ‘away’ it’s slowly working. A cage would be useful for smaller dogs at such times. He gets very stressed if he doesn’t know where I am so I can’t shut him in another room.
Because of his past he has issues with stern voices—he just gets more loving and scared and likewise with kind words he get more loving and excited and having a dog his size trying to climb on your knee is not funny, I try and keep a neutral voice when telling him what to do. I use the away command and lead him to his bed when he’s slobbering all over me and wanting some loving
Always put his food and water in the same place, he will quickly make a mental map of your house and know exactly where everything is. A water fountain is recommended as the sound of trickling water will let them know where it is but Bailey must drink a bucket of water a day and my house just isn’t big enough, he’s managing fine without one.
Bailey now navigates the coffee table without a problem. Leave his bed in the same place and he will use these as navigational aids to ‘put him back on the map’ so to speak. Bailey often prowls around then goes to his bed, starts again and gets where he wants to be. Any moved furniture must be shown to him, my house has never been so tidy.
When it’s safe to do so I still let him run around off lead, Any conscientious dog owner would keep a close eye on their dog so if he goes anywhere he shouldn’t I tell him to be careful or recall him. He’s quickly learnt the difference between paths and grass, he goes loopy on grass but stops and walks calmly as soon as he feels the path under his paws.
I’ve taught him to be ‘careful’ by leading him at small obstacles i.e dips in the ground, dykes etc and keep repeating ‘careful’ as he sniffed them and worked out how to overcome them. He now slows right down and creeps up to find whatever it is I’m telling him to be ‘careful’ at. He’s also learning to ’follow me’ and I lead him through gates etc he now sticks his nose up my bum until I say ’go play’.
You can use whatever command you want, the way I work them out is to watch him go to an obstacle and remember what I instinctively call out, repeat it 2-3 times when he comes across something he needs to take it steady at to see which word comes out naturally the most so you’re not having to think about which command you need to use. Sausages will do just as well as long as you and he knows what it means. Also remember you may have to shout it in the park and around children.
It sounds like a lot of commands but you get used to them and I now say them without thinking about it.
I’ve put a couple of bells on a clip which I attach to his lead so when he’s off lead the bells jingle and he can work out where I am. You can use anything that makes a noise, I only used bells as I had them as xmas decorations. So if you’re ever out walkies and you hear bells jingling it may not be Santa coming to check up on you to see if you’ve behaved this year!!
My other two dogs weren’t quite sure what to do with Bailey as he kept walking into and over them especially Kiara as she’s bigger, she got quite upset with him initially and snapped a bit but after 10 days or so she’s worked out something’s not quite right with him, she now makes funny grumbly noises at him so he knows where she is, she’s become his eyes so to speak and he follows her every where. Kiara’s even worked out how to play hide and seek with him by just dropping down into the long grass and waiting, Bailey eventually tracks her with his nose and she pounces on him!!
Poppy’s not really bothered one way or the other as long as I’m here she doesn’t care, I have had to give in and let her on the sofa as he keeps standing on her!!
Try and go walkies in the same place as they soon get to know it and can relax a lot more and get on with enjoying themselves. Although I do take him other places too so he can learn and not be scared of strange places and noises.
Be careful when putting him in the car and hold him at arms lengths until the boot / door is open. Baileys bounced of the boot lid a few times ifI haven't been quick enough!! I now get him to sit and wait until it's ok for him to jump in!!
Most of all it’s just trial and error, I’m very lucky on two counts, the first being Bailey is responsive and eager to learn, the second being Brian from Dog Whispers they’ve not only come up with some great training tips they’ve also given me more confidence with him too. Sometimes I could cry at how far he’s come in the 3 weeks I’ve had him, he’s just changed so much but mostly he’s just really happy and that makes it all worthwhile.
