Purrpuss Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 An fugee advice welcomed. We have a new family member, Lily a 15 yr old Yorkie lady who is blind and deaf, with a grade 5 heart murmer. Lily arrived on Friday, very scared as to be expected, but now seems to be settling down, and is toddling around the house and garden, learning where things are, and where the walls are and where the furniture is She has found the water bowls (well to be honest she stood in one of them lol), and when her dinner is in front of her, its eagerly eaten (despite the truely appalling state of her teefs ). I have never had the care of a deaf and blind dog before, and any advice about how to keep her entertained and mentally stimulated would be welcomed. I am worried that she is just going to be either asleep on her cushion, or in her crate and just existing Lily has let me groom her (more dredds than Bob Marley), and we have done a bit of TTouch, but am a bit stumped as to anything else. Any advice appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purrpuss Posted April 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 An update - I was just giving the other girls some supper treats in the kitchen (feed Lily separately as the other girls barge her out of the way and steal her food given half a chance ), when guess who toddled in, nose twitching madly and wanted a treat too Blind and deaf yes, but definately not Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schmew Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 Hi Purrpuss, Don't have any advice for you, but sounds like little Lily is doing fine and has landed on her feet (in her water bowl, bless her!) I'll keep watching this thread though - I've got a foster arrivingnext weekend who is blind, and I've not had a blind dog before, so I'll be pinching your advice! I'd like to think their other senses kick in and compensate for the compromised ones - and it sounds like Lily's sense of smell works great....... Best luck, please keep us posted! x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fee Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 No advice from me, either, but lots of good wishes for Lily JoT would be a good person to contact (she will probably be along here anyway), as her Tricks is blind and deaf. He seems to manage to potter around quite happily Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoT Posted April 23, 2007 Report Share Posted April 23, 2007 Tricks is our second blind/deaf dog and my advice is, just don't worry about it! Blind and deaf dogs cope a lot better than you would expect, so much so that it's easy to forget that they have any disabilities. As for mental stimulation, walks are great because all older dogs tend to enjoy the sniffing part most - even when they can see and hear. Obviously keep her on a lead - Tricks stays on his extender lead on walks. I don't think you need to worry if little Lily spends a lot of time asleep, after all, that's what most 15 year old dogs do! Of course you need to take care if you take her to new places or move things around to make sure that she doesn't bump herself. Also, as you have other dogs, you need to look out for them being annoyed because they can't understand why blind/deaf dogs bump into them (or in Tricks' case, jump on the sofa and land on them!) and don't take heed of any warning curled lip or growl that they have kindly provided! I think you'll notice she will have a very keen sense of smell. Tricks amazes us how he manages to locate us (and food!) using his nose. Good luck with her; I'm sure you'll be fine. Oh, and we need photos too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranirottie Posted April 23, 2007 Report Share Posted April 23, 2007 she sounds delightful, good luck with her. x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barkingmad Posted April 23, 2007 Report Share Posted April 23, 2007 Hello we had an old dog who was going blind and deaf Doris loved new smells. so anything she could get her nose into was great fun. A favorite of Doris's was the plastic trays that meat comes in. She would spend a good hour licking and sniffing an empty tray How about a treat ball with really smelly treats? Lily would be able to push the ball around so the treats would fall out. Doris could also tell when we where coming closer to her by the vibrations on the wooden floor. Doris would jump if you startled her so we would tap the floor gently if she was asleep so she knew we were coming. Do not worry about Lily sleeping alot. Doris would stay in bed all night and then have a 3-4 hour nap in the day. We found that 4 very short walks spread out over the day worked better for doris than 2 longer ones. This also helped with stimuation and stopped her from becoming too worn out. I hope that some of this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purrpuss Posted April 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2007 Thank you everyone This morning Lily had her first little toddle in the woods after I'd walked the other girls. A walk that usually takes about 2 mins, took about 20 as she had her nose in everything, and her little stump of a tail was wagging, very creakily, but definately wagging lol ! Shes now fast asleep and twitching - I think she enjoyed herself She seems to enjoy being groomed, and no longer jumps when I touch her (she does seem to feel the vibrations) and is already gaining confidence pootling around the house, and seems to be remembering that there are 2 steps down into the garden and is feeling for them We're going to the vets this afternoon for a check up, I want another opinion on her heart condition, and see just how bad it is. I will never ever understand the motivation for abandoning a little oldie like Lily. Never Good luck with your new arrival Schmew Will get some fotos up soon, promise xxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
selina Posted April 23, 2007 Report Share Posted April 23, 2007 Can't wait for the photo's, sounds like you're doing fine and don't need any advice anyway, good luck with her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacobean Posted April 23, 2007 Report Share Posted April 23, 2007 Yorkies have great spirit and are strong willed. She won't let life get her down. My Tess went completely blind. This didn't stop her one bit. She used to like playing with socks or squeaky toys. Doesn't matter if she can't hear the squeak. She may sleep a fair bit if she's 15. That won't be because she's depressed or anything. They love to potter about the house and garden. Once she gets used to you and your layout she'll be absolutely fine and cheeky to boot. Any chance of a piccie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyMalc Posted April 23, 2007 Report Share Posted April 23, 2007 Woohoo!!! Purrpuss has done it again!!! Welcome home Lily!! :biggrin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purrpuss Posted April 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2007 Thank you for the reasurrances everyone, they are much appreciated Not so sure that I've done it again, as Freshfields has done it to me again (must learn to say no must learn to say no must learn to say no must learn to say no must learn to say no - or maybe just not answer the phone anymore ) We had some good news this afternoon in that my vet reckons that her heart murmer is more like 2/3 instead of 5, and could of read higher due to the stress of being at the sanctuary. Her bloods are good, and as a result she is having a dental on Wednesday as her mouth is apparently one of the worst she has seen, and is a mass of infected gums with broken rotting stumps that used to be teeth No wonder she has difficulty eating She obviously really needs the dental, and my sensible head knows that she will feel so much better, but my emotional head is going to worry now until I get her home again. Will definately get some fotos up soon, she is such a pretty little lady Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yena Posted April 26, 2007 Report Share Posted April 26, 2007 What a wonderful thread to read, well done for giving her, her forever home. Our Monty was deaf and blind, but made up with his smell. I used to take him for walks in the woods and let him off the lead, he would spend ages sniffing everything, he always knew where I was and would come back after a while. I do miss him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranirottie Posted April 27, 2007 Report Share Posted April 27, 2007 I fostered an old staffie girl called Maisie who was deaf and very nearly blind. She supposedly only had weeks to live and came here to have a comfy passage to the bridge. But she got a new lease of life and lasted over 3 months. She managed remarkably well including going from a doddery old lady to a demon sprinter over the fields. I don't think dogs find losing some senses too traumatic, they just use their others. this was our lovely Maisie x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts