The dog may be snapping at family members or other animals in the home. If these behaviors are not understood and dealt with in the proper ways, they can escalate.
There is a period of transition when a dog is losing or has lost her sight. How long this transition lasts is dependent upon the individual situation. There are some things we can do to help a blind dog adjust while also keeping everyone safe.
Realize the Reason
There is no one specific way of becoming blind, so it's difficult to know for sure what your dog is seeing or not seeing in most cases. But we can be sure that your dog's way of experiencing the world is changing drastically. What she once thought was normal and made sense to her no longer feels that way.If she's in the process of losing her vision, she may still be able to see, but what she sees may no longer make sense to her. What she sees may be blurry, distorted, or have large areas of darkness within her line of sight. She may be able to see light and dark contrast, or she may not. Bright light may be painful to her or completely white out anything she may still be able to see in the shade. Her depth perception may be changing. She may not know how far down a step is or how close something is to her.
Perhaps your dog has become blind very suddenly. This would be similar to the power going out and you trying to navigate in complete darkness. Most of us would run into things, stub our toe, be startled by someone else running into us, knock things off the table, etc. It's very disorienting to suddenly be in darkness.
As you can imagine, these changes are confusing to your dog. She's going to be scared and unsure about her surroundings and what's going on around her.
When dogs are not feeling safe and secure, they may begin to show behaviors that people often interpret as aggressive - growling, snapping, and biting. Your dog is not being mean or bad if she shows these behaviors. She's telling you in the only way she knows how that she is not feeling safe. She has needs that aren't being met, and she's doing what she knows how to do to cope in that moment.
If your dog doesn't feel safe in her environment because she's perceiving it differently now that she's losing her sight, she will be on edge and more alert to everything going on around her. While she's on edge, anything else that happens to her, or anyone who approaches her, may scare her even more and feel like a potential threat to her safety and well-being.When you are feeling your way around that dark room when the electricity goes out and you hear a noise, you are going to be much more startled by it than you would be in the daylight. Your senses are on higher alert as you are feeling your way around the room, so you will be more startled by noises or unexpected bumps than you would be if you were feeling secure in your environment.
When your dog is in her environment but things don't look right to her, she will be more easily startled as well. When a dog is startled, she may feel unsafe and will attempt to keep whatever has startled her or feels threatening away from her. She does this by growling - that is how a dog says "stay away." When that threat keeps its distance or goes away, the dog feels safer. A growl is her way of trying to feel safe by creating distance around her.
If the dog still doesn't feel safe, or if the threat continues to affect her, she will escalate her growl to a snap and perhaps a bite in the direction of the threat. Again, she's trying to create safety for herself. She's not trying to be mean. She's protecting herself from something she doesn't feel good about.
Learn the Signs
Your dog will show certain behaviors when she is feeling unsure. Learn the signs of uncertainty so you can help your dog before she feels that she needs to growl or snap.
You may notice your dog staying in one place a lot of the time. This can be due to uncertainty. She may be afraid to move because of the unknown (what she can no longer see). She may not know what's in front of her or where she is in the room. She may feel safer staying in one spot than venturing out to move around freely. Some dogs look like they are sleeping a lot, but if you watch, you will see that they are awake.
You may notice her moving very slowly if she does move around. This is a sign that while she is wanting to move around, she's still not feeling very safe in her environment. She may avoid being touched or doing things that she used to like to do - going for a walk, playing, eating or drinking. You might notice her turning her head or body away from you or from something you're trying to engage her with.
There are many good resources that can help you learn to recognize signs of stress and fear in dogs. Some of these signs are very subtle, but they are important ways in which your dog is communicating with you.
When you notice the subtle signs that your dog is not feeling comfortable, you are in a position to do something to help her. Helping her to feel safer when she's showing these little signs will build her trust in you, and hopefully prevent her from feeling she needs to protect herself by growling or biting.
