An Exciting Saturday

It cold out, and Louie wants to sleep in...
Trying to wake Louie up is quite the task, he's a heavy sleeper. Talking to him, shaking him, even picking up his head with both hands doesn't work really. He moans and sighs and just keeps snoring. I took this photo with his face in my hand and he still 'slept'. I think he's just faking it so he doesn't have to get off the bed and go outside in the cold. Since he does sleep with his eyes half opened a lot of the time it's hard to tell. The first time I saw him asleep with a blind eye opened it scared me, now it's just a sleeping Blind Louie! The one word that will wake him up? Breakfast. of course.

Today is our fifth day of our Canine Good Citizen (CGC) Class.
This is the last day of actual class, next Saturday is our final day and test day. Test! Ah! I never felt that I tested well in school. Something about the pressure made my mind go blank. I quickly found out how to avoid tests by dropping out of school at 16 and working full time instead. Phew. No tests at work... or is there?

Everyday I'm tested, quizzed on things I've learned before. It's just not called a test, exam or quiz. Every time I tell Louie to sit and stay we're practicing. As long as I can let go of that evil word 'test' then we will do fine. Louie doesn't know that word, he doesn't know what a test is and he won't know we're being tested so I'm sure he'll do fine. Again, I'm jealous of Louie's simplistic nature. He's always in the now, in the moment. Louie is also very happy... maybe he's onto something. If we don't let our past or future scare us, we can truly enjoy the present. Oh Louie, always such sage advice.

So today I will go to class with an upbeat attitude. If we do not pass the test next week we can retake it, and even if we don't, we had a blast taking this class. It's something I thought I would never do and now that I have, I hope to do it again! I'm already thinking of taking my dad's puppy to class for him. It's not something my dad would want to do but I think it would be fun to try to teach new tricks to an open mind and a clean slate. This puppy is fresh! His mind is like a sponge! He's eager to learn!

Which brings me to our next exciting thing for this Saturday!
Budde the Puppy is eight weeks old and it's his one week anniversary of being a part of the Swift-Waschke family! How did we ever live without him? I'm sure my dad is wondering that. It has been a great week. Budde never needed to be left alone and we all took turns taking him outside to potty, trying to do that about once an hour. It's annoying but he's so tiny, he needs to go very often. Also, the less accidents in the house the easier it will be for him to understand that he is supposed to ALWAYS go outside. He's too little to tell us when he needs to go yet. That will come with time.

Budde the Puppy is doing a great job following along and coming back when he's called now. I know from experience that will get worse before it gets better. He will have to test his boundary over and over time and again. That is how a puppy learns, or even how a child learns for that matter. It is our job as the adult humans to be constant in calmly showing what we expect from them as appropriate behavior again and again. and again and again and again! Patients, above all else, raises a great dog. Thanks again, to my Blind Louie for another valuable life lesson.

I decided that I would have the family fun photo shoot time only once a week.
This is a photo of Snorp and Budde the Puppy last Saturday, the day that we picked Budde up and brought him home. They are cute and playful, but after a whole week, things have only gotten cuter yet!

There is a new puppy, and taking pictures of him doing cute stuff could quickly become a time consuming addiction. So I definitely had to set myself limits. I decided to take photos of Budde every Saturday. Shots only once a week consistently will overtime provide a really great album showing him growing, and this will happen so fast! He's already a little bigger, a little stronger and a little smarter. He knows how to get up and down the front steps now and he's really getting the idea that he needs to be the one to get out from under Louie's feet. Smart guy, it only takes him being tripped over a few times and he gets the idea.

Please check back for two more new posts before the end of the weekend!
'Canine Good Citizen Class, Day 5' and 'Budde the Puppy is Eight Weeks Old!'

Canine Good Citizen Class, Day 4

Today went wonderfully!
We had more fun in class today than ever and Louie is doing so good. I am especially impressed with his long 'stay', but he's been good at that for a while. As far as most improved, that would be the lay down command. I know I've written  before about that being a tough one for Louie. It may be because of his blindness, he's unsure of where to lay down or he isn't comfortable in that vulnerable position in a strange area. Whatever it is, it has gotten much better with practice. I tried to have him lay down every chance I had today and he's really getting better.

Only one more class to go and then it's test day, in two weeks!
Test day happens to fall on my birthday of all days. It would be the best birthday present ever for Louie to be CGC certified! But if we do 'fail' it's not a total loss by any means. We have bonded even further by going to the class, and we're both having fun practicing. That is all that really matters. I have to remember why I started this, I hope to one day be able to do therapy work with Louie. If we can't pass this test, then that might not be meant to be. If that is the case than that is okay. Louie is still my therapy dog and I love him. I have a feeling though that we can do it. If we don't pass the test the first time, we can retake it. No big deal. If I'm relaxed about this, Louie can relax too and we're more likely to do a great job.

I'm really enjoying our instructor, Michael.
He does a good job without being too pushy. When daydreaming about what dog school would be like, I was afraid I might be forced into retraining Louie on the simpliest of things because it wasn't 'right'. Like for instance, I walk Louie on my left side. What if my trainer thought that was ridiculous! You're dog is a beast with bad manners unless you walk him on your right side! No no no. Michael seems very open to seeing what is working already, and catching things you might be able to improve on too. It is just helping me having a set of eyes on us and I am able to bounce ideas off of him if something comes up.

So, anyone in the Bellingham, WA area - head to Tails-a-Wagging if you want to take a class, Michael is great and I'm sure the other instructors there are great too.

I will leave you with this image of Louie with lots of food on his face.

If he had pupils, I think you'd see he is crossing his eyes! Love.

Cat Sniffer

This video was an accident.
I was taking a few photos of Louie modeling his Ray Charles sunglasses the other day. Today when I was cleaning up my photo album I came across this very happy accident. I must have switched to video mode for just a second and recorded this gem. Louie can't see a thing. It is quiet... just watch his nose and you'll see... :)

Our cat walks by, out of frame and without touching Louie or making a sound. You can see his tail go by, and there goes Louie's nose! He's amazing!

Here, Hold this Food on Your Face.

Louie is a very good dog when he has food on his nose. He can sit there like that for an hour. He'll just keep waiting until you tell him 'GO!'.

After a little while, a calm comes over him. Total zen.

Blind Louie meditation.

   

A few times, I've made Louie wait so long, that when I told him 'Go!' he just tilted his head to the side inquisitively. 'What?' He had forgotten there was anything there at all.

The treat slid off of his nose

When he heard it hit the ground, he jumped a bit!
but excited to find, there on the floor, a treat!

Oh, Louie.

