A Year Later

It has been a long while since I have written a new blog post. Having a baby has been all consuming. Finally the hormones are wearing off and I'm not just staring at him in awe constantly. Well, most of the time I'm in awe but I'm getting used to it so it's not so distracting. I've gotten good at multitasking. Staring in awe and being productive. Check.

Blind Louie practicing calm next to 2 month old Dario, 12/13

Adding a baby to our 2 human-2 cat-2 dog household has shaken things up a bit, but not too much. Just enough to make things interesting. Louie and little D get along swimmingly now. I just make sure the baby in polite and uses gentle hands and Louie loves that another person is giving him attention. It was a different story when Dario was a newborn.

Louie just wasn't sure what to make of this tiny baby, but he was determined to figure it out. It was challenging to keep Lou from crushing the new baby while trying to deep smell him and lick him at the same time. They just had to be separated most of the time. Louie got his baby visits with a chaperone giving complete and undivided attention to the situation. Soothing talk with words like 'slowly' 'gentle' and 'wait' helped Louie contain his enthusiasm enough to be up close and give the baby a  good sniff.

During the first six months of being a mother, having my parents living next door was a really big help with Louie. He usually spent nights next door and got to spend tons of time with Budde the Puppy who is not a puppy at all anymore. It is also a fact that Louie absolutely loves my dad.

Louie walks along side one year old Dario, 11/14

As Dario grew and started vocalizing, he became less mysterious to Louie. I think when the only sound the baby made was crying, Lou was a little confused by him. Now that Dario is walking and getting sturdy on his feet, let the fun begin! Louie does so well walking next to people and follows voice commands amazingly, this makes walks with blind dog and baby in the yard are super fun and easy. If Louie is going too fast and heading right for the baby I say 'Stop', and he stops and waits for me to catch up and lead. All these years of working with him have really paid off. Now, as for training this baby of ours. That is proving to be much different than training a dog if you can believe it, but just as fun!

Getting Ready to Meet the New Family Member

Here we are, it's October already. I haven't posted any updates since just after we moved in July. That is a long time! Funny, looking at the blog now, this will be our 100th post. Pretty neat. 100 posts in just over 1 year.

Louie's favorite sleep spot in our bathroom

As you may know from previous entries, we are expecting. Expecting what? A baby! In October... oh wait, it is October now. I've been saying that for so long now, we're due in October. Now I can say, we're due in 8 days! Wow. Louie still has no idea. He knows we got new furniture in the extra room in the house. He knows that the new giant dog bed we put in there for him mistakenly has some sort of cage around it so he can't get in, and he knows that I walk slower than I used to. He is a very observant dog, that Louie.

Snorp on the other hand seems to get that something is up. He is a very sensitive and intuitive dog. He watched us move things into the baby's room. He watched as Paul assembled the crib and other furniture. He's found his favorite spot to sleep is on the floor next to the crib. I don't know if that's just because he is enjoying his own private room or if he is waiting for something to appear there. He is more gentle and loving towards me than ever. I have a hunch that he has a hunch that something is happening, but he doesn't know what.

Louie enjoying the dog bed on the porch

I've put a lot of thought about what it will be like having a newborn with two big dogs in the house. I know they will be curious and excited with a new being in the home. I have a handle on how to introduce our seeing dog, Snorp, but I'm struggling with Louie a little more. Louie does not understand the 'personal bubble' as Snorp does. Snorp can sit across the room and evaluate the situation with his eyes. He also works great with non verbal commands. I can reach my arm out and put my hand up, palm out and he will stop in his tracks. This will keep him away and let the baby continue resting. Louie is different. He wouldn't see my hand until he bumped into it.

Louie is also pretty excitable with kids. He loves them. He wants to get right up there and snuggle and lick faces. They taste all salty and like milk! When he met a friends 3 month old, it was typical Louie. He licked her face and wagged his tail like crazy. When we told him he'd had enough he still wanted to sit right next to us and be as close to his new friend as possible. When I am tired and just learning how to juggle a newborn and a million other things, I'll have to be careful not to trip over the big dog that is under my feet. Again, Louie won't get out of the way because he sees me coming. That will be my job.

