Advice for Coton de Tulear going blind

by Joyce
(USA)

Does anyone have any hints on how to manage- my sweet girl who is going blind. the opthamagist said my baby will go totally blind because of retina atrophy. It is difficult for me to see her bump into walls as she does not slow down. Any bits of info will be appreciated

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May 28, 2025
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going blind NEW
by: Anonymous

My sweet girl Aligrace was blind the last five years of her life. She never let it slow her down. We kept things inside the house in the same places and she had no problems navigating. She even knew the way to our neighbor's house which she visited every day (with permission) to get her daily treats and loving. When we would take her out to new places, I would ALWAYS have her on a leash and she would walk beside me. If there were steps, I would pick her up or bend down and smack my hand on the step and she would slowly walk up to it and touch it her nose and then navigate them perfectly. Usually if it was an obstacle, I would talk to her and she would follow the sound of my voice. Occasionally we would have a mishap and she would stumble, but not often. She never slowed down. I found that they are great at adapting. She slowly lost her sight so I am sure that that helped too. Good luck!

May 27, 2025
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Dogs are resilient NEW
by: Gale

I’m so sorry to hear about your Coton. I don’t have any specific advice, but when my Luc was getting older his hearing and eyesight deteriorated quite a bit. And I was astounded at how resilient he was. In the house, you’d never know that he had trouble seeing because he was familiar enough with his surroundings to get around quite easily. It was only when we left the house that you could tell that he had trouble with his vision.

I would make sure your house is safety-proofed (no sharp edges, block off any dangerous areas, and eliminate any clutter on the floors. And get her used to familiar routes on your outside walks.

There are many blind dogs that have high-quality lives. Hopefully someone will chime in with more specific advice for you.

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