Lou Lou Gets a Boo Boo

Louie asking to get on the bed (on the right side of the bed)

Lou Lou got a boo boo.
Louie is a smart and capable guy, so much so that sometimes I forget that he's blind. He navigates around our tiny cluttered house no problem. With just a few whispered verbal cues he can navigate his way up, over and through a big bunch of fallen logs in our front yard, so when it comes to getting around nowadays, I just let Louie figure it out mostly by himself. I've always got an eye or an ear out for him, but I think it's important for him to be confident and be able to explore for himself. When Louie is sleepy this is not a good idea.

When Louie is sleeping and wakes suddenly, he's like a crazy drunk man who doesn't realize he still has his hat pulled over his eyes. Louie acts as if he can see and just goes for it. If Louie's asleep and our other dog, Snorp, barks at something, this can trigger Louie to 'get up and go!!' without thinking it through at all.

Louie sleeps on our bed, often.
Louie knows that when he needs to get down from the bed, he needs to get off of the right side of the bed. This keeps him aware of where he is and the right side of the bed is a clear landing. The foot of the bed has a small cabinet with our TV on it about 16 inches away from the bed and the left side has hour dresser about 2 1/2 feet from the bed. The right side is a clear 5 foot area where he can get off and turn around and decide where to go next. When Louie is fast asleep and he wakes up quick, you never know what will happen next.

Saturday night, Paul went to town for a show.
He didn't get home until about 2:30am. I was sleeping with Louie on the bed and Snorp was waiting for his Daddy by the front door all night, as usual. I was dead asleep when I opened my eyes and saw Louie launching himself off the foot of the bed while barking. Paul had just walked in the front door and Snorp was excitedly greeting him. Louie heard the commotion and went into autopilot and jumped off the foot of the bed instead of the right side and dove head first into the cabinet with the TV on it. It made a pretty good thunk, but he still managed to turn and drop his back legs down and trot over to go and happily greet Paul. The sound of his head hitting the wooden furniture sent shivers up my back and down my arms, the hair standing up on the back of my neck.

Louie lays facing his exit. Behind him is the cabinet he crashed into.

I always try to stay calm when Louie hurts himself.
It's really hard to do. Sometimes I think the sound of him bonking his head hurts me more than it hurts him. He did not whimper or whine. He did not let out a squeal or anything at all. If I didn't see what he did, I wouldn't have thought anything of it. I let him finish the 'power petting' he was getting from dad and I turned on the light and sat on the floor and cradled his big stupid head in my hands. Sure enough, there on his forehead was a little nick, barely bleeding. I got out the first aide kit and a bit of disinfectant and dabbed it in there. Louie sat and waited so patiently. If it stung at all, he did not let on of his discomfort in the slightest. I patted a bit of antibiotic ointment and was just happy it was in a spot where he wouldn't try to lick it off.

Looking at the cut now, I see it might leave a scar.
It's not very deep at all, it looks like he just hit the small metal handle on one of the doors of the cabinet and it just shaved a little spot on his forehead. It's not deep at all, just hairless and white now. My mom said 'Oh, he looks tough now. People are going to think he was a fighting dog.' We both pause and look down at Louie with his goofy carefree smile and wagging tail. We look back to each other and we both shake our heads. No, no one would believe that.

This poses a question that is worth looking into.
Should Louie not be allowed on the bed because he might hurt himself? Should Louie have to sleep in a kennel or a crate to prevent something like this from happening? Should Louie only be allowed on leash, constantly tethered to his mommy or daddy? It's worth asking myself. This is how we all learn from our mistakes, and from others mistakes as well.

Our cozy and colorful tiny living/dining room

Normally, I wake up when Louie starts to stir and I help him off the bed.
Louie figures it out all on his own most days without any help at all, but, 1 in 1,000 times he leaps into the wall instead of onto the floor. Should he be caged, leashed and guarded? I think of what his quality of life would be like if he wasn't allowed to be free to explore and learn on his own and I say: No. He should not be caged, guarded and leashed 100% of the time. We do take precautions, don't get me wrong. That's why we don't have our bed next to our 4 story balcony window where he could smash through and sail off into the cold night. I don't have a glass table with a narrow ceramic vase holding a precariously perched anvil. My house does not resemble an 'Angry Birds' set up or a wicked game of dominos in the slightest. Actually, we are quite thoughtful when decorating or arranging our home. We keep all our family members in mind when setting up, including our pets.

Think about this same scenario, only with a young child, toddler or baby. We know our kids need to explore and try things to be able to learn. Telling a kid not to jump on the bed because they could fall off and get hurt is one thing, but actually falling off the bed and getting hurt is a lesson that no one else could teach as well as gravity does. I firmly believe we are here to cushion our kids fall and kiss their boo boo's, but not to cage or leash them. Because then, when they are inevitably set free, they will not know how the world works or how to figure things out for themselves. Louie is a lot like a toddler, but without the sassy mouth. I definitely handle him with kid gloves, but I do not hold him back from learning from his own mistakes. I know Louie will not accidentally leap off the wrong side of the bed again for a very long time. He's moving slower when he's on the bed and putting more thought into it. He is also looking to me to support and instruction, and I am there and happy to give it.

6/4/2015 UPDATE: I reread this today and wow, now that I'm a mom this last paragraph is great parenting advice! I had no idea when I wrote this post that two month later I would find out I was pregnant! Funny how it all works out. More importantly, Louie does not have a scar from this little misstep! Thanks for reading.

Canine Good Citizen Class, Day 2

The best shot from all day. Nice.

Today was the second of six classes Louie and I are taking to become CGC certified.
Today went pretty well. Louie and I got to class about an hour early and just parked and walked around the 'neighborhood', if you can call it that. It's more of an industrial park than a neighborhood really. Big metal buildings, the humane society is there, a tire shop that services semi's and delivery trucks, a couple of construction supply warehouses and our county's second jail. Not a usual fun place to chose to go for a stroll on a nearly freezing rainy day but it's great practice.

 This was actually good because Louie got some try walking on some different surfaces than he is used to. There aren't any sidewalks, just sloped edges, driveways and big drainage grates. There is also lots of gravel on the pavement which sounds and feels different. All in all a good experience for Louie. I like to walk before class because Louie is much better behaved around other dogs when he's already had some exercise. Also, that way he most likely won't have to go out during class. As far as getting the toots out, well, all I can say is I hope no one thought it was me. Lou let out a couple of SBD's during class that were so thick you could choke on them. Classy AND sophisticated Louie, I know.

