The Long Road

We’ve been dealing with some health issues with our newest addition, Stevie. Our blind and partially deaf pup has been on two consecutive rounds of antibiotics for a bladder infection yet there are still white blood cells in his urine. We had an abdominal X-ray done yesterday but the results were inconclusive. Poor little guy was so nervous he peed and pooped on the X-ray table and then again in the vet’s lobby. Our next step is a full blood panel and another urinalysis next week.

Despite the bladder issues, he’s come along beautifully on house training. His only accidents occur when we miss one of his cues. Or sometimes he messes his kennel when we leave him alone, which I think is an anxiety thing. He’s making it through the night as well. We’ve figured out that he doesn’t like to sleep alone (he always slept with another dog at night when he was in the shelter) so now he has joined Toby in our bed. It’s crowded, but comfy.

The one thing that is bothering me most is the change in his temperament. Most of the time, he’s content and playful, but just recently, he’s been showing some aggression. When he was at the shelter, he had free reign and got along with the other dogs. Now, he’s friendly with Toby, but growls, snaps and lunges at other dogs we come in contact with. He’s also done the same to my husband and myself when we’ve tried to move him off the couch. He’s growled and snapped at my children on a couple of occasions as well. He responds to correction, but I’m concerned that he’s even acting out at all. What’s worse is that the behavior is unpredictable. I’m thinking it is health-related and maybe once we figure out what’s going on we can fix it. If not, I’m not sure what to do.

He really is a wonderful and sweet little dog and he and I have become very close. I love him very much. It makes me sad to think that there may be something wrong that is making him act out. I’m worried that it may be something bad.

He Puts the ‘Pee’ in Potty Training

Well, Stevie has been with us now for three weeks. He’s wonderful. So sweet and gentle. He’s a cuddler and loves nothing more than to be near us. He is an exceptional playmate for Toby and they have become good friends. We’ve noticed that Toby’s previous puppy-like behaviors have ceased. He hasn’t chewed up a glove, sock or any of the kids’ homework since Stevie arrived. He corrects Stevie when he is out of line and sits high on the couch overseeing his younger brother’s precocious activities.

Unfortunately, we’re still struggling with house training. Stevie seems to have an extremely small bladder with the inability to hold anything for more than an hour. While we’ve been adhering to a tight training schedule, he still manages several accidents a day. We’ll take him out and he’ll pee. We’ll bring him back in and within 20 minutes, he’ll pee again. We still can’t figure out his cues – he may be walking through the living room on the way to his bed and he’ll just squat. No circling. No sniffing. Just a quick squat and he moves on. He’s doing well through the night and he’s fine in his kennel for the most part. We are just struggling with getting him to do all of his business outside.

We’ve received several recommendations and we’re going to start with a couple of them. First, I need to scent the front door. Since Stevie can’t see where the front door is, we think he may not be able to find his way there in time. Second, a friend of mine recommended a belly band in between our outdoor potty breaks. We’re going to give those a try and I’ll keep you posted on our success.

We couldn’t have asked for a better addition to our family, so we’ll do everything we can to get him on the right track.

Issues

Things are going well with Stevie. So well, in fact, that we often forget that he’s blind. He hasn’t run into anything in quite a few days and he plays like every other puppy I know. He and Toby are buddies – even though Toby runs to higher ground when Stevie becomes relentless in play (he likes to jump up onto the couch and sit next to us, all while pawing at Stevie’s head). We do, however, have two issues:

1. House training – Stevie has grasped piddling outside, but pooping remains a mystery. He hasn’t made the connection. He doesn’t give any cues either. He poops randomly and in no one particular place. So, intensive house training continues. Any recommendations are welcome and very much appreciated!

2. Bad breath. Stevie’s breath is horrible! We’ve switched his food to the same organic dog food that Toby eats and he’s loving it. He gets his daily DentaStix. Yet, he’s stinky. No sweet puppy breath here. The vet has checked him out, said his teeth look great, and believes that it will correct itself now that his diet has changed and we’re providing dental care. I sure hope so because his breath can wrinkle your nose.

So, that’s about all in terms of issues. We’re fortunate and, like I keep saying, blessed. We’ve been rescued by two dogs now. Two dogs that have wonderful lessons to teach us.

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Amazed!

Stevie has been with us now since Monday and I’m so amazed at his progress. His blindness hasn’t held him back one bit. He had the whole house mapped out by the end of the day on Tuesday and now he confidently makes his way from room to room. He was even chasing Toby around the living room at full speed this afternoon. He’s been sleeping soundly from about 11:30 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. since Tuesday night and he’s getting the house training thing down as well. He runs confidently around the yard and enjoys laying in the grass. He relies quite a bit on Toby for guidance and Toby willingly obliges.

Toby was tentative with Stevie at first – very gentle in his play. But now he gets right in there and he and Stevie wrestle around like they’ve been doing it all their lives. The first couple of days Toby would crouch down in front of Stevie to engage him in play. Of course, Stevie wouldn’t respond because he couldn’t see him. Now, Toby comes up and taps Stevie on the head with his paw until Stevie jumps up and then they’re off and running. Toby was also surprised at Stevie’s boldness with toys. If Toby has something Stevie wants, Stevie just takes it. At first, Toby would just sit and bark at him. Now, he goes right in and takes the toy back. It makes for quite a bit of humor.

I’m also amazed at how well the rest of us have adapted to Stevie. It feels as if he’s been here all along. The transition has been exceptionally smooth for everyone. That’s how we know it’s right. He belongs with us and we belong with him.

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What the eyes can’t see…

There’s a dog lover’s saying that goes “Blind Dogs See with Their Hearts.” In our case, our hearts were captured by a blind and partially deaf West Highland White Terrier Poodle mix named Stevie who was living at Bichon and Little Buddies Rescue. I posted a while back about Stevie and since that time, my family and I have fallen head over heals in love with him. That being said, we officially adopted Stevie and will be bringing him home tomorrow!

We’ve been educating ourselves about the precautions we need to take to prepare our home for his safety and we’re good to go. We’ve put a baby gate at the top of the stairs, raised all exposed cords, created a ‘safe spot’ for him and even put a low fence in an area of the yard that will give him a frame of reference when he’s doing his business outside. We’ve hung jingle bells by the front door so he can tell when we open it, and we’ve hung a small bell on Toby’s collar so Stevie can hear him coming. He’s been added to our pet insurance, a vet visit has been scheduled and we’ve booked our first grooming appointment (our groomer has a blind dog as well). He’s got his own bed set up, a new set of toys and treats, a smart little collar, a tag telling others that he’s blind and a comfy harness for walks. We even bought a classical music CD to play for him at night because that’s what he’s used to hearing at the shelter.

I’ve joined several online groups for owners of blind dogs, downloaded multiple articles, bought several books and talked to everyone I know that has any experience with blind dogs.

We’re so excited to have Stevie as a member of our family. He is a very special little dog with a huge heart and a lot of love to give. And we have a ton of love waiting for him. I know he has quite a bit to teach us and we’re so blessed to have found him.

Soon you’ll be reading much more about Stevie, Toby and all of our wonderful adventures together!

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