Blind dog

[Cherim1000]

Our elderly (approx. 12/13 yo) chihuahua has recently had to have an enucleation (eye removal) due to a massive cataract which went untreated by her former owners. She had been able to see a little out of her other eye but now she seems to have gone completely blind in that eye as well. When she wanders around the house, she bumps into things, and often hits her head fairly hard. It is gut-wrenching for my husband and me and we're looking for advice on how to help her. She seems to be mostly deaf now as well, so even if we see if about to happen and we're no close enough to scoop her up, we can't verbally warn her.

I've recently thought about an e-collar to act as a warning (think of the curb feelers cars had in the 70's). I hate the thought of putting a hard plastic e-collar on her for the rest of her life, I can't imagine her quality of life would be great. Any suggestions for a lightweight, soft e-collar, or any other ideas?

Thank you so much. We're trying to give her the best possible quality of life for the time she has left. We rescued her about 1 1/2 yrs ago and she had been the result of the worst case of neglect I've ever seen in person.

[lindapalm]

Some human beings aren't as lucky to have such a good home as your dog,  I wish you so much luck with her, you both deserve it, you  for giving her so many second chances, and her for being such a tough little girl.  She must be really happy (finally) or she wouldn't be such a fighter.

[Cherim1000]

Thank you both so much. She is such a joy! I can't even begin to explain to you the difference in her now from when we got her. She was in such terrible shape. She weighed only 3 lbs (she weighs 4 1/2 now and is still very thin). She was COVERED in fleas, they would crawl up our ams when we'd pick her up. She was nearly hairless and was anemic, both from flea bites. She has a cancer on her belly, it was infected and bleeding (and would start bleeding again every time we'd pick her up). Her teeth were unbelievable, some were missing, the ones she had left were just black. I've never seen anything like it in my life. Where one of her upper teeth fell out it created a fistula (a hole) leading to her nasal passage and she would choke every time she ate or drank. It was heartbreaking! So, we tried to have surgery done post-haste to fix some of the worst problems (mainly her mouth) and she nearly died on the operating table. The did the pre-anesthesia and her BP and temp dropped way too low. They spent the rest of the day trying to keep her alive. About a year later, when she was MUCH stronger, her eye, with the massive cataract, burst and leaked out all the fluid and overnight it shriveled like a raisin. It became infected...very long story, we were going to lose her. We made the decision to try surgery again. If we were going to lose her anyway, why not try a Hail Mary? Well, she did great from the eye removal (and removal of her teeth an fistula repair and now she THRIVING! It's awesome!   This while blind/deaf dog is uncharted end territory for us though. We have 3 other special needs rescues and we're right at home with paralyzed dogs. We can manually express bladders and bowels, no problem! But I have no idea of what to do for a 4 1/2 lb. blind chihuahua.

[Melanieparker]

You restored my faith in humanity. Here's some tips for you:

Speak to your dog with a cheery voice.
Maintain your daily routine; go for walks, continue to play with a favorite toy.
Walk your dog from room to room throughout your home using treats.

Hope these helps.

[lindapalm]

I don't have any suggestions, sorry, but I would like to say even blind and deaf, she has to be so much happier with her new owners.  Thank You for rescuing and older dog and finally giving her a pain  free and happy life