Louie and his cat Halford on our bed

I know like so much of life that this will be a learn as I go experience. I have read a lot. I have worked with Louie a lot and I have put a lot of thought into it. After all, Louie is a certified Canine Good Citizen. I know he is trainable. We have already set some limits and he knows very well basic commands. Now I just have to take the time to use them, staying calm and happy. I also cannot forget that Uncle Louie was here first, and he'll still need my attention and love too.

After this dog training comes the task of training a baby human. I do have pretty good experience with puppies, but I have a feeling this may be a little more challenging. Once they are old enough to crawl around and grab things one of the first important lessons will be how to treat and respect a dog and a cat. With all parties on board we can live in a peaceful and safe household.

Any of our readers have tips or suggestion on this issue? Read any good articles? Please share them here in the comments section or on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/lifewithblindlouie.

Moving to a New House!

Louie enjoying his sunny new porch in the morning.

So, we're moving. Not far away by any means. We're moving right next door actually. We'll still be next door to my parents and Budde the Puppy, who's not such a little puppy anymore. We're moving to a house with two bedrooms, instead of the one bedroom we've been in. We are making room for the baby that should be arriving sometime in October.

The Dogs love the new yard and huge back porch. We let Louie come over and check the place out before any furniture was there. That is something I haven't really done before. Usually, I prefer it if he stays away until we have furniture arranged where it will be staying so he can really map out his new surroundings. This time it was a little harder to keep him away since we were walking back and forth between the new house and our old house and he was following right along of course.

Louie trying out the new couch as a possible sleeping home base.

Louie seemed to really enjoy checking out the empty house. He softly bumped into some walls and followed right along with me while I showed him around. Then it was time to start moving boxes. I was going to put him inside at my dads house so he would be out of the way, but Louie decided that he'd put himself on time out. We had moved the dog bed's first and we set them, temporarily, on the back porch. Louie found his dog bed and made that his home base. As we moved things he enjoyed his dog bed in a new location.

Louie is slow moving in the new house when he first wakes up. This is a good thing. Sleep for him hits some kind of reset button. In the old house he had only 3 places where he would sleep: on our bed with us, on the living room dog bed or on a chair in the living room. The house was very small. Now there is much more room to fall asleep, and much more space to get lost in (but there is still not enough room on our bed Louie, scoot over!) The fist night in the new house, Louie fell asleep with me on my bed. When Paul came to bed and had Louie move from his spot, we took the time to show Louie we weren't in the old house anymore. We helped him jump down and get his bearings. When he was finally settled he chose a spot on the carpeted floor at the foot of the bed. Our dog Snorp was sleeping just a few feet away. That was perfect.

All three dogs, fast asleep in the new backyard.

When I woke up the next morning, Louie was no longer at the foot of the bed. Where did he go? I checked the living room, the kitchen, the hallway and the still empty baby-to-be's room. Nothing. Finally, I went to use the bathroom and there he was. We have two bathrooms in this new house and one is in the master bedroom. Louie and I have never experienced such luxury. The strange thing is, this bathroom is carpeted. Weird, I think. I have never lived anywhere with a carpeted bathroom. I think this dates the house and shows it has not been remodeled in about forty years. It is pretty awesome looking overall, but the bathroom carpet seems wrong. I guess Louie thought so too. I don't think he realized he was sleeping in the bathroom because he was still in the room with us and there was still the same carpet. Louie was fast asleep on the bathmat.

Louie likes throw rugs and dog beds because it's an easy marker to where he is in the room. I'm sure he thought of the bathmat as his new dog bed in our room. I think it really confused him when I started to brush my teeth right near where he was laying! What!