How to Help
What your dog needs now more than anything is for you to create an environment and routine where she feels safe. You may know that she's safe and there's nothing that can hurt her, but until she also feels safe within herself, that feeling of uncertainty and being on edge is not going to go away. Look at things from her perspective as much as you can. Help create that space where she truly feels safe, and she won't feel the need to protect herself anymore.
Keep your dog's space and routine as consistent as possible. She will feel safer knowing where she is, where the furniture and other objects are, and what is coming up next in her day. Begin to guide her gently to help her learn new ways of navigating her environment.
Some dogs prefer a smaller area to navigate as they transition to losing their sight. This usually isn't forever, but blocking off a room or even part of a room for your dog may help her feel safer. She will feel more contained and will only need to map out and experience a small area and not the whole house or yard all at once, which might feel overwhelming.Dogs that can hear will appreciate being notified of things happening in their environment with verbal cues and sounds. Speak when you come into the room and let her know when you are leaving the room. This can be as simple as saying "Hello, Penny" when you enter the room, and "I'll be back" when you leave.
If your dog is also deaf, teach touch cues and just touch base with your dog when you enter the room and leave. If your dog is unsure of being touched at this point, you can gently toss a treat to her so it lands near her and touches her lightly. This will help her be aware of you being in her space.
Take time to condition your dog that touch and being surprised are good things. If you've taught this previously, this is the perfect time to begin to practice it again as a refresher. It's also a great time to teach your dog a cue that means you're going to touch her now. Use a verbal cue for dogs that can hear. It may be enough for you to ask her if she'd like to be pet now before you touch her, or your dog may prefer you adding a name for various body parts that you're going to touch - would you like a belly rub? I'm going to wipe your feet now. How about an ear rub?
This allows your dog time to prepare herself for your touch instead of your hand just plunking down on her body. Knowing what's coming allows a dog to feel safer with what's going to happen. Tell your dog throughout the day what you're about to do - put a leash on, fill the water bowl, etc. She will learn through repetition. Remember, she used to get this information by watching you. But she can't see now, so you can give her this information in another way.
Many blind dogs don't like to be bumped into or awakened suddenly. If there are other animals or young children in the home, closely supervise them. Even if your dog has been fine with them in the past, remember that now she is losing the ability to gather information visually. She won't see them approaching her, and it can be scary to be grabbed or bumped into suddenly if you don't know it's coming.
You can give your dog advance information cues to let her know that the baby is nearby or the cat is approaching her so she's not startled with them suddenly being close or touching her. It's also important to give your dog alone time without interruptions when she can relax and sleep soundly. Sleep is important to all of us. It is important especially during this time of transition that you create a safe place for your dog to get uninterrupted sleep. Dogs that are deaf and are losing their sight can be given informational cues through touches on different parts of their bodies. Take the time to condition touch as a good thing first. If you try to add touch cues before your dog feels safe, you may trigger behaviors such as growling or snapping. Always pay attention to your dog's body language and what she's communicating to you. Don't be afraid to hire a positive reinforcement based trainer to help you through the transition if needed.
Some dogs are more startled and concerned about noises as they lose their sight. Normally a dog would hear a noise and then look to see what it was and where it was coming from. A dog hearing a noise but not knowing where it's coming from or what's happening can feel uneasy. This can lead to feelings of anxiety.
Give your dog information about noises in her environment. If you use the same words and a calm tone each time, she will begin to recognize that the noise is something that happens regularly and is not something that you're concerned about. Calming music or a white noise machine can help to mask noises during the day or night that your dog may be concerned about.
Other Resources
Here are some other related resources you may find helpful:
Learning a New Way to Communicate
Encouraging Play and Activity with Newly Blind Dogs
Conditioning Touch
Signs of Stress
Tips for Stress Reduction
**For more information about blind and/or deaf dogs, visit my website at www.yourinnerdog.com You will find articles, books, online classes and resources there to assist you! To subscribe to this blog and receive emails as each new post is published, please scroll to the blog header above and add your email address!**
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