Aging OES
Any suggestions? |
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| Hi Paul,
Welcome to the forum! I'll give you my own experiences regarding aging sheepies and loss of eyesight and what helped in my case. Shaggy, my previous OES lived to age 15 and had diminishing eyesight by that age. As she neared the backdoor to go out I placed a bell hanging on a string and she learned to nudge it (actually just going near that area her body would cause the bell on a string to sway and I could hear the chime). Another thing that helped enormously is: I installed motion lights on the backporch and moonray solar lights in the backyard. You probably have noticed your boy has very limited vision after nightfall (if he is not completely blind). The motion lights and solar lights helped quide her way in the yard when she needed to go out for potty breaks in the evenings. As my fence has much scrubbery surrounding it I suspect Shaggy learned the perameters of the yard regarding the different textures of various scrubs to help give her an indication of her location. In your case, I may try hanging bells just before the fence line...your boy will eventually know that the sound indicates the fence is near. Or it could be that the scrubs gave off different smells again giving her an indication of her location in the yard. Perhaps take your boy on a lead and walk the perameter of your yard and let him sniff and should he mark his "territory" with urine that would help too. Not sure how big your yard is! Blue, my current 17 year old Blue Heeler Lab is now getting weak eyesight at nightfall and he too is quided by the lights. I suspect unless they are totally blind they will be able to see the bright glows. Lastly, although it may not be feasible in your case , I viewed numerous situations including that of my own dogs where they naturally assist one another. When Shaggy's eyesight began to fail - Blue would quide on our walks. Now that his own eyesight is diminishing my younger dog , Merlin appears to bark at him and retrieves him should Blue wander about the yard while on potty breaks in the middle of the night. They do learn to become accustomed to their disabilities although we can help them make it easier. I'm sure others will also offer their opinions as to what worked in their case. Hope I helped somewhat and please keep in touch and let us know how your boy is doing. This is a friendly place and we all try to help each other out with advice and suggestions. Marianne and the boys |
| Hey Everyone!
I know there are lots of knowlegable people out there that may contribute their own advice or experience with aging dogs ..anyone else? Marianne and the boys |
| We had the first sunny weekend in several weeks. The brightness seemed to make a difference so I tied his hair back so his "bangs" couldn't create a shadow over his eyes. Although he is completely blind in one eye, he seems to see at least shadow and light with the other.
We played with him outside and he avoided objects in his way. After observing this I am planning a new hair style for him and my husband is making sure all the overhead lights are on when he is in the garage with him. There are flood lights in several places around the house and yard that we rarely use, but will start using when he goes out at night. I know eventually we will be back where we have been the last couple of weeks, but we want him to enjoy being himself for as long as possible. Paula |
| A new hairstyle may be just what he needs! I'm glad he is able to see shadows a little bit. My Mom's Tibetan Terrier has been blind now for about 2 yrs. I know how difficult this must be for you. As you know, you need to be a little bit more patient as things take more time now than they used to. These are a few things that Mom has done to assist:
1. Put a baby gate up so that Pandy wouldn't fall down the stairs to the lower level. 2. Walked on a much shorter leash and walks closer to her. Pandy seems more comfortable when she can feel a leg near her side to guide her. 3. Talks to her even more (if that's possible) and tells her everything now. Including tell her when Mom goes into another room so Pandy doesn't get frightened or can try to find her. 4. Many more area rugs on the floors in case of a middle of the night potty accident. I hope these suggestions might help. I apologize for not responding sooner.XOXOXO |
| Thanks Stacy,
I am sure we will get through this. My biggest concern was that he didn't even slow down. He just acted as if nothing was different, until he would run into something full speed! He is learning to be a little more cautious now. |
| Hi Again,
Stacy those were great suggestions. I now remember Shaggy felt more comfortable on our walks if she sensed me close to her...her body always touching my leg. On walks with myother dog, Blue,...their bodies would touch as they walked side by side. The one thing that absolutely terrified me one night (before I got the motion detectors) was Shaggy asked to go out at 3 am, this was in the winter time. I waited....then became concerned as she was taking a long time. I put my shoes on and went outside to check. She had fallen in the fishpond and was thrashing about , unable to get out. I jumped in and lifted her out, both of us soaked ..middle of the night...winter..brrrrrrr. She also fell down the indoor stairs leading to the front door - I installed baby gates after that incident. Another time, one piece of my fence fell down and she stuck her head through and couldn't get out. I went out to investigate and stepped on the fence board that had fallen ..rusty nail sticking straight up..owww! A tetnus shot later and now adamant that I wouldn't let her outside in the evenings to do her business unless I was right there. Too many dangers as stepping on that nail.. showed I too could get into trouble in a dark yard. 
