what a cutie

[charlene]

was just having a we look at rescue dogs and think ive fallen in love lol......have a we look

http://www.scottishspca.org/rehoming/animal/1115_rex
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[Claire/Mark]

He is a cutie

[Jack]

Aw - so cute!!! Poor lamb is blind too - no wonder he's having trouble finding a home - hope he finds it soon
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Staffies are my life! Visit us at www.staffies.co.uk

[charlene]

erm dont tell scott but think am gona phone the mora and find out some more info on him
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[Claire/Mark]

[charlene]

i no but a mean we have spoke about getting another dog and would love to rescue one, although he would need alot of time and patience
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[Jack]

OH - brilliant news Charlene - good on you!!!! Make sure it feels right before you commit to it. A friend of mine had a Collie that went blind aged about 4. Yes allowances had to be made but you'd be amazed at how well they cope
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Staffies are my life! Visit us at www.staffies.co.uk

[Lisa/Colin]

I see trouble at t`mill !!!!

Lovely looking dog .

I carried on to see all dogs - 90% staffies by the look of it.

Dont you look Jack , youd have em all....



Colin

[charlene]

yeah loads of we staffies its ashame

silly question maybe but how does the dog adapt to the likes of obedience classes and socialising with other dogs etc??
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[Lisa/Colin]

Im probably the least educated on the forum about this kind of thing but i can only imagine that scent and sound would play a large part in it , also the dog is still young enough to learn from the classes ....

Correct me if im wrong anyone.

Colin

[kendal]

he is a lovely looking dog, and i dont want to stop him getting a home. but i hope you understand what you would be taking on with a blind dog, we have had a few in the kennels, the ones i have met have a bad habit of just bolting and not thinking their might be something infront of them. i had a wee Lhasa that was on a flexi and ran right into a gate as i dint get a chance to press the button, also a lab that is always bashing his nose and tripping over his own feet or steps.
i think you would need to have alot of time for him.

like i said i dont want to put you off him, but just think about how he would coap. you live in a flat dont you so im guessing there are stairs, he might be better in a bungalow.


sorry if im bursting your bubble.
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microchiping and grooming www.chipnclip.co.uk

[charlene]

thanks kendal......theres no way i would just rush into getting a dog like this, thats why am asking for the advice......ur right i do stay in a flat and have stairs.....that wouldnt concern me to much as i think the dog eventually would get no were there stairs when leaving the house
i totally agree with u and think it would be a big commitment to take on

i wonder if its always been blind or something has happened

p.s kendal ur skills and advice from working in the kennels come in handy, thanks
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[Jack]

In every dog shelter the land over the majority appear to be Staffies Such a shame as they make wonderful pets. Yeah I KNOW I'm biased but they truly do. Such a shame they attract useless owners Myself and my lovely forum members excluded from that sweeping statement naturally

Charlene. They adapt very very well. As humans who are blind rely more on their other senses so do dogs and cats that are blind. You have to work ultra hard at building the respect and trust though so that they trust and respect you enough to do as you are asking. Being non sighted they HAVE to trust you so they will for example stay when you tell them to - they HAVE to trust you to know you are coming back for them and not abandoning them so that for example can take a while. Socialisation CAN in some instances be easier as they don't see a dog being aggressive or dominant but you have to do more in the way of guidance, letting them know when they are approaching another dog for example and give them an idea of proximity so it's not a surprise to them and they don't lash out snapping because they are fearful and/or startled. I'd suggest a trigger word or sound for this very thing, prepare them and they are more likely to be social. Classes - again they are able to cope but allowances should be made. It will take a little longer for them to do some things but they can manage most.
Cats use their whiskers to judge distance and poorly sighted/blind dogs tend to do this too although as their whiskers aren't the widest bit of their bodies, unlike cats, so it's not quite so effective as with cats. They'll use a mix of bumping into things and then learning the layout of your home for example to get around and also sometimes employ an almost sonar instinct as you see bats and whales do - they use sound echos to judge distances too. My friend Mary stopped moving her furniture around once Max went blind and learned to leave doors open around the house which helped him hugely. Little things such as talking to them when you approach also help so again they are not startled. Mary used a lot of vocalisation to warn Max of things the only thing he couldn't do was go off leash when out and about as he LOVED to run and being blind didn't stop him - the trees that he kep crashing into DID stop him however so for his own safety he had to be leashed
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Staffies are my life! Visit us at www.staffies.co.uk

[charlene]

thanks jack.......really good advice
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[kendal]