Blind dogs and cats can be very happy pets if one follows a few simple guidelines to make life easier for them. Animal’s senses of hearing and smell are so much better than ours that when an animal is in a familiar environment it is often hard to tell that it is blind. Most blind pets can live happy, good quality lives. Here are some hints and precautions to make their life easier and safer.

1. Avoid changing your pet’s environment, for example moving furniture. If you do move furniture or move into a new house, you may find it takes awhile for your pet to memorize and familiarize itself with the new environment.

2. Teach them to walk on a harness or lead so that they can be exercised safely. Start using more voice commands to help them know when to slow down or be careful.

3. Fence in a small area of yard for them and keep the environment constant.

4. If you have a pool, you may want to fence it in so your pet can not fall into it. Otherwise, blind pets should not be left unattended around pools as they may fall in.

5. Encourage them to use their other senses to compensate for vision loss.

a. Buy play toys that are noisy or have a recognizable odor.

b. Apply perfume on legs of furniture to help them know where it is located.

c. Get another companion pet that your blind pet can follow around using its hearing and smell.

6. If your dog or cat is blind due to cataracts, it is a good idea to observe their eyes daily for changes that could be indications of glaucoma or uveitis (inflammation), which can be very painful for your pet. These changes include reddening of the white of the eye, increase in the size of the eye, pawing at or rubbing the eyes and change in position of the cataract.

7. Encourage exercise, whether in a fenced yard or on a leash, to prevent excessive weight gain.

8. Do not change the place of the bowls of food and water, if you do, try to help them learn where the new place is.

9. Some behavior changes (aggression, depression, fear, etc.) can be observed with sudden blindness. Try to avoid stressing or scaring the pet. Inform the family members (especially children) of the new condition and educate them to alert the pet before petting or grabbing them.

http://www.blinddogs.com - This is good site to start at. Gives ideas on living with blind dogs and lots of good links.

http://www.petcarebooks.com - This site offers a few books about blind dogs. One good one, is on living with blind dogs and then others have neat blind dog stories.

http://www.i-love-dogs.com/dog/rivers - This site is about Rivers, a racing blind sled dog. It is just another example of how blind dogs can have full and good quality lives.

http://www.pepedog.com - These owners have designed and are marketing a hoop on a harness that can be used to help blind dogs move around more confidently in familiar and even unfamiliar environments.

http://angelvest.homestead.com - Another site marketing a vest with a hoop that can be used to help blind dogs move around more confidently in familiar and even unfamiliar environments.

http://www.doggles.com/ - Doggles are basically sunglasses made to be worn by dogs. They can protect the eyes from trauma, reduce glare, or relieve light sensitivity.