We worked on a few more basic things.
That is the beauty of this test. It is so basic. It really is just good manners. This is what Louie and I have worked on together since he came home with me at seven weeks old. He has come a long way. This class, and this test, is just a way to help hold me accountable and not let Louie's good behavior start to slip in his old age. It is also helping me realize some areas where he could use some work and where I can use some work as well. For instance, how I keep Louie at my side without Louie being able to see me? He can't get too far away from me, because the leash needs to stay loose during the test. I have to make noise, talk to him and call him. He needs to sit by my side when we stop, not in front of me. I am also super clumsy with my delivery of treats. Between me being bad with my left hand Louie blind as a bat, it's often that I will miss his mouth and drop the treat on the floor. I may use treats more sparingly, I feel like I have been force feeding him because 'everyone else is doing it' and I'd never been to class before. Everyone else there has had their dogs in classes before and the oldest one there is only about 3. Louie is an grown man and I'm an adult and I don't know the ways of the dog school, will I be allowed to not use treats? Now that I get the whole class thing a bit more, I think I'm going to lay off of the treats. We'll try that and see how that goes. Fewer could be better, we will see.

Louie stays, Snorp does not.

The CGC test will cover the following:
1. Accepting a friendly stranger
2. Sitting politely for petting
3. Appearance and grooming
4. Out for a walk - keeping a loose leash
5. Walking through a crowd
6. Sit and down on command and Staying in place
7. Coming when called
8. Reaction to another dog
9. Reaction to distraction
10. Supervised separation

Today we hit on numbers 1, 3 and 10.
The separation will get easier the more we practice the longer sit and stays, just as our instructor said. That is something we practiced all week and he keeps getting better and staying for longer. I think this will really help for the test, the supervised separation will be three whole minutes long.

Accepting a friendly stranger Louie has this down pretty well. He's just a calm and friendly kind of guy. He has a bit of a hard time stopping when I stop, but with some cues we learned today we're going to get better at it with practice.

Louie has never been to a groomer.
I brush him regularly, because he loves it. His coat is so short and velvety, it shines up real nice when you brush him. He'll put his head back and close his eyes and just enjoy it. Cutting his nails is another story. Cutting a nail will make a sound come out of him in which you may think he was being murdered. This one is also really hard for me, because I am not confident on where to cut because of his black finger nails. I always have our vet cut them when we go to see him. This is something I hope to overcome as well. Ears are another easy one. I keep them clean and he doesn't mind them being touched. You can have a look in his mouth too, he won't mind a bit but I will admit I haven't done the best with his dental care. Everything is still intact but I don't brush his teeth and as he's gotten older his breath has gotten stinkier. Maybe instead of just telling him, 'Louie, you're breath is stinky', I should do something about it. After overhearing a conversation about teeth brushing between the instructor and another student, I've been inspired to give this tooth brush thing a try. I bet Louie will like that too. I'll let you know how it goes.

My loving husband Paul, fast asleep on his favorite living meat pillow.

Overall, I think we're sitting pretty (pun intended).
The next two weekends we will be without class because of Christmas and then the New Year. This means we will have three full weeks to practice and improve.

I look forward to improving myself, maybe even more than Louie. I know if I get better at leading him, he will get better at following. I can always improve the way I interact with others, people and animals alike. Sometimes it can be hard to take instruction from another person, especially about something that you care deeply about. I love Louie with every ounce of my being. If I let myself, I might be very defensive about his behavior and any instruction I may get in that regard. This would only make me frustrated and hold Louie back. This class is great practice for me. It will help me continue to be open to learning and instruction. It will encourage me to be open and honest with myself about my actions. It will also help all of us, both pets and people, look at myself and my family objectively and allow us all to learn from what we see.

Win Win Win and WIN!

Since I didn't get much today in the photos department, I will leave you with this intimate close up. Last night, I found my husband had fallen fast asleep on a very beefy pillow. I love my life.

Downed Tree Front Yard Adventure

Louie and I have been practicing.
Everyday we put his harness on and go outside to practice simple commands. For the first time in Louie's adult life, we are doing this with treats and he loves it. I've never seen his butt hit the ground so fast when I say sit. He's even starting to sit on his own when I stop which is really cool. The weird this is he'll step in front of me and tun 90 degrees toward me before he sits. I don't exactly get why that is. It's his reset point? He still stays in the sit position when I step back in front of him and give him the treat.

We have really been practicing 'stay'.
To pass the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test at the end of this class, Louie will have to sit and stay for three minutes. Three whole minutes. That is like an hour in dog time. So we practiced 30 seconds at a time for a while yesterday, then a minute at a time, but with treats every 30 seconds. He's getting better at staying seated when I'm approaching. Before he'd get excited when he could here me coming back because he knew that meant a treat. Now he's understanding better that he doesn't get that treat if he gets up and we have to start over again. Louie is a pretty smart guy.

There is a tree that we cut down in our front yard.
It was old and dying and down she went. The trunk and branches are still in piles around the stump. Louie has avoided that area all together since the day there was all that racket with the chainsaw. Smart guy. So we went on a front yard adventure out to the tree stump. Louie navigating around fallen limbs and tree trunks is a pretty amazing sight. He follows blindly behind me, lifting his legs high, squeezing his eyes closed tight and putting his best paw forward. When we got to the stump, Louie was hesitant to step up. So I stepped onto the stump first and Louie climbed up right behind me. It reminded me just how much Louie trusts me. It could be a scary and dark world in there. If Louie wasn't in a place of kindness and understanding, he could be a fearful, Un-trusting dog. When it hits me again, the magnitude of his love and trust for me, it makes me so happy to be alive. Patients, understanding and love has created a safety net for Louie to live happily and function while completely in the dark.

Louie is working well with distractions.
As we practice, we're being tailed by three other animals. Snorp, our other dog, races happily around us. Full speed ahead! 'What are you doing, where are you going, can I have some, what next' he bounces merrily from place to place. Following just behind Snorp and attempting to finally catch and murder his swinging dog tail is Meatloaf Kitty, swiping for that pesky tail, her arch nemesis and most treasured friend. Louie hears the weird little kitten squeaks and squirrel noises she makes as she darts from side to side at max speed. How something so little can pad the ground so hard with their tiny feet and make such a racket, I will never know.

The third 'animal' in question, and the most challenging distraction is Grandpa Chuck, my dad. He's stepped out onto his porch to watch Louie try and climb over he branches to the stump, his eyes glistening with the pride he has for his grand dog. He loves us so much that he just can't help but try to stir things up. So he gets Snorp to start barking by staring him down and stomping his feet, the Meatloaf goes racing away and Louie starts barking too. Louie starts to move like he is going to run, he was so excited he almost forgot but here I am a foot away to remind him to slow down. He's so excited but he lets me guide him back over the logs and limbs onto the grass and he trots away too. He wants to find my dad. I hope Louie will get better at working with distractions, all of them, even the 'bad dog enabling grandpa' distractions, which  are the toughest by far. I know one thing, I won't have Grandpa Chuck there for CGC test day for Louie, but I will use him as the ultimate gauge of Louie progress.

