How do you raise a blind puppy?

[WoodlandWoman]

That is really great to hear. You're doing a wonderful job with him.

 

[Julie R]

Well as far as the blind issues goes I really cant say I have had to raise an animal like that, but I can say I live with a dog that is handicapped and I would not give her up for the whole world. Dixie is a beagle/bassett mix and is 4 years old. When we got " doo " she was normal happy go lucky pup ,but when she was about 2 years old we were out of town and " doo " got out and went for a walk , from what witness have told us a group of teenagers found her and thought it would be fun to kick her to death, when they got done she was left in the gutter broken and hurting - we rushed her to the vet to find she had head injury, pelvis broken on both sides and a front leg with major nevre damage - it took 4 months to get her to stand and another 3-4 months to be able to lead a " normal" life - she lost use of front leg for good and her back legs and hips never healed right so she walks/runs funny but she is alive and healthy and happy and went on to be the mother of 10 beautiful and healthy puppies a few years later ( of course she had to have c-section due to her hips ) but all puppies were born healthy and happy and one is still here with us,a happy puppy who is a beagle/basset/boxer mix named Jake-jake.
So just because the puppy is blind they can lead a very full happy life - just ask my crippled dog !!!

Julie R

 

[Bubba]

Instead of using flea dip have you thought of adding chlorine to a kiddie pool for him? Labs LOVE water even a blind one would be in heaven playing in it. We used to raise purebreed labs. As long as they had access to a pool with chlorine in it we never had a problem with fleas or ticks....

Bubba

PS Of course plz be careful when you measure out, add the chlorine and let the water mature before he plays in it.

 

[AccidentalFarm]

Bubba-
I've never heard of doing this. How much chlorine would you add to a kiddie pool so as not to make it harmful if the pup decided to drink it?

 

[AccidentalFarm]

Just an update-

The pup (now named Blaze) is doing great. Still blind, and the vet didn't have much to say other than the pup being otherwise nice and healthy. He seems to be getting along well. I notice that when he is coming in or going out the front door, he starts 'high-stepping', like he knows the step is there, but not exactly where. This tells me he is memorizing the layout of the house. He still loves to go outside, but is getting used to being inside, as well. He knows the squeak of the screen door, so he runs up to it anytime it is opened. I guess that means we will have to live with the squeaky door now. LOL.

The other dogs now have bells or extra tags on their collars, so that each one makes a different 'jingle' and Blaze can tell them apart. None of them seem to have buddied up with him, but I think that's alright. He's learning much more quickly than I had thought he would.

Thanks everyone for the help.

"Blaze N Guns N Glory" (AKC reg. name- after his parents) otherwise known as our lovable little "Blaze"

 

[kansas_twister]

last night i went to close the new tool box on the back of my truck , i druged the old one off the truck yesterday and left it beside the truck.....my faithful aussie shep(a 2 year old named blue) ran out the door with me, and headed for the truck with me, i don't know how it happend but what happend next but it knocked off about 10 years off my life.
i had my back turned away from him and i could hear him running around, we had just mowed the lawn and we think that messed him up a little but as i was winding up the spot light and putting it back in the tool box when i herd a big thuddddd, wheel around only to find blue laying on the floor out cold.....

blue had run in to my old truck box, after screaming at the top of my lungs my DD come out with shot gun in hand (the way i was screaming he thought we were under attack) only to find that blue had once again ran in to some thing but this was the first time he was out cold. we sat with blue untill he came around and we taged teamed it the rest of the night with blue ( my husband think's my dog is a idoit) to make sure he was ok.
blue has been blind since birth, his mother was bred back to his brother and hense we have blue, this was not told to us untill after we bought him, blue adapts very well to new thing's if you take the time to show him, we park our trucks in the same area all the time so he remembers not to run in to them which he does once in a while. blue might sound like a mess but my daughter uses him for her 4-h dog project ( just showmanship) and he does very well at that althoug he think's class is a puppy play time and will get out of hand once in a while........but that's blue.

as for fleas, we use table salt..... if you spead it on the floor for a hour then vaccum it up the fleas tend to stick to that and we use teatree oil (put it in a spray bottle) and spray that on to dogs and cat's.

 

[MarkR]

We had a blind setter for a while. The big rule was, don't move the furniture without guiding her/him through the new arrangement a few times first. Same with moving into any new environments.

Mark

 

[Southern28Chick]

I've always heard that blind people and animals have stronger senses than if they can see. You know like smell, touch and taste. I know that my blind pullet has a stronger sense of touch. As a small chick she found her way around the brooder by walking against the walls and pecking the walls, when she bumped into something she would put her beak down to see if it was a feeder or waterer. She finds her way back into the chicken house at night (sometimes) by hearing the other chicks making noises. There have been nights when I went out to put her in the house and she's already in there. And she's ALWAYS on a roost at night, not because I put her on it...she won't let me. She get on there herself.

I'm sorry your puppy is blind but I'm sure he'll do just fine.

 

[AccidentalFarm]

Blaze is really amazing to watch. He is moving into his 3rd week of blindness. When he is in familiar surroundings, he has all the confidence of a sighted puppy. When he is in an unfamiliar room of the house, or even the backyard, he moves slowly and lifts his paws quite high with each step. He will only pick up the pace in unfamiliar territory if I am speaking to him from directly ahead of him. I guess he knows I wouldn't lead him into a dangerous place. I am constantly awed by this little guy. I tried walking through my own house the other day with my eyes closed and it really wasn't as easy as I expected it would be. Then I tried it outside...no way!
I'm trying hard not to baby him or reinforce his fears of new places or sounds, but it is definitely a difficult thing to watch him bump into things or stand somewhere looking lost and confused. I think by letting him figure out what to do when in situations like that is going to help him in the long run. Of course, I watch him and don't let him get into dangerous situations and if he does seem very afraid, I talk to him and lead him in the right direction. I'm really trying to train myself to allow him the opportunity to rely on and trust his other senses. It seems an easier task for him than me.

Kansas_twister- is there a specific ratio of tea tree oil and water that you use or do you use it full strength? That's a great idea, btw, because tea tree oil helps to heal any bites and scratches and such, too.

 

[AccidentalFarm]

Quote:
Oh my goodness! I hadn't even considered what it would be like to have a blind chicken. Bless her heart- she sounds like a brave little soul!