After that, I installed the lights as I had just assumed she knew her way around the yard not to step in the pond. (I still get the willies about that event). I also covered the pond with heavy duty mesh so there was no way she'd fall in. You may not have a pond but be aware of large tubs of water, rain barrells , that sort of thing, or any other dangers which they may not be able to get out of with their diminishing eyesight. Glad to hear your boy is adjusting better and think you made the right choice with a new hairstyle too. Best wishes to you and keep us posted on any new things you come up with, as it's always good to pass along your experience too. Marianne and the boys |
| I've had experience with blind dogs. Carefully check the entire yard for dangers (Marianne's pond for example) but also things he can get stabbed or cut on. Look for grade changes. It may be he will be more comfortable in a smaller area that is safe. If outside, does he have a place to hide? My St. Bernard would seek a quiet, dark area when he'd get confused. We had an overly large dog house for him.
Always talk to the dog to let him know where you are. Currently I have a male Pyr with one eye and that one is failing now too. If I have to walk around him or over him, I always announce myself. I call him back indoors at night with a flash light. Once I get his attention, I can lead him along with the light spot. (that way I don't have to go get him,  ) |
| Thank you both again for suggestions and support. Yes our yard is pretty safe, although we have a very large deck that is only a foot off the ground. He uses it as a guide walking from the garage to the back yard. But once on the deck he frequently walks off of the edge. He doesn't fall down, but kinda stumbles onto the sidewalk.
My husband was able to rearrange the garage some this last weekend  so Bailey has a clear shot from the back yard to the door that leads into the house without any obstacles and he has a bed in the garage as well. He really loves being outside with Kim (my husband) and the bed gives him a safe haven when he is tired of dealing with our young dobe. She joined our family three months ago and Bailey let her know right off that the garage is HIS room. When he tires of playing with her he goes in the garage and growls if she sticks her head in. She will sit at the door and wait for him, sometimes yipping her displeasure. As the sun goes down he allows her to come in and cuddle. |
| I really like your new avatar. Your story about the pups snuggling in the garage after the dobe was invited in is very cute. At least I know that this is now acceptable dog behavior. Before our new pup, I would've yelled at Annie for being "mean". Us humans are so dumb! |
| Welcome to the forum
How'd I miss this post?? Stacy and Marianne gave some wonderful advice! I'm still learning so I appreciate any info I can get my hands on!
While Kaytee is not an old dog (she's almost 1 1/2 years now), she is mostly blind... her right eye never developed right and is white and the other looks more normal but it too didn't form properly. We think she can possibly see some shadows. She has a cataract and the eye has been known to cloud. Her 9 week puppy pic- http://www.pomeroys.com/EmmaDarby/Kaytee/index2.htm It sounds like your sheepie-boy is doing very well with this new challenge That is a definite plus right there. Please know that dogs have the ability to map out their surroundings and that vision is NOT their most important sense. The eye specialist down at Michigan State University stressed these facts. I know it hurts you when your sheepie-boy walks or runs into something but it is part of the process of relearning his surroundings. A few of the things we do...
We have a few words we use- careful, slow and WATCH IT!!! Open or close doors ALL the way. It needs to be a conscious effort on the part of the uprights to do this or he will walk/run into it. (ouchie- been there) My living room is hard to rearrange so now I have a reason to keep the furniture in the same location . I wouldn't move the furniture around for a while... until he's comfortable with the layout. After a while you might be able to change it IF you bring him in to "show" him the changes and repeat several times. We had to put a plastic baby fence up a few days ago around an area we re-seeded. I took Kaytee out and repeated the word "careful" which is her word something is different and she needs to watch out. She has run into it a couple of times while flying out the back door but we now just say "careful" and she swings way out around it.