All in all, this has been fun. It has been tough for me in that I can't move things like I usually would due to my 'condition'. I'm 7 months pregnant already! But this has made me realize and appreciate that my husband is such a good guy and a hard worker. I packed some, and unpacked, but he moved just about everything. Louie, not so much. He just 'watched'.

Interview Magoo, Love is Blind Photo Contest First Runner Up

 Here is an interview with Magoo's owner, Julie. Magoo was the first runner up on the Love is Blind Photo Contest on the Life with Blind Louie Facebook Page.


How did you hear about Life with Blind Louie?
"I heard of Life with Blind Louie from the Blind Dog Support group. Other members had already liked Blind Louie's Facebook page, and shared. Being a new owner to a blind dog, I like to hear of others experiences and seeing that their dogs are still out there being dogs."

Dad, Magoo and Gus.

When did you have the pleasure of meeting Magoo?
My mom and dad adopted Magoo from a MI shelter. I did see Magoo but not on a daily basis. He was already losing his sight when they adopted him, but he was still a very feisty fellow. After my dad passed and my mom started traveling more, she brought up re-homing Magoo. I didn't want him going to just anyone so she agreed to let him come here for me to look for a new home. I knew in the back of my mind he wasn't going anywhere. My dad adored this dog and I just couldn't let him leave our family.

When did you guys start to notice Magoo was going blind?
Bringing Magoo home I could see that he was not seeing. We went to a specialist where we were told it was PRA (Progressive Retinal Atrophy). At this point, Magoo was not seeing anything. Again it being new I had lots of questions and did a lot of reading up on it. I can't say I felt pity for him. I was watching a dog that still was having fun everyday. He is feisty and loves to wrestle, play with his flirt pole and fetch. The biggest adjustment was doing these things a little differently. Loud jingle ball really made playing fetch easier. Little scented oil on the flirt pole helped. We learned to walk together and teaching him his words. "careful", easy" and then just brushing up on general commands. Magoo does extremely well getting around. Our first visit to my vet and the vet tech was surprised he couldn't see. He walked around that place like he owned it. It was more of me and him getting in sync.

Magoo and his sister, Sassy

Do you have any other pets in the house? Kids?
Magoo lives with Buddy(pit bull) Sassy(toy poodle) his side kick. They love to play and to cuddle together. I also had to teach Sassy to look out for him, so keep her from getting run over. He tends to follow Sassy around outside a lot, which is not always a good thing. She is always into mischief. Sassy and Magoo also like playing tug together. This I have to watch closely because of the size difference. Magoo also lives with 2 cats. The cats are not fond of him as he gets to close and excited and they get scared. That is still a work in progress.

Does Magoo get around pretty well without being able to see?
Magoo continues to amaze me daily. He gets around like any sighted dog and just continues to live his life like any normal dog.

I know from my experience with Louie, that it is very difficult sometimes dealing with medical problems and their cost. Both financial and emotional.
Taking Magoo I knew there could be high medical costs, it was worth it knowing that I was still taking care of my dads dog. Can't put a price on love.

Somebody LOVES tug!

When I would see dogs needing homes that were blind, I always felt bad but didn't think I could give a blind dog everything they needed. This was the biggest lesson Magoo taught me. You just give them everything every other dog wants, a home, unconditional love and Magoo says lots of toys. : )

I love that! I would have never thought I could care for a blind dog either, and then there was Louie. He surprised me in so many ways. I had no idea how well a blind dog can carry on with life. Sight is more of a luxury now when I look at a dog, not a necessity by any means.

This is why I wanted to write about my life with Blind Louie. I wanted people to know that there are good dogs out there, great dogs, that just can't see. I wanted people to know that these dogs were keepers, they are worth our time and energy. If your dog is diagnosed with a vision problem, it is not the end of the world. There are ways to help them and help yourself and there are a lot of other people dealing with the same thing to help with tips and tricks and support. That is why I'm glad to write about Louie and why I'm glad I found web resources like www.blinddogsupport.com.