Snuggley Sunday

Today was a good day.
It was just a warm inside, snuggley, relaxing and productive day. I woke up early, put on coffee, let the dogs out and tidied up a bit. I fed the dogs breakfast on our porch, their food it kept in an small outbuilding attached to the house my parents house next door. Our place is so tiny, there just isn't the room anywhere. It was really cold and it was just starting to sprinkle a tiny rain snow mix. It was quiet except for the chickens.

After breakfast I put Louie's harness on.
He knew it was time to work. I grabbed a handful of treats and headed outside. I've never used treats before when training with Louie, maybe just a few times when Lou was a puppy. We practiced everything that we had practiced in class about 10 or 15 times each. Louie had a blast!

We went to visit my folks next door.
Louie warmed up by the fireplace AND practiced a 'sit stay' for about a minute and a half. Plenty of time to snap a few good pictures.

After, Louie went upstairs to wake up my mom.
When I found him, he was practicing being a therapy dog, all on his own. He's a natural. Even my mom, who doesn't normally want dogs on furniture, lets him up to lay with her. He's just such a good snuggler. He makes a great pillow. He's gentle and loving and sweet. I fall in love with Louie again everyday.

Today we lazed around. I wrote, Louie practiced good manners and got in lots of snuggle time. I'll say that is a successful weekend! Tomorrow is Monday again and like always, it seems to have come to soon.

Canine Good Citizen Class, Day 1

And away we go!
Louie and I had our first day of class today. We are taking the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) class at a local doggy day care and dog training center called 'Tails-a-Wagging'. I got Louie ready by taking him on a walk about an hour before we had to leave to go to the class. A great way to get him to take a big giant dump and get some of the wiggles out. We walked downtown and found a big empty parking lot, he did a big poop on the way. When we got there, I just thought I'd practice a real official 'sit and stay'. We hadn't done that old trick for no reason in a really long time. We use it around the house and in the yard, but Louie and I haven't practiced basic commands just for the heck of it for a few years. I found a white line of a empty parking space and had him sit. I walked away from him. I didn't look back, my mind was elsewhere really. I have total confidence in this with Louie. When I turned around I was surprise in how far I walked and far he was away from me. 'Good boy, come!' I shouted and he did!

'Running' as fast as he could.
You may picture a handsome Louie bounding toward me. It's more like a strange march really. His form is much different that sighted dogs. He sets his head low, lifts his front legs high and swerves a bit from side to side. I just keep talking, softly. He can hear so well. He speed marches toward my voice. I stretch my hands out to cushion the landing and tell him 'stop'.  Wiggle wiggle wiggle! Yay! He found me! Louie is excited. This is fun for everyone! I think we're going to do okay.

When we got home, Louie knew more exciting things were still to come.
I didn't take off his coat and harness. He was following me so closely because he didn't want to accidentally get left behind. I borrowed my moms car because mine is in the shop. I went over to her house and got her keys and borrowed an old blanket to cover the backseat, mandatory keeping the moms car clean. 'It's not a dog car', whatever that means, I don't know. The sound of the keys left Louie almost bouncing in place.

He loves riding in the car.

Louie has always been a good passenger. One of the first things we did together a few days after I took the tiny puppy home was to take a trek about five hours east of here to tiny A frame cabin on a little lake near Omak, WA. Louie has always been such a happy camper.

I snapped a few good pictures of Louie in the car, but don't worry, I was always stopped. I had very precious cargo.

I'm always a tad nervous when I arrive to a new place.
Actually, that's downplaying it a bit. I get really nervous when arriving, front door jitters I call it. Having Louie with me for an appointment for school was the best thing ever. I felt so much more comfortable than if I was headed to take a class on my own for the first time. Look at this therapy dog in training already getting to work!

Watching where I last said 'stay'

The class was an extreme success!
The space was very nice and we got there with plenty of time for Louie to 'look around'. We did our usual 'smell the perimeter' routine until he was comfortable and then just explored around. Okay, big empty room with plastic chairs lining the walls, got it? Got it.

There were five dogs total in the class. Pretty small class but that is pretty cool. Louie acted curious each time someone new would arrive. The classroom was upstairs and the hallway was very narrow and echo-y with wooden steps that had rubber no-slip strips on them. The sound would alert Louie and he would listen intently until he could hear who or what was coming. Then he would give the air a good sniff until he got it was a dog and a couple of people and then it was back to hanging out.



Watching where my voice came from

When class started, Louie was on his best behavior.
First we just practiced sit for a while. Then lay down. That is harder for him for some reason. It seems like he's uncomfortable to get into that position. I've put a lot of thought into it. He knows what I mean when I say 'lay down' but he always hesitates. I have to put my hand down and tap the ground or snap where I want him to stretch out. I think it's because otherwise he doesn't really know if he's going to bump something. When he lays down on his own he always does a few circles first and clears a place. When I was first understanding he was going blind and started training him as a blind dog, I thought of every space as a 'runway', or a 'landing'. Runway could be a rug or a path we always kept clear or the trail he blazed into the grassy yard. A landing could be the rug at the bottom of the staircase indicating no more steps and time to turn to the right. For 'lay down' in class, I don't have a landing. No dog bed or towel. I guess leaning down and snapping will have to do. I think he'll get better at it with all the practice we'll be doing.

As for sit and stay, he smoked it!
He did a great job for the first day of class. Sit and stay for about a minute or so with me walking around and him just waiting there so patiently. He only got up twice after a pretty long time considering all the stimulus around us. I know with more practice we are going to be awesome! A couple complimented us when we were leaving saying Louie was the most well behaved. Me, beaming inside.

Louie zen after a nice walk and an hour class

Thing is...
Louie and I may have never taken a training class before, but we have done a lot of work. A LOT of work over the years. I had to. He was going blind as a six month old bundle of playful puppy energy. Zing! What would stop him from going full speed into a tree?! I wanted him to be able to be like any other dog, I didn't want him to have to be on leash constantly. The only way around that would be having a dog that would respond so well to your spoken commands that your voice could be your leash. We worked and worked and have a ton of strange cues and Louie does great. The awesome thing about this class is that we get to practice in a controlled environment, with others around as distraction and someone there to look to if I get stuck. Someone there to watch and gauge our progress. This is the beginning of a beautiful thing!

Prepping Up for the Dog Class.

