Hi Pauline, can't offer much in the way of advice, one of our dogs, Wizard, is almost completely blind now, when we moved house 3 years ago his vision was still not too bad so he managed OK. He sounds a bit like Amber now, he knows the way round the house but will often bump or run right into one of our other dogs if they happen to be in his way and he's a bit lost if he ventures out in the garden when it's dark.

Anyways did some 'googling' and came up with these sites which have some good info on blind dogs and new houses...fingers crossed, hope she'll make the transition OK..

http://www.ehow.com/how_17612_live-with-blind.html

http://www.animaleyecare.com/learn.htm

Abbey is blind in her right eye and to begin with she kept bumping into things on that side (she will be 7 October). She seems to have sort herself oot noo tho, but she still gets slapped with tails from time to time on that side. Plus she gets startled if something/one comes near from there. Doesn't stop her belting around the garden or off the lead tho!

My parents cocker spanial turned blind through old age. She used to walk into things but never cried or seemed to hurt herself. I think it was harder for people to watch than anything.

She was hopeless in the dark and we found the best way to deal with her was to put her on the lead to take her out in the garden if she needed the loo when it was dark.

What a beautiful pair Amber and Jet make.

Hi Pauline

Hope everything goes well with your move and Amber takes it all in her stride. I'm sure once she's been there a week or two, she'll know her way around, especially since you're giving her all the help you can by using voice commands and perfumes round obstacles!  

What a gorgeous picture of Amber and Jet together! Amber has what we call 'posh paws' - looking very elegant with those long legs crossed in front of her! Good luck and let us know how you're getting on after you've moved.

Christine

Thanks to everyone who offered support and advice regarding Amber's blindness. We moved in to our new house in July and everything went very well. At the back door there are some steps up to the garden and Amber very quickly learned to negotiate them both up and down. She responds very well to voice commands of 'up' and 'down' and 'steps' when she just has to lift her feet over something.I am amazed at how well she does. Both dogs come to work with me every day and she gets around my workshop well also, and there are a few obsticles. If she is heading for a bump, I call 'wait' and she stops straight away. She is of course quite slow getting around, but that is also because of her other problems.
Out of interest it seems that this blindness, which I felt came on quickly, was probably due to the stroke she had at Easter. The Vet said he could see evidence of a bleed at the back of the eye. Her eyes do not look particularly blue or cloudy.
Anyway, thanks again for all the advice. I found it a great help.
Cheers
Pauline, Amber and Jet.

Hi Pauline - Glad to hear the move went smoothly and that Amber is responding well to vocal commands.

When I was a child we had a dog who lost his eye (it had to be surgically removed). As a family we were absolutely devastated, however Max was not nearly as disheartened as we were and amazed us all with his "yerh, so what?" attitude. Admittedly Max was quite young (4/5 years old) when this happened but the way he took it in his stride and his robustness was amazing. I think quite often it is harder for us humans than it is for the dogs when something like this happens.  

Lovely to hear that Amber has adjusted well to new home.

                                            Hugs to both dogs they are gorgeous Em, Tig and Chad XX

brill news Pauline, thanks for letting us know!