My 10 year old pup is going blind. We’ve been in the same house for most of her life and she’s doing ok, but I’m worried it’s going to get more difficult for her. She’s not the smartest, but she can sit, lie down, and shake on command. I’ve read several articles about scent training but would like to get tips from someone who has done it. I’m thinking of using 4 different scents for bed, toys, stairs, and food/water - i know she can smell the food, but i want to make sure she can find the water bowl when she’s outside. Is that too many?
One article recommended marking a path on the floor/ground so she knows where there’s a clear route. Another suggested marking furniture/obstacles so she knows where to avoid.
If you have any experience with this and can offer tips, i would appreciate it. Also, if you want to share any happy stories about your VI pets, i would love to hear them. It’s heartbreaking to see her misjudge the doorway or bonk into things.
We’re using a new vet because ours just closed. They’ve been around for a long time and we have several friends who use them so i feel pretty good about it. We took her in early May, right after we noticed the change in her. It came up very quickly - just a month before that she was chasing a squirrel along the fence and barking at dogs on tv. They talked to us about keeping her happy, recommended we try ocu-glo supplements to possibly slow it down, gave us trazadone to help her not get upset when kids come over, and mentioned cataract surgery but said most people don’t do it because of the cost.