Last Saturday, Louie and I went into town for a few errands.
First we drove to our vets for a Bordetella shot. Since we start our Canine Good Citizen class next week we have to be current on all vaccines. I guess they never gave it to Louie because he's never been boarded, to a class or to a groomer. They need the certificate of all his vaccines faxed over before we can go in and check the place out. I'm pretty excited to see how Louie handles all the dog smells when we get there. I plan to arrive about a half hour early so he can get a lot of sniffs out of our system before we start the class.

I was hoping to take Louie to Tails-a-Wagging, where the class is being held, sometime this week so we could get used to the place a bit, but my car broke down and it just didn't work out with a 45 hour work week in there, and living a half hour drive from work and where the class is and home. So now it's Friday night and tomorrow is the class, so going early will have to do. Hopefully they're open, if not we can sniff around outside for a bit.

Louie maps a place out pretty quickly.
Having one walk around the building before we start will be great. I can ask some questions, Louie can say Hi to some employees and maybe sniff some dog butts too.

After the vets we went to Farmers Co-op.
We needed dog food. Also, on the instructions for the CGC class, it said we're supposed to bring '40 plus semi-soft dog treats, Your dogs favorite toy...'. First off. We don't have dog treats around here. Am I now an evil dog owner? Will I be UN-friended by hundreds of fans? Well really the reason is, Louie's reward is always pets and loves. He likes it so much and we've never really used treats so he doesn't know he's missing anything. The other thing is Louie has a really sensitive tummy. When he was younger, I would let him stay a day with my dad while I was working sometimes. My dad cannot stop himself from feeding doggie's table scraps. He is the 'bad dog enabling grandpa' as I lovingly call him. Louie almost always came home with raging diarrhea, and no one likes that!

The other thing on the list was 'favorite toy'.
Historically, Louie's favorite toy has always been a tennis ball. Nothing else really lasts that long. Louie is a power chewer. No toy is left in one piece. Even tennis balls will eventually be scalps and left bald with tiny blankets of green fur strewn about the house. However since Louie because step dog brothers with Snorp, everything changed.

Snorp is a really good dog, but he's a real dog.
While Louie is our loving pet, Snorp is such a real dog. Snorp doesn't really like toys, but if Louie has one he wants it. Snorp will wait and watch Louie just loving joyfully tearing apart a stuffed animal. He will wait close by. Patiently. Silently.

Louie has great move, when he's playing with a toy he'll stop chewing for a second to grab it and shake it. Really hard. Sometimes he knocks stuff around if he's laying closer to furniture than he realizes. Sometimes he will accidentally let go mid-shake and let the toy go sailing through the air. Even if it's just a foot away, it gives Snorp enough time, quick ninja stealth mode - fast as lightning he snatches the toy and moves away, undetected. Louie, sniff sniff sniffs around 'looking' for his toy. He knows it was just right there one second ago! Sometimes it will take ten minutes, but Louie will always then realize that he has been duped, and cool dude Whoopie Snorp stole his toy right out from under his nose.

...and then the crying. Oh, the crying. The whining, the sobbing, the quivering bottom lip. Louie will not, under any circumstances take a toy from Snorp. He will sit a few feet away, 'staring' in Snorp's general direction and cry. His cry is so pathetic. So sad like a little kid's. If I can catch it on tape, I will post it I promise. He even sticks his bottom lip out and it quivers. Snorp will guard the toy until I come over and take it and hand it to Louie and give Snorp some pets.

Louie won't just go and try to take the toy, he's not sure enough of himself and another dog to approach them like that on purpose. If he bumps into a growling dog that's staring him down, that's another story. Whoops! Louie knows Snorp has the toy but can't look to his eyes to see if he's staring at him or if the toy is just laying next to Snorp as he sleeps. Sometimes I'll hear the crying in the other room and go to find Snorp sleeping on the dog bed with the toy laying a foot away from the dog bed and Louie will be crying because he wasn't sure if he could take it. What a sad sight, and adorable, and smart. Louie knows his boundaries. I just wish Snorp could be trained to give him a toy, and Louie to stop crying like that, it's heartbreaking.

Anyway... back to the toy thing.

Toys don't last around here unless they're just outside toys. So when choosing Louie's 'favorite toy' to bring to the class we went to the store to find a new favorite toy! Louie helped pick two out, as well as trying to use the open box of bulk dog treats like his own personal feeding trough. I keep him on a short leash because although harmless, he does follow his nose. We got a bag of dog treats and two toys.

Both toys we chose came with the promise of being 'built tough' and 'for power chewers'. One package even had a big Rottweiler modeling the toy on the package. It took about 2 hours before Louie had methodically chewed through and removed all three of the tiny squeakers out of each corners of the toy in the pictures. The other one he pulled out one part and I took the rest away to save for another day. He's been happy to carry around and fling about the chewed up squeakless toy anyway. So now we get to bring a stinky old ripped up chew toy that is supposed to be his favorite toy, and currently it is. Snorp is always good about letting me take the toy and give it back to Louie. I think he is bothered by his crying too. Also, I think Snorp's favorite part of the toy is watching and waiting and snatching it away from little Blind Louie.

So we're off! Like a herd of turtles in a rain storm!
So me, my blind dog with the 'rull weird looking eyes', our chewed up stinky toy and our bag of diarrhea inducing dog treats will dive into town in a borrowed car and take a class to be better citizens. Both of us will learn today and I am excited.

Meet Barb & Tina!

Hello Life with Blind Louie fans! This is Barb and her dog Tina. Tina has cataracts and is blind.

Please introduce yourself and your Tina. 

My name is Barb and I would like to tell about my sweet Tina girl. We live in a suburb out side of Pittsburgh PA. I am recently disabled after 30yrs as an RN. Tina and I now have a lot of time to work on quality life together. We share our life with my husband and a chihuahua rescue named Ike. In fact he came from a puppy mill and due to poor nutrition and care, he too is developing age related cataracts. Ike is Tina's "guide dog" as she uses him as a reference point when outside for a walk. We also have a cat, Lucy, who rounds out our family. They all interact well but honor each others boundaries. Tina likes to be "alpha" in the house but has been hanging more with Ike as she follows his scent to find her way at times.

That's great. Louie has his reference point at home too, our other dog 'Snorp'. The sound of his collar keeps Louie close by. So, how did you and Tina find each other?

I adopted Tina from a local rescue. She was just over a year old but had endured a life of abuse before I came along. We bonded immediately and I as a nurse saw that Tina needed love and compassion to get over her traumatic beginnings.

How did you discover Tina was different?

