OT: need guide dog trainer advice please

[Guest guest]

If anyone on the veg group is a trainer of dogs for the blind, would you please

e-mail me offlist? I desperately need advice on training a seeing eye human.

(me)

 

Some years ago a ghastly looking chow/shepherd mix came to our door with a

partially luxated eyeball, huge swelling on the side of his head, unbelievably

skinny and very agreessive and frightened. There wasn't anything to be done for

the eye unless we wanted it removed (more than my cataract surgery). Monday he

kept whining and pushing against me - very unusual for this stand-offish dog,

and kept walking into walls and furniture. I checked his eyes and saw a little

discharge (clear) but wasn't afraid of distemper, etc, since I give all the

animals their shots and boosters yearly. (Lots of fun then.)

 

Turns out it is glaucoma and he literally went blind during Monday. I've gotten

everything out of his way that I can and knock on things (water bowl, walls,

shelving, doors) when we get near and reassure him as much as possible. When he

gets very close to something, I pull back gently on his leash and tell him

things like " back, down, stop " . Trying to get my husband to say the same things

to Toby when taking him out but he forgets and uses different words or doesn't

even think that the dog will know where to go. He still sits in front of the

refrigerator for his treat after coming in, as all the dogs do, and since we've

always hand fed the dogs, he'll line up with the girls but waits till the spoon

is against his mouth to open up, so I have been saying, " Ursula bite, Toby bite,

Sophy bite, " when they get fed and he'll open up like a little bird when I get

to the " Toby bite " part.

 

So any advice on training both of us seeing eye humans will be appreciated. I'm

hoping to get a harness for him like is used for companion animals since Toby

has never been comfortable with a collar or lead. He was obviously badly abused

before coming to us and I'm the only human female that he accepts.

 

The vet said most dogs will get aggressive when suddenly blinded but Toby is the

opposite. Before Monday he was very aggressive and now when someone comes in,

he'll gently press his nose against them and beg for affection.

 

He's gets anxious now and will come to me and put his head in my lap, or will

sit on Carl in the chair. Considering he's about 120 pounds, that's a lot of lap

dog.

 

Here's something that comes in the category of " They call them dumb animals

but... " Toby has never cared for the cats, just barely grudging them house room,

and he and Linus, a large Tonkinese/tabby mix are the alpha males of the house.

When Toby got back from the vet's Thursday, whenever he walked near the shelves,

table, wall or other things in here, Linus would get between the dog and

whatever he was about to run into.

 

Needless to say, he is not going to be killed. Jeanne in GA

(treazured)

PS: will be Monday before I can answer any e-mails. Carl's home, the new blasted

television it took us a year to save for is dead and his computer died so he's

on my computer.

http://jeannefromgeorgia.blogspot.com/