Helping Your Blind Dog Navigate

Dogs that go blind are especially challenged when it comes to navigating around the house. Sure, he can likely smell his food dish and find his way to it, with effort, but during the course he's apt to bump into furniture, take a wrong turn, or manage to get in the vicinity but not to the bowl.

If your dog has gone blind there are many things you can do to help him throughout each day. Your dog will count on his other senses to help him somewhat. He will develop an even keener sense of smell, touch, and hearing. These keenly-developing senses will make it somewhat easier for the dog to make his way around the house.

The first thing to remember if you have a blind dog is to limit rearranging of furniture, pet bed, food dishes and other things in the home. Even one piece of furniture, having been moved, can cause the dog trouble. The dog knows his surroundings and will be able to function without sight, so long as re-arranging doesn't throw him off-balance.

One thing that will help your dog tremendously is to have rugs leading to his favorite spots. Purchase different rugs for each spot to make it simpler for the dog to get the hang of the rug "guidance". Lay one high-pile rug that leads to his bed, a low-pile rug that leads to the back door, or a long runner-type design that the dog can follow to find his food bowl. Rugs can also help a dog determine what area of which room he is in at the time.

Dogs' noses are very sensitive and it could be very irritating to the dog to bump into many things, in the course of a day, with his sensitive nose. Helping the dog find his way around is helpful but the dog eventually needs to find his own way. If he becomes totally dependent upon you to carry him everywhere that will do the dog more harm than good. It's easy to feel sorry for a dog that has gone blind, but if you truly love him, you'll help him to learn his way around and carry on with his normal life, as much as possible.

There are other things that can help the dog to navigate throughout the home. Make sure the ritual can be year-long, though. For example, running a fan in your room may help the dog find his way to you, but won't help him in the long run, because he won't be able to use the sound of the fan as a guide to find you in winter months. A better cue for your dog would be a radio. If the sound of the radio means your bedroom door is open and he can come in, it won't take him long to learn this.

If you make coffee every morning it can help the dog find his way to the kitchen, and thus, to his food dish. Feed the dog before, during or after your morning coffee then continue the ritual. When the dog smells coffee he'll know it's time to eat and will follow the smells to the kitchen.

Aromas can help a dog tremendously. Spray vanilla, once a week, from the living room to the dog's sleeping area. The dog will learn to follow the trail, after awhile. You can use different smells to guide your dog to different areas, such as the back door or his favorite sunny spot by a window.

To prevent the dog from getting lost while you're walking him consider wearing a small bell on your sleeve or shoe. The dog will connect the ring of the bell to you and will follow the sound. Many people think that after a dog goes blind he can't carry on with his regular exercises and rituals but it's best if you let him do as many normal things as possible.