A little bit about me, I am currently a grad student living in New Orleans. I adopted my first puppy Bradley a 7 y/o maltese mix back in December 2014 he was rescued from a puppy mill. Yesterday, I adopted Winston a 15 y/o maltese mix that had been surrendered by his owners to the LSPCA. I found out about him through a Facebook post and when I found out he was scheduled to be euthanized this morning I rushed over to adopt him. He is blind and has a hard time walking because his back legs are very atrophied. His fur was all mattes with hundreds of dead fleas and his hind quarters are rubbed almost raw and he keeps scratching it and causing sores. I have been helping him try and walk with the aid of a homemade sort of harness contraption until the one I ordered him comes in. He is making good progress in being able to stand for a bit and walk but gets very tired very quickly so I am very hopeful he will be mobile soon!
I have never owned a blind dog before and I’m not really sure what I can do to help him adjust to his new surroundings and just really anything to do with making sure he’s safe and secure. I have been searching online and not found much advice at all. His blindness is due to cataracts so I’m pretty sure he had sight at one point of his life. Its also possible he’s deaf or partially deaf. Sometimes he responds to my voice (he still hasn’t really learned his name yet) but I am trying to talk to him as much as possible and sometimes he seems to hear me and sometimes he’s oblivious.
I know I’ve only had him less than a day really so these things may come. I have some time to figure out how to handle him being mobile because he really doesn’t attempt to move outside of his bed without me there to help him. He is getting groomed tomorrow because he’s such a mess he has had 3 baths since I’ve had him (cause he pees on himself if I’m not there to hold him up) and he still has dirt and grime everywhere. I’m excited for him to get all cleaned up! I guess what I am looking for is any advice on what it takes to have a blind fur-baby! Also, if you have any advice on helping both of my babies bond I would appreciate it! Bradley is warming up to him but still isn’t quite sure what to do with him or whats going on. But he’s been sweet and gentle with Winston.
You’ve got a good heart Elena. I’m sure Winston will love a good clean up. Would love to see photos of him. You can post them on our Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/BlindDogSupport/
If he has been blind for a while, then things will be a lot easier for him. The first step is getting him used to his surroundings, although this may be a little difficult at this point since he really isn’t moving around too much. I’m not sure what the cause of the atrophy is but generally that is poor nutrition and/or lack of movement. I guess he was caged for most of his time. Have they given a reason for it? If it’s just lack of movement and mistreatment, I would think he would get his legs working pretty quickly with your help. Once that happens, he will be able to move around your home and get his bearings.
Once of the most important things you can do for a blind dog, is to not help them too much. What a lot of people tend to do is pick them up to take them to their food bowl or take them into the next room and so on. When you do this, they lose their ability to navigate. Now, since Winston is unable to walk, he may need a bit of help at this point, but when he gets his legs back (which I am hoping he will), then you need to reduce the amount of help you give him and let him find things for himself.
In terms of bonding, there isn’t much difference between a blind dog and a sighted dog, They are either going to get on or they are not. It looks like you have a good dog in Bradley who already has a good nature so hopefully things will work between them.