Anyone else have a blind doxie?

[Jennifer]

One of my two doxies (Oscar) went blind about 2 years ago. I was wondering if anyone else had a blind doxie out there. Oscar does pretty good, as long as he is in familiar situations and we don't change the location of his bowls, toy basket or furniture. He doesn't do well with new situations or new people, so we pretty much try to keep him in his familiar enviroment. It was really tough on him when we moved houses, but I took off work and spent the day walking him through the house on a leash and he started feeling more comfortable.

Was wondering if anyone else had a blind doxie that could share experiences and hints/tips for keeping them feeling safe and secure?

[sillysadie]

I believe there is a blind dachsie site somewhere on the internet. I also know we have a dachshund rescue rep who also deals with blind dachshunds. I would do search for the site and I will try to find that rep for you.

[Mark]

Hi Jennifer,

I thought if you weren't already aware of it you might like to visit the blind dog message board at: http://www.insidetheweb.com/mbs.cgi/mb575125

Mark

[wireweiners]

My old dog, Sundae, was blind for about a year before she went to the Bridge at age 15. She did very well, as you say, as long as she was on familiar territory. She would actually use her nose as a "cane" to help her feel her way around. The hardest thing for her to negotiate was stairs but my house had a wheelchair ramp and she did ok with that. Since dogs use their noses to identify their people more than their eyes, I would always hold out my hand for her to sniff when I greeted her. I also had to be careful that the younger dogs didn't knock her down as she felt her way down the ramp or around the house.

She knew where here crate was and would get in it for treats or feeding. One time my mom was at my house letting the dogs out at noon. Sundae had had an accident in her crate the day before so I had taken it out and hadn't had time to clean it so Sundae was left loose in the house. When mom let the dogs back in and was doling out the cookies, Sundae went to where her crate should have been, walked in, turned around and sat there looking for her treat. <IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm34.gif" border=0>

[Jennifer]

What a cool story about Sundae!! Oscar also uses his nose as a cane. He uses it to go down the one step to the garage by leaning over and touching his nose to the ground to measure the distance. He also uses it to feel his way down a wall to find a door way. He often bumps his nose into the wall, but it doesn't seem to phase him. He just keeps on going. He's so couragous and brave.

Mark, thanks for the link. I hadn't seen that site before. Very cool.

[dutchman]

Jennifer,

I remembered Hearts United had a blind dachshund on their board. I was right his name is Bert check him out at http://www.hua.org/lookhtml/Bert.html I see he is now homeward bound. Perhaps if you e-mailed HUA and ask them they would forward your e-mail to the person who adopted Bert. The main page that had the link to Bert was http://www.hua.org/Looking4.html

Good luck,

Tom and the boys Frank and Tanner

[Jennifer]

Great idea Tom. I will email them and ask them to forward my email to Berts new mom and dad. That's great that he found a home with someone that is willing to accept the challenges that come with a blind doggie.

It would be great to share info and ideas with someone with a blind dachsie.

[Roxane]

Hi Jennifer:
Just happened across this website.It is mainly concerned with helping to adopt disabled pets. However, there is a link to "Owners of Blind Dogs"
which might be of value.
http://disabledpets.esmartweb.com

Just one more resource.
Roxane