A bird will fall frozen dead from a bough without ever having felt sorry for itself. – D.H. Lawrence
Disabilties in dogs are only disabilities if you turn it into one. The only animal that feels sorry for itself is the human animal. If you make a disability “a big deal” to a dog – then it’s going to become a big deal.
People think that when a human goes blind, the rest of the senses get better. In reality, they don’t. If you want to understand that, blindfold yourself for 24 hours. Try to navigate the house without your vision and see what changes happen. Sit in the back yard – and try to understand how your ears are functioning. I did this 30 years ago and it changes all perspectives.
Your hearing doesn’t get better – you simply pay more attention to the other senses. What used to be ambient noises to your ear – you now pay attention to. Why? Because humans are visual – eyes first. What used to be ambient smells – now come to the forefront. This is how it works – and it’s no different for the dog. Have a friend guide you while blindfolded through the environment. You will notice cars honking their horns and such – they used to be ambient noise. You’re now paying attention to what used to be ambient or background noise or smells. The dog is no different.
Dogs don’t feel sorry for themselves. And people need to stop feeling sorry for the dog – the more you try to help the dog – the more dependent the dog is becoming on you. And the less independent they become – that’s not helping either of you. If you have a blind dog, let them sort it out on their own. Yes they may bump into things for a while – but in their own mind, they will create a map of the environment in which they live. Trust me, your dog knows what the couch smells like. We have blind dogs running around dog parks here off leash, it’s not a big deal because the owners don’t make it a big deal. One lady has an older Miniature Pinscher, blind and deaf – still runs around dog parks unabated.
My dog Monty is deaf, I’m not even sure when he went deaf – I didn’t notice cause nothing changed. It was one evening I was eating a bag of chips, and he didn’t even look to me at the sound of the bag crinkling – that’s when I realized he was deaf. I haven’t made it a big deal – I’m not treating him differently. We still go to dog parks, he still runs around off leash. It’s just that his world is quieter. He still hears or senses, or feels the vibration of me clapping my hands.
The most important thing is that I AM the highest value treat in his life. The only thing in his life that truly trusts and respects – and he not only learned to keep an eye on me at all times – he understands why it’s important to know where I am at all times.
People tend to feel bad for their dog that becomes disabled in some way. Put that away – human guilt should never be inflicted on a dog. Stop feeling bad for your dog – they do not understand human guilt. The most important sense that a dog has is their nose – they should always be nose first anyway. All of their other senses are secondary.
If a dog loses a leg, they will overcome. Their muscles build in a way that helps them overcome and there are some 3 legged dogs that run like the wind. If a dog goes blind, they will come to rely on their other senses to pick up the slack.
Just some things to think about.