My dog is suddenly blind. Please help!

[Buttercupmoon]

Hi all. My gorgeous girl has suddenly lost her sight. We have an appointment with the opthalmologist on Monday but I am wondering if any experienced owners here can offer any tips to help me look after her. I am devastated and feel sick with worry watching her bump look so lost. I have a 1 year old too and want to find a way to give her a safe space away from him now she can't see him coming. Please help with any advice. Thank you in advice.

How about fencing off part of a room for her - one near you so she can hear you nearby. Use chairs/baby gate/playpen if you can, or a crate. Be very careful of toddler interactions with her - she’ll be feeling vulnerable and may be in pain, so is more likely to snap or react badly to a normal toddler action that she normally ignores. It might be better to keep the baby away from her altogether.

My Labrador was blind for two thirds of his life. It really is we owners who suffer.p more than the dog. Put a houseline on her and lead her round all the rooms in your house where she normally goes. I would stop her going upstairs for now, putting a barrier across. Do it slowly and a couple of times a day and allow her to sniff her way round. She will form entirely reliable mindmaps. My dog remembered our house (including two flights of stairs), our new house, three different holiday cottages and rarely ran into anything. It only happened if something was out of place or some noodle sat with their legs stretched out. Make sure doors are open fully or closed, so she doesn't walk into the edge. That was a tip from a blind human! Your dog will adapt very quickly but you will shed buckets of tears at what she is missing and grief for the life she should have had. But you and she can do this together.

Our previous cat went suddenly blind, but it is incredible how well they adapt in a relatively short space of time. They start to use their other senses much more, and our cat could even sense air pressure and used it to avoid walking into things.

What the vet told us was to try and keep all the furniture in the same place, and don't leave things lying about for them to blunder into. We were also advised to accompany them when outside, as they are vulnerable to attack by other animals and can't defend themselves (more relevant for a cat though).

My dog lost his sight (albeit gradually) at the age of three, he's now 12 and lives life to the full on the farm - he will happily take himself off for a walk (and even chase cats!). Sight is a dog's third sense after smell and hearing so they do adapt very quickly. Use your voice a LOT, use words such as 'careful' when she's approaching an obstacle but do allow her to make mistakes - it's how she will learn. Dogs heads are much stronger than ours!

I would keep her completely separate from your one year old. She could snap at or bite your DC if your DC accidently startles her.

What type of dog is she?

I think you can use (safe) essential oils, so always use scent 1 for doorways, scent 2 for things they'll bump into etc. I think it's also recommended to not move furniture around if you don't have to. Also use noises/bells/clapping for when you want to get her attention.

Have you seen the 'halo' harnesses?

I've got no experience in them at all but saw a dog with one on in a video. Might be worth investigating.

muffinshalo.com/

We put wind chimes beside the back door, our old fella would turn himself around sometimes in the garden and get stuck.
Admittedly I didn't know it was such a contentious issue at the time. still would