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Dealing With An Older, Blind Dog



 
 
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  #1  
Old August 1st 05, 04:31 PM
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Default Dealing With An Older, Blind Dog

Hello--I apologize if this has been asked before. I have a 15 year-old
Bichon who is still in fairly good shape except that he is losing his
hearing and he is almost blind due to cateracts. He has lived in the
same house for about four years, but he gets "lost" and doesn't make it
to the dog door in time. So, is my only option to crate him or limit
his movement to one room near the dog door? He was not crated as a
puppy as far as I know--he was an orphan--so could I get him used to
large crate at this time in his life? My other Bichon is doing fine and
I don't want to upset him. I guess I am prolonging the ultimate
decision here, but Toby is still able to move around and is only on low
dose Butz for joint swelling.
Any ideas? Any experience in this area?
Thanks,
Fred

  #2  
Old August 1st 05, 06:55 PM
Natalie Rigertas
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wrote:
Hello--I apologize if this has been asked before. I have a 15 year-old
Bichon who is still in fairly good shape except that he is losing his
hearing and he is almost blind due to cateracts. He has lived in the
same house for about four years, but he gets "lost" and doesn't make it
to the dog door in time. So, is my only option to crate him or limit
his movement to one room near the dog door? He was not crated as a
puppy as far as I know--he was an orphan--so could I get him used to
large crate at this time in his life? My other Bichon is doing fine and
I don't want to upset him. I guess I am prolonging the ultimate
decision here, but Toby is still able to move around and is only on low
dose Butz for joint swelling.
Any ideas? Any experience in this area?
Thanks,
Fred


As long as he's happy, there's no reason to limit his movement. I assume
his problems are with urination, mostly? If so, look to get him a belly
band. This wraps around the belly area for a male dog and will catch the
urine, especially if you put a pad on there. I know people who have used
menstruation pads as well as things like poise pads that are for human
incontinence. I suspect the poise pads (whichever brand you get) might
work a bit better.

I also havae known (and have seen many others) owners who have bought
diapers, cut a hole for the tail. Some have put a pad inside the diaper
and just change the pad throughout the day, so that not as many diapers
need to be used plus it keeps the urine in one area instead of soaking the
entire diaper.

Either way, you'll still need to air him out. It would probably help to
keep his belly area shaved, too, and make sure his skin doesn't suffer
from extended contact to urine.

natalie


--

What fresh hell is this?
--- Dorothy Parker

  #4  
Old August 1st 05, 08:31 PM
Melinda Shore
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In article EuuHe.7221$r12.2247@trndny04,
Janet Puistonen wrote:
A friend of mine has a Bichon who developed cataracts at the age of 12 or
13. They thought he was too old to remove them. As it happens, he lived to
be 18, and they often wished they had had the cataracts removed, since it
would have greatly improved his quality of life.


Maybe.

I've got a 9-year-old with cataracts and I've decided not to
have surgery done. He's nearly completely blind in one eye
and got about 25% in the other. He gets around pretty well,
including negotiating stairs and going for long walks
(although he likes to walk along the edge of drainage
ditches, and that's obviously not a great idea).

If this dog used to be able to make it to the door quickly
enough but can't now, it's either not his eyesight that's
causing him to mess in the house or else there's some reason
why he's not learning his way around without being able to
see. Without knowing more, a few possibilities for the
latter case might include age-related cognitive problems
(which might also go to peeing in the house), things are
being moved around inside the house, or there's little
guidance within the house towards the door (open floor
plan?).

I have an old farm house that's pretty easy for Saber to
find his way around because the hallways are narrow and the
top of the stairs is easy to find (there's a post next to
the top step).

The blind dogs website is very helpful, and in particular
this is worth checking out:
http://www.blinddogs.com/tips.htm
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

Let's start racial profiling tax cheaters.
  #5  
Old August 1st 05, 09:00 PM
Janet Puistonen
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Melinda Shore wrote:
In article EuuHe.7221$r12.2247@trndny04,
Janet Puistonen wrote:
A friend of mine has a Bichon who developed cataracts at the age of
12 or
13. They thought he was too old to remove them. As it happens, he
lived to be 18, and they often wished they had had the cataracts
removed, since it would have greatly improved his quality of life.


Maybe.

I've got a 9-year-old with cataracts and I've decided not to
have surgery done. He's nearly completely blind in one eye
and got about 25% in the other. He gets around pretty well,
including negotiating stairs and going for long walks
(although he likes to walk along the edge of drainage
ditches, and that's obviously not a great idea).

If this dog used to be able to make it to the door quickly
enough but can't now, it's either not his eyesight that's
causing him to mess in the house or else there's some reason
why he's not learning his way around without being able to
see. Without knowing more, a few possibilities for the
latter case might include age-related cognitive problems
(which might also go to peeing in the house), things are
being moved around inside the house, or there's little
guidance within the house towards the door (open floor
plan?).


Well, yes, good point--and I should add that by the time my friend's bichon
was 17 or 18, he definitely seemed to suffered from such cognitive problems,
as well as deafness and arthritis. It was unclear to what degree being
mostly blind and increasingly deaf had to do with his disorientation, of
course. But also no one knows if he would have survived the surgery at age
12 or 13, or how good the outcome would have been. It's a hard call. He was
an apartment dog, which presented its own challenges.



 




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