If you have any stairways that could be dangerous, be sure the door is kept closed. One thing that can be a challenge is teaching a blind dog to trust you about "stepping down" the stairs. It's a command that is best taught with lots of treats, encouragement and patience. Kaytee was born mostly blind so building this trust was a big challenge. http://www.pomeroys.com/EmmaDarby/Kaytee/index4.htm Kaytee can now take the basement flight of stairs easily though she still is cautious about it. Protect him every step of the way because if he falls it may be difficult to rebuild the confidence/trust not to mention the physical harm. Go around the yard with a pair of pruning shears several times a year and remove any low branches that could possibly poke him in the eyes. You now need to watch for anything that is sharp or pointed that could be a hazard and make sure it's removed. Sometimes you can use textures to warn of areas they need to avoid. Most blind dogs do exceptionally well once they have accepted the change. It often saddens the owner more than the dog. You can find new ways to interact with your sheepie boy... new games. Kaytee loves those Jolly balls... she picks them up and runs with them. We adopted Kaytee knowing she was blind and I foolishly expected to lead her around the rest of her life.  She was born to run and has a "flight pattern" mapped out in the back yard where she runs at full speed. It's her favorite thing to do. Every once in a while she gets too involved in what she's doing and runs into the Dogwood tree. http://www.pomeroys.com/EmmaDarby/AboutU395.jpg
Always feed and water in the same place. Take him to the water dish from different areas of the house so he learns where it is and how to get there on his own. While this probably isn't an issue with a big boy I'll say it anyway... try not to pick him up... he will loose his positioning and not know where he is. Sound is sooo important... since day one I sang silly little songs to Kaytee and she loves it. (yeah, they're all off key ). It's so funny because the Vonage commercial song is her absolute favorite and everytime it comes on she immediately stops what she's doing and stands there listening... she then starts wiggling all over and barking. So voice and touch are great ways to comfort.
We let our dogs on the furniture  From the beginning I would put Kaytee on the bed, take her paw and place it on the edge and say "edge" so she learned she has to be careful. She jumps on and off the couch and bed all the time now.
You can use scents to mark areas... select a specific scent to mark doorways... a different scent to mark areas to avoid. We didn't do any of this but I've read of people who have found it helpful. We used Doggles for a short time to protect her eyes while outside exploring. http://www.pomeroys.com/EmmaDarby/Kaytee/index4.htm Darby, one of my other sheepies, took it upon herself to retrieve/herd Kaytee back to the door when it was time to come in. All I'd have to say is "go get Kaytee!" and she'd bring her around. Kaytee will no longer tolerate though... bummer 
One final thing... it's sometimes good to use a word like "friend" or "puppy" so he knows one is approaching. We used treats and would put them in the hand of whomever was coming along Kaytee loves to meet new people (and jump up to greet them  ... sigh.)
Sorry it's so long but I would have loved to have had more info when we first brought Kaytee home. Please don't feel sorry for him... help him to adapt to this new way of life.
Good luck! And please keep us posted on how he's doing. |
| Hi Again,
Sheepieboss, loved your advice regarding using the light spot to guide the way back in. Blue often has 2 am bathroom calls so I'll definately keep a flash light handy for those days! Thanks for that info. Jaclyn, I hadn't realized Kaytee's history..oh what a sweetie she is!! She was so tiny compared to her siblings too and does she have cleft palate? You've done a wonderful job dealing with all her disabilities! I loved all the photos but the one of her in her goggles was priceless as was the one of her as tiny pup on your lap with a big smile on her face. Too cute! Stacy, thanks for reminding us about the constant talking to a dog that is sight impaired. I won't have a problem with that!  me who talks a lot.
Paula love your new avatar! What a cute boy you have! Marianne and the boys |
Quote: I hadn't realized Kaytee's history
Hi Marianne- Yeah, she has a cleft palate that runs about 1/2 way down the roof of her mouth with a harelip/nose deformity. She now weighs 45 pounds at almost 1 year 5 months. We usually forget she's "special" especially when she's being obnoxious and naughty  Her differences don't slow her down one bit. |
| Hi Again,
Aww I always have a soft spot for the special needs and seniors. Glad to hear Miss Kaytee is a mischievious soul despite her adorable appearance. Same goes for Bailey, glad he too is making adjustments as are his uprights. Most often it's us that worry more about them than vice versa. They seem to take it all in stride. Marianne and the boys |
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