Caring for a Blind and Deaf Dog
There seems to be a lot of information available on the Internet for blind dogs and for deaf dogs, but not for dogs that are both blind and deaf. Our dog has been mostly deaf for years.
Last year he was diagnosed with diabetes and developed cataracts in both of his eyes which caused him to go blind as well. We have looked into getting cataract surgery for him, but his health is not good enough with the diabetes and our vet is hesitant to do surgery since it would be very high risk.
Instead we have come to terms with the fact that he is both blind and deaf. Although it breaks our hearts, the good news is that our dog doesn’t seem to be concerned about it in the least. He is still as active and happy as he has ever been and enjoys everyday to its fullest. There is a lot that we can learn from dogs.
Over the past year we have discovered a lot about how to deal with, care for and entertain a blind and deaf dog so I thought I would share some of that knowledge here.
Our main concern when we found out that he had lost his eyesight as well as his hearing was that he was going to be bored because he couldn’t play as much. We wanted to find ways to keep him entertained that didn’t require eyesight or hearing. Instead, we considered the senses that he has left and tried to come up with toys and activities that took advantage of those.
The first sense we addressed was taste. Since he is diabetic we have to limit the types of foods he can enjoy, but we still came up with some fun and tasty treats that keep him occupied. For a low calorie treat that keeps him entertained, we take a Kong, fill it with beef broth and freeze it. Then on warm days we send him out to the yard with his “kongsicle” and he chews on it and gets to savor the beef broth flavor until it melts. If your dog is not diabetic, you can fill the Kong with a variety of treats, frozen or otherwise, to keep him busy for awhile while at the same time allowing him to use his sense of taste.
The other toys that he enjoys all rely on his sense of touch. We buy stuffed animals with interesting or unique textures for him to chew on. He also really loves stuffed animals that are filled with little plastic beads. I think he finds the feel of them interesting. They make a big mess when he finally breaks one open, but it is easy enough to vacuum up all the little beads and well worth it for the fun he has.
He also enjoys going for walks or rides where there are a lot of good smells. We try to vary the places that we take him so that there is always some new scent on the air for him to sniff. He especially likes riding next to the Sound because of all the interesting smells that come off of the water and the beach.
When we walk we go to places where there aren’t a lot of other dogs. Our dog gets along well with other dogs but since losing both his hearing and his eyesight he can be easily started by another dog running up to him. Rather than risking a nasty confrontation we avoid places like dog parks and stick to more secluded places where we are less likely to run into other dogs.
It is important if you have a blind and deaf dog that you don’t move your furniture around a lot or change things in your house or yard. If you do make a change you need to show your dog that things are different so they don’t run into things or injure themselves. You should also keep pathways clear for them and remove anything that they might trip on.
You can buy different scented oils to scent key locations in your home. For instance, you might use a touch of vanilla scented oil on all of the doorways in your house, and peppermint scented oil at the top or bottom of the stairs. You just need to use a tiny bit of oil, and while the odor is usually not strong enough for people to smell it will be plenty for your dog and it will help them to keep their bearings. Scenting the stairs or any other hazards also helps to protect them from being injured if they lose track of where they are.
A blind and deaf dog should always be kept on a leash. They cannot see or hear what is going on around them, and if they catch a whiff of something interesting could easily run out into traffic or into some other dangerous situation.
Having a blind and deaf dog is a very rewarding and inspiring experience. It is amazing how self sufficient and capable dogs are even without their hearing or eyesight.
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