Tips To Help Blind Canine Family Members

 Hopefully anyone reading this will never have to deal with your furry family member going blind but here are a few things we have learned in the past few days that may help. Sarah still likes to jump up on the bed as she claims the bed as her place. Without sight she would bump into the wall so we put bubble wrap on the wall so she would not hurt herself. Same with the below photo which keeps her from bumping into the pillar or wood stove. It is good that we took the house off the for sale market as it would be hard to sell with bubble wrap all over the place, but it keeps her from injury. It may not look nice to many folks but for us it is a fashion statement and it keeps Sarah from getting hurt.  Off to town tomorrow for more bubble wrap and those insulated tubes that are used on water pipes work good on table or chair legs or on corners. We also will get some peppermint oil to mark corners and places for her to avoid. The bubble wrap is only until she can re-map the house without sight.  Small house, highly intelligent Sarah and it won't be needed long.

Another tip is to put her bed in a corner and make a wide corridor for access.  She started to go to this corner after her loss of sight and it only made sense to put her bed there to make her more comfortable. She is using her other senses of smell and hearing now and that was sooner than expected. Both of our prior fur family members either lost their sight or had impaired vision due to cataracts at the end of their life. Sarah is now doing what we call the clump walk where she places her front feet down in a clumping fashion to tell where she is walking.  Using a light expandable leash in the back yard makes her feel more secure and safe when she goes out for her usual potty breaks. It is important to stay ahead of he potential danger when you have a blind fur member and be extremely watchful.

It would be my hope than no one else would have to deal with this but these are a few suggestions in case you may have a similar situation down the road.