Thanks for taking the time to talk with us. We all love Magoo too! Also, little known fact: Blind Louie's nickname has been 'Mr. Louie Magooie' since he was diagnosed with his glaucoma and I realized why he was bumping into everything. I was a big Mr. Magoo fan growing up.

Can you say spoiled!? Look at all his toys!

Interview with Contest Winner: Misfit the Blind Dog

Here is an interview I did with Misfit the Blind Dog's mama, Dana. Misfit's parents, Dana and Morgan have had Misfit since he was a little puppy. Misfit is similar to Louie in many ways. Louie has never had all of his sight and went blind at a very young age. Dana is pretty sure Misfit was born blind. They are both dogs that were never dependent on sight, therefore, never let their blindness hold them back. Even the look of Misfit's eyes reminds me of Blind Louie. Right down to the difference in size, shape and shade between the left and the right eyes. I wish we could meet Misfit outside of the internet, but here we are in the Pacific Northwest and Misfit is all the way in Maryland. Please be sure to find Misfit on Facebook for more photos: www.facebook.com/MisfitTheBlindDog and while you're at it, make sure you've liked the Life with Blind Louie page too! www.facebook.com/LifewithBlindLouie,

Hi Dana, Thanks for taking the time to tell us a little bit about your story.  How did you hear about Life with Blind Louie?
"We were contacted on Misfit’s Facebook page by Louie to enter his “Love Is Blind” photo contest."

When and how did you meet your dog?
"It was actually a very unexpected and unplanned introduction. Morgan was looking to adopt a dog, and her sister’s boyfriend’s dobies had just had a litter of puppies. Morgan’s sister knew she was looking for a dog, and offered her one of the puppies. The mother of the puppies killed two of her blind pups (6 others were sighted puppies and found homes as well) When Morgan picked out the blue Doberman she had no idea he was blind."

When and how did your dog’s eye problems come about? What were some early signs and observations?
"Well, Morgan first noticed he was blind as soon as she had him in her car to take him home. He started bobbling his head as though he could not focus on anything, so this started some suspicion. Then when she got him home, he would walk timidly and as though he had no idea where he was. When he started to walk a little more freely she noticed him running into anything in his path. Also, his eyes were oddly colored…a very pale bright blue and he had no pupils. At the time we thought it was just a “puppyism” because he was only 7 weeks old (she got him this early because Morgan’s sister feared the mom may turn on him as well) The first day Morgan picked him up was October 13th, 2012. Needless to say, Dana was not fully in the picture at this time. Within 1 month she became completely involved."

Have you had to do any surgery's or treatments?
We have not done any treatments as of now. The blindness does not interfere with his everyday life. He still plays with toys and other dogs, runs around the yard and cuddles as though he is a sighted dog. Unless you either look at his eyes or are told, you cannot tell he is blind. We have decided to take him to an ophthalmologist, which is an eye doctor for dogs. We are hoping they will be able to tell us what caused the blindness and what complications/treatments may come about."

Do you have any other pets in the house? Kids?
"We do have another pet! We have an American Short Hair kitty cat. His name is Willis and Misfit can track him down in an instant. He uses the bell on Willis’ collar to find him! It’s amazing how easily he can chase him even though he can’t see him. They never harm each other, they just get on each other’s nerves (or more like Misfit gets on Willis’ nerves)."

How did Misfit deal with vision loss?
"Since he was born with his blindness he adapted amazingly well, almost too well. He is such a picture of inspiration and perseverance. He does not fear things; he walks into all new experiences with such trust in himself and us as his guide humans."
 
How does Misfit get around without being able to see?
"Very well, perfect. He can hear us walk and can follow us by the sound of our footsteps. The only time he has problems is in crowded and fairly unknown places, such as the dog park. There are people there that move around and change places on him so he cannot have the placement of obstacles memorized since it does changes, so every now and then he will run into people full force."