Tina started with a cataract formation in her left eye. We just noticed that the pupil of her eye looked opaque inside. We took her to our vet for a checkup and she tested her for glaucoma, retinal problems but could only find a dense cataract. Knowing her abuse history, which involved some head trauma, she said that the quick formation of the cataract usually meant there was scar tissue that led to her left eye becoming blind. Nothing to do unless she was in pain, which she hadn't shown signs of. So we took her home to love. She was getting around without problems. But about 8 months later, I noticed her bumping into things and missing the mark when jumping up onto furniture. Then I saw that the right eye had changed- looking just like the left. But it happened quickly. Took Tina to the vet and when checking her out, I mentioned that she had recently had a seizure, longer than the infrequent ones in the past. Vet thought that was probably what brought this cataract on so quickly

Was there anything you could do for her?

We tried some oral vitamins like OcuVite that people take. But really since my vet and an ophthalmic vet she conferred with, felt this was due to neurological causes, there wasn't much to try. Plus Tina had a severe case of pancreatitis a few years ago and almost died so they felt it was better not to add meds to her system.

Since Tina's condition wasn't causing pain and there weren't other side effects besides vision loss, it actually isn't TOO bad of a senario considering. Most dogs can adapt quiet well when the lights get turned out on them. How did Tina dog deal with blindness?

She seemed fearful at first, when bumping into things. but once we got some verbal cues down pat, she actually seems happier and "proud" when she makes it outside and back in without a problem!

How does Tiny get around?

Tina uses her ears and nose a lot more. She has learned also to proceed slowly when she senses she is near an object, and gently uses her nose to "discover" it. She still has her excited moments that she forgets she is blind and bumps into things more, but that too has improved- she has learned to "put the brakes on" while still enjoying the moment she is in! Her biggest challenge is going into a full tirade of barking when my hub or a visiting friend moves from a chair or makes a noise. He is trying to tell her "it's ok" before he moves but not consistently, So this continues to be a trial and error thing.

Can you tell us one story of a time you were really impressed with Tina's navigation ability?
Tina used to come and sleep in our bed each night, but she wouldn't let us bring her to bed. She would wait until we shut the lights out before she would come in. When Tina lost her sight, she still didn't want us to bring her to bed, and she could not longer see if we shut the lights out, I figured that she would no longer be sleeping with us. One morning I awoke to her wiggling body and her in my face! She had found not only her way to the bedroom but jumped into the bed without even being shown where and how! My guess memory and scent played a big part in her finding us, oh and maybe a snoring husband! Also Tina surprised me with how quickly she learned verbal commands"step up/down". It was like a light bulb came on for her! And an added plus is that she would use "pee pads" more before her blindness, fearful to go outside at times. Now she insists on going out to do her business!

I love watching Louie figure things out on his own, I do sense some pride when he gets it and watch out for that swinging tail! I know you are currently still dealing with medical issues. Are the risks and struggles, both emotional and financial, worth enduring? What are some things that make it worth the struggle?

Tina, as each dog or cat that has been part of the family, has more than made up any financial cost of her health by the love and devotion she shares with us. You can't really put a price on "family"! Emotionally, I may feel sad that she is blind and feel pity for her, given her abuse history as well. But I am learning so much by her resilience and continued adjustment to her new world.

That is it Barb! Resilience. That is why I started to write about Louie, I am learning so much I just had to share! Humans can fly into a panic like the world is ending at the simplest of things, myself included sometimes. We can feel sorry for ourselves and indulge our pain, or we can choose to persevere, be happy and live in the moment if we want to. Dogs don't have to choose, they just do. Louie is just here now, he doesn't think about how he used to be able to see and now he can't and he doesn't worry about what is going to happen tomorrow. He just deals with it and gets along just fine. If we could all hope to be a little like Tina and Louie.

Tell us about your site and where we can contact you and follow your story?

---right now I am telling Tina's story at www.blinddogsupport.com

Thanks to Barb for sharing her story!

That Dogs Eyes Are Rull Weird Lookin'

Gorgeous blue marble right eye

I think this is the most beautiful photo of Louie.
Look at his shiny, velvety coat, his floppy ears, his gorgeous blue eyes... wait, eye. We can only see one.

Well that's right ladies and gentlemen.
Louie's eyes do not look the same. Louie's right eye, that you can see in the photo, is blue in the light and still has much of it's shape. Notice that there is no pupil in this picture. I have not modified this photo in anyway. It was taken on a really sunny day in front of a window with the sunlight streaming through. Louie was basking in the heat of the sun shining onto the bed, his favorite. The sunlight shining into his widely open eye makes it look bright blue. That in itself is strange, because if Louie could see, he surely would be squinting from the light in this photo.

Sunken, sleeping, bad left eye

Louie's left eye is a whole other story.
Louie's left eye has always given us more trouble. It was the eye that had a white spot on it when I brought him home at 7 weeks old. It was the eye that caused him pain when the pressure spiked, and he was blind in that eye by time we got him to the vet the next day. It was his left eye that didn't respond well to the surgery at first, and we had to redo the surgery in only his left eye. Now it is his left eye that has shrunken and receded much more than his right eye. It is still weepy, runny and gooey and it doesn't match his other eye at all.

When Louie sleeps, his eye rolls back in his head.
His left eye is already sunken and when he sleeps hard, it rolls back in his head. Since it is sunken in, it doesn't hold the eye lids closed and they are always open a crack when he sleeps. Without a flash, a camera will pick up a small opening with only darkness inside. With the bright flash of my camera we can see the pink second eye lid that covers his sad, useless little eyeball.

Fact is, Louie doesn't need either of these eyes, beautiful or not. He is completely blind.
Louie's eyes are just for show. They trick people constantly into believing he can see. Some insensitive individuals have called me out on lying about his blindness. 'Well look at him.' they say. 'He's staring right at me and he can move his eyes.' Why yes he can move his eyeballs, and he will follow sound with those eyeballs, but he cannot see you with those eyeballs. He can 'see' you with his ears, nose and he can sense you and your ignorance from a mile a way! I've never really said that... inner thought. It's sad though, because Louie is blind and still has his useless eyes, so it calls for a lot of questions.

One of these things is not like the other...

Oh gosh! Is he okay!?
Yes, Louie is fine. In fact, he is nearly pain-free now. His eyes may look bruised and painful. They may weep and ooze and look yucky, but Louie is just a happy handsome guy. No big deal. People look to each others eyes to judge character, to see if a person notices them, to assure attentiveness, and to see into another soul. People look to dogs eyes to see if they are friendly, submissive or aggressive. Dogs look to each others eyes to find their place in the pack, to see if they are being challenged and to see if the other dog is about to attack.

