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Have you ever scent trained a dog? Do you have experience with a blind pet? (lemmy.world)

submitted 5 months ago by Today@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

14 comments fedilink hide all child comments

My 10 year old pup is going blind. We've been in the same house for most of her life and she's doing ok, but I'm worried it's going to get more difficult for her. She's not the smartest, but she can sit, lie down, and shake on command. I've read several articles about scent training but would like to get tips from someone who has done it. I'm thinking of using 4 different scents for bed, toys, stairs, and food/water - i know she can smell the food, but i want to make sure she can find the water bowl when she's outside. Is that too many?

One article recommended marking a path on the floor/ground so she knows where there's a clear route. Another suggested marking furniture/obstacles so she knows where to avoid.

If you have any experience with this and can offer tips, i would appreciate it. Also, if you want to share any happy stories about your VI pets, i would love to hear them. It's heartbreaking to see her misjudge the doorway or bonk into things.

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[–] Lifecoach5000@lemmy.world 6 points 5 months ago (2 children)

I have no professional tips at all, but I occasionally play a game with my dogs called “find the thing”.

I take them into the bedroom and let them each smell the bone/treat or whatever, then I close the door.

Then I walk a path while rubbing the treat on the ground to make a smell “trail” then hide them in various spots.

I then open the door and tell them to “go find it!” And observe how they sniff around to see if they can pick up the trail scent. One of them is better at it than the other one, and yeah it’s just a silly game and not any kind of real training exercise but we all seem to enjoy it.

Good luck with your dog - sorry you’re having to go through this. One of mine is getting up there as well and I know her vision isn’t doing too well either - not to mention the arthritis 😞

[–] foo@programming.dev 4 points 5 months ago (1 children)

My dog isn't blind but he loves hide and go sniff. It's a good engagement activity for all puppies

[–] Today@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago

Thanks!

[–] Today@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago

Thank you! That's a great idea! The vet suggested we find new ways to play to keep her from getting bored. Our girl is only 10, but we've noticed her slowing down in the last year. The vet gave her an arthritis shot - it's $70/month and we didn't notice much difference, but she quit running last month with the vision issues so that's probably part of it. Thank you again for the find it game idea.