How to Keep a Blind Dog Safe
Identify the hazards., Do not rearrange your furniture., Keep the walking paths clear., Cover sharp furniture edges., Block access to the stairs., Put non-slip strips on your stairs., Spray areas of your home., Place textured items throughout your...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Identify the hazards.
Owners of blind dogs need to be very aware of safety hazards.
To identify the hazards, get down on your stomach or knees to see your home from your dog’s eye level.
After identifying the hazards, you can make a plan for keeping your blind dog safe.Potential hazards include:
Sharp furniture edges Sharp corners Stairs Slippery floors -
Step 2: Do not rearrange your furniture.
Your dog has gotten used to your furniture being arranged in a certain way.
Now that your dog is blind, prevent it from bumping into furniture and possibly injuring itself by keeping the furniture arrangement the same.Despite being blind, your dog will be able to navigate around the furniture amazingly well.
If possible, avoid purchasing new furniture.
This may confuse your dog and cause it to feel lost or disoriented in your home. , When your dog could see, it could easily avoid items in its path.
Now that your dog has lost its vision, it may step on these items and injure itself.
To keep your dog safe, clear the walkways of anything your dog could step on, including toys, shoes, and boxes.Keeping the walkways clear will be very important if you have young children.
Their toys could cause injury if your dog steps on, or trips over, them. , Furniture such as coffee tables and TV stands can have sharp edges that could hurt your dog.
Rather than move the furniture, cover up the sharp edges with a few layers of bubble wrap.Secure the bubble wrap with tape to keep it from sliding or slipping off the edges. , Stairs can be very dangerous for blind dogs.
When your dog begins adjusting to being blind, block access to your stairs by placing baby gates at the bottom and top of the stairs.As your dog navigates your home more easily, remove the gates and closely supervise your dog as it uses the stairs., Non-slip strips will help your dog safely move up and down the stairs.When your blind dog can move more safely around your home, purchase these strips at your local home improvement store.
Position the strips along the length of each stair.
Cut the strips if they are too long for your stairs.
Continue to supervise your dog when it is using the stairs. , When a dog becomes blind, its sense of smell increases.
To alert your dog to unsafe areas, such as stairs, spray this area with a certain scent (scented oil, perfume).When your dog recognizes the scent, it will know to be more cautious in that area.
To help your dog associate the scent with possible danger, consider guiding your dog to that danger area and letting it sniff the scent. , In addition to using smell, your blind dog can use touch to help it safely navigate your home.
Put floor mats at the top and bottom of your home’s stairs.If you have hardwood floors, place carpet runners on the floor to keep your dog from slipping.Carpet runners are available at home improvement stores.
Consider putting real or artificial plants in dangerous areas.When your dog brushes by the plant, it will know it's in a dangerous area. -
Step 3: Keep the walking paths clear.
-
Step 4: Cover sharp furniture edges.
-
Step 5: Block access to the stairs.
-
Step 6: Put non-slip strips on your stairs.
-
Step 7: Spray areas of your home.
-
Step 8: Place textured items throughout your home.
Detailed Guide
Owners of blind dogs need to be very aware of safety hazards.
To identify the hazards, get down on your stomach or knees to see your home from your dog’s eye level.
After identifying the hazards, you can make a plan for keeping your blind dog safe.Potential hazards include:
Sharp furniture edges Sharp corners Stairs Slippery floors
Your dog has gotten used to your furniture being arranged in a certain way.
Now that your dog is blind, prevent it from bumping into furniture and possibly injuring itself by keeping the furniture arrangement the same.Despite being blind, your dog will be able to navigate around the furniture amazingly well.
If possible, avoid purchasing new furniture.
This may confuse your dog and cause it to feel lost or disoriented in your home. , When your dog could see, it could easily avoid items in its path.
Now that your dog has lost its vision, it may step on these items and injure itself.
To keep your dog safe, clear the walkways of anything your dog could step on, including toys, shoes, and boxes.Keeping the walkways clear will be very important if you have young children.
Their toys could cause injury if your dog steps on, or trips over, them. , Furniture such as coffee tables and TV stands can have sharp edges that could hurt your dog.
Rather than move the furniture, cover up the sharp edges with a few layers of bubble wrap.Secure the bubble wrap with tape to keep it from sliding or slipping off the edges. , Stairs can be very dangerous for blind dogs.
When your dog begins adjusting to being blind, block access to your stairs by placing baby gates at the bottom and top of the stairs.As your dog navigates your home more easily, remove the gates and closely supervise your dog as it uses the stairs., Non-slip strips will help your dog safely move up and down the stairs.When your blind dog can move more safely around your home, purchase these strips at your local home improvement store.
Position the strips along the length of each stair.
Cut the strips if they are too long for your stairs.
Continue to supervise your dog when it is using the stairs. , When a dog becomes blind, its sense of smell increases.
To alert your dog to unsafe areas, such as stairs, spray this area with a certain scent (scented oil, perfume).When your dog recognizes the scent, it will know to be more cautious in that area.
To help your dog associate the scent with possible danger, consider guiding your dog to that danger area and letting it sniff the scent. , In addition to using smell, your blind dog can use touch to help it safely navigate your home.
Put floor mats at the top and bottom of your home’s stairs.If you have hardwood floors, place carpet runners on the floor to keep your dog from slipping.Carpet runners are available at home improvement stores.
Consider putting real or artificial plants in dangerous areas.When your dog brushes by the plant, it will know it's in a dangerous area.
About the Author
Teresa King
Committed to making crafts accessible and understandable for everyone.
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