You will get none of these answers from Louie's eyes unless you are looking with the knowledge that he cannot look back at you. Other dogs will often attack Louie, misjudging his vacant stare for a intimidating glare. Louie will only be trying to 'find' the dog that he clearly hears and smells and suddenly he's attacked. Louie's only defense is to bark really loud! It's sad, because of how he looks and how Louie's bark sounds, the owner of the other dog will often come over blaming Louie for attacking their dog. I will explain Louie couldn't even find them, and he just barks really loud. People don't like confrontation, nor do I or Louie like it, but sometimes it's part of life. No one wants their dog to be at fault in a scuffle, but that is just part of being a dog. Small wrestling matches and barking contests, no one is hurt. That is how we know where we stand.

Example of Louie's Ferocious Nature

So next time you are out and see a dog with 'weird eyes'.
Remember it's okay to ask questions, but don't believe you know more about it than the owner of the dog. It's okay for dogs to 'argue' and it's not necessary in most cases to place blame. Also, when you see a dog that 'looks mean' ask yourself how you came to that opinion. What about a dogs looks make them 'look mean'? Is it the color of their coat? The size of the dog? The deepness of their bark? The size of their head? Is it because they look like a 'Pit Bull' or 'Rottweiler' that you saw on the news, killing little kids?

None of those are very good indicators. Try to read the body language of the dog, you can do this even when you can't look to their eyes. Is the fur standing up on their back? Are they snarling? Growling? Moving slowly toward you with their head down? No? Is their tail wagging while the bark or howl loudly with their head up? Are they bounding toward you? Big differences. If you love dogs, and you like to pet them when you see them on the street. If you frequent dog parks or dog socials. Please study up on these signals, lose your stereotypes and allow yourself to be surprised. Dogs want to be good.

You Want Breakfast?

Breakfast:
the most important meals of the day.
If you ask Louie, this is fact. Although he would probably say the same thing about dinner. Actually, I only call it breakfast when speaking to him.

"You want breakfast?"
Louie has a schedule. We feed the dogs twice a day. At about 7am and about 6pm. The 'about' part is what Louie does not understand. I don't know where he keeps his pocket watch or how he reads it, but Louie always knows when it's mealtime.

When Louie was an only dog I didn't give too much thought on where I fed him. I knew to keep the cat food out of reach, up on a special bench just for cat feeding, or else. The or else part is Louie would eat all the cat food and have raging diarrhea for two days. He thinks it's worth it apparently because he'll do that any chance he gets.

The current eating arrangement, 2012

When Louie was a solo dog, I had a bowl of food next to a bowl of water up against a wall. Louie knew where it was, and when it was time to eat I would measure his food and pour it into his bowl. Pretty basic. Our first cat, Jack, loved to eat dog food out of the bowl with Louie. Louie would fully tolerate this, but he learned to eat quickly. The quick eating never changed. Louie loves food. He has a sensitive tummy and gets the runs easily, but he knows somethings delicious are also painful and he'll run the risk without hesitation.

When my husband Paul and I moved in together, each of our dogs came with us. Package deal.
They were both used to eating alone. Louie has no food aggression. I'd love to say I was such a great mom and trainer, but I really just give credit to Jack for forcing him to be so tolerant. On the other hand, Snorp did not like being bothered when he was eating. We found this out after the dogs first feeding in our new home.

The dogs bowls were side by side. We put the food down and Snorp began eating. Louie smells and hears food and goes for what he thinks is his bowl. Unfortunately he was just a little too far right toward where Snorp was eating and he bumped heads with him and was trying to get in on his bowl. Snorp was not having it! Can you believe this new guy Louie? What manners! He let Louie know with some nasty sounds of his disapproval.

This happened a few times, so we decided to change the eating arrangements.
We fed them at the end of a semi-narrow hall. Now, instead of putting the food and water against the back wall next to each other, we put Louie's bowl against the right wall and Snorp's against the left wall. I began always feeding Snorp first and saying his name as I put his food down. Louie's bowl always sat in the same place, in a corner where it couldn't slide around. I would pour his food into the metal bowl, he would hear the sound and since he knew where Snorp was already chowing down he could feel free to go ahead. Add a water dish next to each bowl and problem solved!

When we all moved into our current home on 'the farm', there wasn't an ideal eating space for the dogs inside.
We moved into a 600 square foot house. Yup, that is small if you didn't know that. There isn't even standing room for two dogs and one human in either the kitchen or the bathroom. The rest of the house is carpeted. The dogs are sloppy eaters and drinkers and I wasn't crazy about feeding the in our carpeted little living room.

Our covered porch was the best solution we could think of. We have an outside storage room where we keep the food in a metal garbage bin with a tight fitting lid. Now that the dogs have been living together, eating in the same room back to back everyday for a few years, would this work any better? Only one way to find out!

Test it out.
So we put a big water cooler in between the two bowls on a carpet. Louie's bowl is next to the house while Snorp's is next to the railing of the porch. The bowls are also shaped a little different, although I'm sure Louie could tell them apart just by smell alone. The wall is a good indicator for Louie, he can lean against it so he'll know where to turn when he's done eating. This really allows him to lose himself in the moment, and fully revel in the act of romancing his kibble. Snorp eats on the right. He can see, it's no miracle. I put his bowl down and he goes to it. What is the miracle? Louie never tries to eat from Snorp's bowl anymore! He knows his place. Only after they are both done eating and Snorp leaves the area does Louie do a full inspection and cleaning of Snorp's bowl and it's proximity.
Louie had a motto 'No crumb left behind.'

Nap time with Louie, 2009

Louie's Troubles with the Truck

Louie loves to ride in the car. LOVES.
I've always had a sedan since I adopted Louie. When he was small I would hold him on my lap. As he got bigger he moved to the passenger seat, and when he got huge, to the back seat he went. Louie loves to stick his nose out the window and sniff the whole wide world in. It sometimes gets a little noisy back there with all that sniffing.

When I met my husband Paul, Louie was almost entirely blind by then. Paul had a two door '90s Ford Ranger with two little jump seats in the back. I never actually thought it through until we were going to get into the truck for the first time together, Paul, Snorp, Louie and I. Louie had never been in a truck like this before.



Louie had been in a truck before.
My dad had an '02 Tundra with a full backseat and a rear door on one side. As far a Louie was concerned, this was just a much taller car that he needed to use the stairs to into. No big deal. He could still stretch out in the back seat or stick his nose out of the window crack. Louie loved riding in my dads truck. When he was really young, my dad left him in the truck and ran in somewhere for a bit. When he came back out his front passenger seat looked a lot different.

