Expanding Our Vocabulary Part I

Louie showing his blanket moving and sleep stretching skills. 2007

Louie was adapting to blindness so quickly. I knew that as much as it was sad that he was going blind at such a young age, it was also really good because he'd be able to adapt to living with no sight much easier than an older dog that was already set in a routine. I knew I needed to use a hands off approach much of the time. Louie needed to figure things out on his own in a controlled environment where he couldn't get hurt. That way if he was ever in a situation and I wasn't right there, he would be able to use those problem solving skills he'd learned on his own. Small things like watching Louie try to find his favorite ball. It was under a chair. He could smell that it was there but when he walked forward he just hit a chair. He laid down and started to army crawl forward. He tried to shove his giant head under the chair and it wouldn't fit. Then he tried to reach out with a paw, he touched the ball! So he started to dig at the space where he knew the ball was and before you know it, it popped right out from under the chair. Wow! Now this was really the best ball ever! A treat he earned on his own tasted all the more sweet.

Sometimes it was too hard to sit and watch him struggle. If I tried to talk to him it would just confuse him. We developed more words that really meant something.

This Side

'This side' is used on a daily basis now. This command is used along with a snap of the fingers. 'This side' is said in a cheery, upbeat manner.  If Louie bumped into a chair for instance. I would say 'this side' and reach out with my right hand and snap a few times. This would cause him to move in the direction of the sound of my snaps. It didn't need to be directly in the spot that I wanted him to move either. It just needed to be on one side or the other of where he was standing, even if I was across the room. I tried the commands 'left' or 'right' at first but it didn't make as much sense as 'this side'.

Stay in your yard!
We did not have a fenced yard. We lived up a long driveway with a neighbors back yard sharing our front yard. We didn't have a back yard. Best thing about a bind dog? Invisible fences work! I would walk Louie on the leash on our side of this invisible line. He would be smelling around, every time he stepped into the neighbors yard I said "No. This side Louie. This side." and snapped my fingers on our side of the yard. He would quickly move over. We did this again and again. Finally off leash he would stay in the yard. When he would venture off all I had to say was 'this side Louie, stay in your yard' and he would come back over.


'This side' was also good when I wanted him to head in a more specific direction. I could use my body as a marker and then snap my fingers to indicate what side of that marker Louie should move toward. This would come in handy if he was near something that I wanted him to move away from. This works like a charm from a long distance away. I'm asking Louie to stay on a certain side of the invisible line drawn from my voice to where he is.

Hey, look out for that parked car!
Louie loves to lie in the sun on the hot pavement. I only allow his sunbathing habit for short periods of time because he will stay there until he gets sunstroke if I don't ask him to move. He loves to be warm and he loves finding a sunny spot.  He is also a very heavy sleeper, but that's for another story or two. So anyway, if he is laying out in the front yard and I want to call him from my porch but ensure he doesn't run into any parked cars, I say 'Louie, Come. This side.'

1. Louie sunbathing

2.'Louie, Come. This side.' I snap with my right hand

3.Louie slowly gets up and moves to the right of me.

Scoot over this way

'Scoot over this way' is another happy sounding phrase. It means simply, scoot over this way. It's much like 'come' but instead of 'come directly to me now', it's just 'move over' in any one direction. If I want him to 'scoot over' toward me I can clap, or I can snap for him to scoot over right or left.

Swimming with a blind dog leaves you with scratches on your legs, but it's worth every scratch.

Louie swimming in Reflection lake, Summer 2007

Louie loves swimming. I found this out early on. The first week I got him we went on a road trip to eastern Washington with some friends. We were on our way to a little A-frame cabin on a lake my family owned. Louie was almost 8 weeks old and only about 10 lbs. The first thing I like to do when I  get there is change into a swimsuit and get in the water after the long dusty drive. Louie could barely walk he was so clumsy. He followed me down the path to the lake, slipping and sliding down the dusty hillside. I didn't say anything and I just kept walking at the same pace into the water. Louie kept following me. It didn't take but a couple of my steps for Louie to be swimming. He was tiny, he only needed about a foot of water. His breathing changed as he sputtered and quickly learned to keep his nose above the water. He made kind of a whining sound as he breathed but followed me right along.

As Louie got older he kept that fearlessness about water. It was just like walking, but when you get to the water it turns itself into a paddle. So naturally we learned to play fetch in the water. I throw in something in that floats. He hears where it hit the water and swims in that direction, sniffing when he gets close. He'll bump into it and grad it. That's when 'scoot over this way' comes in. Swim on over this way buddy, bring back the stick. Louie loves to fetch.

He's a heavy sleeper.
My favorite of all times to use 'scoot over this way' is when Louie is fast asleep on my bed. Louie somehow has a way of growing as he sleeps. He starts curled up at the foot of the bed and ends up diagonal across the bed with arms and legs stretched out. I never know when it's happening, it's just all of a sudden I am falling off the bed and have no room.

"Louie, wake up. Scoot over this way." I tap him and repeat that until he starts to stir, then I just snap or pat the bed where I want him to move. It's a very long process because he moves very, very slowly when he's sleepy. It is for the best though, a drunkenly sleepy dog that can't see and quick movements? Sounds like a recipe for disaster.

Next Installment: Expanding Our Vocabulary Part II