Can you tell us one story of a time you were really impressed with your dog’s navigation ability?
"There are so many times he has navigated so well that we were amazed. It is almost impossible to pin point one. But to give you one instance, he used to live at a house with a pellet stove. Morgan did all she could to teach him that he could not go near it for fear of him burning himself. One day she did not have it barricaded off, but still as soon as he walked up onto the tile the pellet stove was on, he immediately turned around and walked away. Also, sometimes when he is running around the yard he will get so close to running into something, but as soon as he gets about 2 centimeters away from it, he stops, backs up and chooses another path."

Are the risks and struggles involved in having a blind dog, both emotional and financial, worth enduring? What are some things that make it worth it?
"There is nothing that could cause us to not want to take care of him. I believe we love him so much that we would sell the clothes of our back to make his life comfortable. What makes us so passionate about him and him so worthy of love is the small things he does during a day. Such as the first time he discovers that he can stick his head out of a car window, or the first time he encounters snow and wants to eat it or even getting in the pool for the first time. Being able to be there for every single one of his “firsts” is what makes him worth every struggle there is."

Tell us about your site and where we can contact you and follow your story?
Our site is on Facebook. The link is www.facebook.com/misfittheblinddog. You can follow his daily adventures and help us spread the word that disabled animals are just as loving and lovable as “normal” animals on his Facebook. In order to contact us you can personal message us on his Facebook or send us an e-mail at misfittheblinddog@gmail.com. We also currently have a fundraising project going on. We are raising money for the Blind Dog Rescue Alliance. Our current goal is $200. If you would like to donate you can send a donation of $3-$5 to misfittheblinddog@gmail.com on PayPal or go to http://www.gofundme.com/misfitsmasterpiece. For each donation we will be sending a “pawtographed” photograph of Misfit to the person who donated.

Love is Blind Photo Contest Winners!

We had a very successful photo contest on the Life with Blind Louie Facebook page and boy did we have fun! I was introduced to many amazing dogs, all thanks to the internet. Over the next week or so, I will be doing a series of interviews with the winners of the contest:

First is Mistfit the Blind Dog!

Winner of the Love Is Blind Photo Contest.

Check out Misfits Facebook page! Click HERE

 

First Runner Up: Wiebus! from the Netherlands.

He's famous. Check out his website. I can't read it, but the photos sure are great.

Second runner up: Magoo!

and the always adorable
Third runner up: Vinny!

Check back for the interviews!

Sick Snorp Update

A happy car dog

I'm happy to report that Snorp has made a seemingly full recovery from his unfortunate poisoning incident. It was slow going for a while but he's back to his good old wagging self.

My husband and I decided that Snorp could use a vacation. Well, actually it may have been a bit more selfish. We did have ourselves in mind as well. We decided to take 3 days off of work and head out to the Washington coast, Snorp included. We came to the conclusion to leave Louie with my parents and their dog Budde. I know Louie will be happier and have more fun in a familiar place than he will on a long car ride that includes a ferry. Louie didn't know he was missing out on anything. He was blissfully unaware that Snorp, Paul and I were having the time of our lives without him.

Snorp escapes the waves.

Snorp really enjoyed the alone time with his favorite humans. He was such a good boy in the car and at all our stops along the way while on the leash. When we arrived at our destination, a small cabin in La Push Washington, Snorp enjoyed smelling and marking every tree a pine needle, tail wagging. We walked the few feet to the beach and watched the waves beat against the sandy shore. Snorp was so excited, but cautious. There was no way he was going to let a single tiny wave catch him. Even if we threw his favorite stick out on to the wet sand. It was pretty cute.

After a long few weeks of Snorp recovering from his ER stay it was good to see him so happy and active. I was really worried that we would never see that Snorp again. He was so sick that he couldn't walk when we took him home from the hospital. It was another day before we saw his tail wag and another two days before he licked my hand in the morning to wake me up like he usually does. It was a full five days before he could easily take the 4 steps up on to my parents porch, but slowly and surely he has recovered. We are lucky.

A happy beach dog.