The seat had already split at the seam a little. My dad gave Louie a dog biscuit, it got stuck in the crack and then unattended, let the digging begin. It was a heated leather seat, did I mention that? It was the bells and whistles model. There were springs and wires and stuffing and leather sticking out everywhere. Louie didn't even look guilty. He was simply looking for his treat.



Paul's truck was a whole different story.
With a two door, you have to tilt the front seat forward and squeeze into the back. Louie didn't quite see it. Can you believe that?

He tried to jump into the front seat and just bumped in to the part that was tilted forward. Okay, so that isn't it. I kept reaching my hand over him into the back area and snapping my fingers. I said 'Come this way' and snapped again. Then I hit my hand on each side of the 'tunnel' he'd be going through. I tapped the back of the front seat, side of the truck and the floor. 'Careful' I said. I put my hand on his back. Louie jumped in.

Now, I would love to say that there it was just as graceful as I made it sound. Louie's big body had a hard time squeezing into the back. He kicked one of his back legs frantically for a second trying to get his footing and hop in. If you know Louie, you know that is not unusual. It takes him awhile to get on and off of things, for good reason of course. Sometimes, it's pretty fun to watch. Like I've said before 'blind dog's are sit down comedians.'


Snorp and Louie in the back of that two door Ford is another story.
They get in okay, but Louie always expands. There s no other way of describing it. It's like when you leave bread dough in a bowl to rise. If you stand there and stare at it, nothing. but if you forget about it and come back to it then all the previously negative space is now filled. That is Louie. Where does Snorp fit in? Let's just say he makes it work.

This picture, Louie resting his head on our arm rest.
I had to ask him to get up because he was lying down in the back and Snorp was standing in the only available space very uncomfortably. So Louie sighs, slowly stands up in the very middle of the back of the truck, sits and lays his head down and resumes sleeping. Standing up and sleeping. Snorp has the tiniest bit more space and the empty space on the other side of Louie? It's just that. It doesn't always make the best sense to onlookers, but it makes perfect sense to Louie.

Sometimes, Louie makes room for Snorp and then everybody's happy!

Navigation

Sometimes you poop on a ball and then, sometimes, there's poop on your ball.

Imagine this, you closed your eyes and you're playing fetch. (Keep those eyes closed! In your imagination, you'll need them open to read this.)You know the ball you're looking for is close but you can't find it. You're sniffing around for it and the urge to release your bowels comes over you. You poop. Very carefully you make sure not to step in it, and then begin looking for that ball again. When you finally find your beloved ball, you also find it's right where you pooed! Sometimes, what you're looking for is right under your chocolate starfish.

This is Louie, more than once. It's always a party pooper. Game Over. No more fun with that ball. No one wants to touch it and neither does Louie.

 A Thoughtful Pooper.
Ever since Lou was a puppy he was a very careful pooper. Not in the way another dog might be where they carefully choose their spot far away in the long grass and circle a bunch of times before squatting.
I'm talking about after he goes. When Louie poos, he makes sure to find a spot that is clear of objects and on grass or dirt (most of the time). The fun begins when hes done. He totally freezes for a second and then suddenly pounces forward like a bunny. He gets a really good jump away from his turd and then he turns around, and takes a wide path around and away from his leavings.

Yes, I am a dog mom.
I could go on for pages with different observations. If I can get this many laughs and this much enjoyment from dog turds then I must be in love. In all reality, I am ALWAYS amazed when watching Louie, even if he's just taking a crap. He's just figured out how to get around so incredibly well. It would be easy for anyone to forget he can't see. Even a receptionist at the vets office didn't believe me. I tell ya, what he can't see, he can hear, smell, feel, taste and sense. That last one, I don't know what it means. Some crazy psychic voodoo stuff. Blind Louie the incredible!

Louie is a Free Range Blind Dog.
I've read a lot on the subject of blind animals and everyone has given me advice. People said I should put Louie down because he's blind, that he shouldn't be outside, that he can't be off a leash or do anything independently ever. This is not the case at all. I will not allow that. Louie is a happy, healthy free range doggy. He memorizes paths, if we move patio furniture we point it out to him before letting him on his way, but for the most part Louie navigates for himself. I normally have an eye on him, but not always. I always know where he is, but I don't always watch. Louie is pretty predictable, because he memorizes pathways from place to place. There is an intricate map of trails blazed through the yard, but they are invisible to the naked eye.

Lou will bark if something startles him or if another animal or human shows up. I know to go and check on him if I hear him barking. Louie will whimper if he is 'trapped' someplace. When Louie forgets where he is, he cries a little and I can go find him and reorient him.This sometimes happens when he sleeping on our bed during the day. If he's in the room alone, and the TV or radio isn't on, he may not remember which way he's facing and which direction to jump off. Usually he remembers, but if you hear pathetic crying coming from our room he just needs reminded which way to go.

Trailblazer.
When I first got Louie, the house we were living in he literally wore a foot path in the front yard. He would take the path from the porch out into the yard, then branch off from that to relieve himself. There were several different branches off, but he would always turn around and find the path he rode in on and follow it back to the porch. That's when I first notice this amazing ability.

Louie had our house mapped out, but moving was no problem either. Any time I bring something new for the house I choose thoughtfully with every family member in mind. I don't have a glass coffee table with a one of a kind crystal vase sitting on the edge with a cup of coffee over a white carpet. I don't buy pointy furniture, so I don't have special padding on corners like some books have suggested. I don't have a coffee table at all, only a little end table that sits between two chairs with soft arms. Louie can walk and gently glance off the furniture to guide him through. If I took in a blind dog, that was more recently blind or went blind when they were older, I would definitely have to take a different approach at first, but pads on the furniture and the like would be just training wheels. Louie is always on leash in unfamiliar place, until he gets an full picture of his surroundings at least. He doesn't mind the leash one bit, he knows I'm just here to help guide him.

Exhibit A

Tidy up for Lou.
Louie helps me want to keep a clean house. I can't leave my shoes lying about or he will trip over them. It's not that he would hurt himself, rather he would just be startled and not be as confident of navigating in his own home. This is most important. Louie needs to feel safe where he is, and to make sure this happens, I try to set Louie up for success.

What Personal Space?
Louie does not understand the personal bubble.
He thinks that he fits anywhere he wants to go and no one would ever mind making room for this 100 pound beast. Usually, he wants to go wherever a person is. Take exhibit A for example. My husband playing Nintendo and his dog Snorp lying on the couch next to him. It's really a love seat, not a couch. Louie wants to sit there too. He waits for a minute, and then decides to slowly creep up and just sit. He sees absolutely nothing wrong with facing the opposite direction that everyone else is. It's no big deal that his face is only an inch away from the couch or wall. There he is. Make room for Louie! Scoot over world here he comes!