Easter egg hunt

Today we took Clarisse on an Easter egg hunt put on by a local dog rescue that specializes in puppy mill rescues. We were excited to get a fun outing, give her some good socialization, walked away with some nice treats and, most importantly, support a cause we care about. It was $7.50 well spent for a family outing.

She was totally overwhelmed at first. The check in was at a pet store and it was packed. She shook badly, so I held her for a moment. In those instances, I always aim to keep her in the situation but keep my voice calm and laugh and talk with her as much as possible. I don't want her to think that every time she feels scared there is a reason to be. I want her to learn to trust me fully. That I will tell her "stop" when she must stop, "no" when there is danger and "careful" when she needs to act with caution. However, I want her to see that sometimes she is going to be scared, but that if I am okay, she won't get hurt.


By the time we checked in and got our goody bag and route map, she was ready to go. We walked at her pace, letting her sniff the air or the bushes as needed. She met lots of dogs over the course of the day and overall did well, even if she was rude and didn't return sniffs sometimes. There was a group of women with their poodles that walked along with us for awhile. One of their boys was quite taken with Clarisse and would drag his mama over to her whenever he possibly could. She wasn't used to that attention and would run into my arms. Poor baby.

We talked with a lot of people about blind dogs. We met a store owner whose dog is starting to go blind. I shared some tips with her and recommended the book Living With Blind Dogs. So many people are devastated when their dog loses his/her sight, so I love helping people get resources lined up ahead of time to make the transition as easy as possible.

By the end of the journey, she was more comfortable meeting other dogs and was super excited when she found the treat-giving people. We had walked a full circle around the downtown. At the start, we had walked up the ramp into the backside of the pet store, then out the front door to do the walk. When we were finishing, we walked along the side of the building towards the back where we parked. When she hit the area that she had stood before walking up the ramp, she sniffed around a lot. Even with all those dogs and people walking across that spot, and her super nose could still pick up the scent of her own feet.

When we got back to the car, she passed out. When she woke up, she went crazy and we wrestled around a little. I love putting her in new scenarios where she can learn that the novel is not the scary, that new things can be good things and that she is always going to have a good life with us.

Play Time!

Clarisse came to us as a rescue from a puppy mill. She is 4.5 years old and was blinded at the puppy mill. She was obviously never given toys there. When we got her, our attempts at giving her toys were met with complete disinterest. She had no concept of toys or playing with them. She can't see them, but even when we would put them up to her nose to sniff or to make noise. She was terrified of the squeaks. We didn't give up. Hubs in particular spent a lot of time investing in her.

As of this week, she is playing with toys and loving it. Here are some of the ways we taught a blind dog how to play with toys.

1. Hubby got her a little dental chew toy. He put it in her food dish so that she would find it. She bit onto it, but left it. He kept putting it back there so she knew that it was permissible to chew on. The next day, he found the toy down the hall. He put it back in the dish. The next morning it was in the living room, so she had been carrying it around. A couple days later, it had been chewed away.

2. While sitting on the floor near her, hubby rolled a ball slowly by her. She listened to it and batted it with her paw. Later, he saw her batting it around the floor with her nose. She didn't bite on it because it squeaks, but played with it for a bit.

3. My dear friend gave us a toy rat that she rubbed on her dog in the hopes that they'll be friends. When I brought it home, Clarisse was super interested in it, sniffing it and pushing it around on the floor. Later we found it by her bed. She hasn't shown interest in other stuffed toys yet, although I keep a couple in her crate.

4. She and I wrestle around a lot. We do this game where I pet her like crazy and she gets mouthy. She play-nips my hands without hurting. She will play-nip, then I pull my hand away and she pauses, waiting to see where my hand with go next and then pounces. Sometimes she does this thing where she clacks her teeth right next to my finger and runs all down my finger and thumb kind of like the cartoons of someone eating an ear of corn. It is ridiculous. It is a great way to involve touch in our play since she can't see. Engaging as many senses as possible seems to help her be happier and get more energy out. One day I got a pig ear out while we played. Towards the end, when she would open her mouth getting ready to pounce on my hand again, I would put the pig ear in her mouth. I did that a few times each play session for a few days. Finally, she started chewing on it.

Now, she is adorable. She tosses blankets over the pig ear and then sniffs around "hunting" for it. She tracks it from different directions for quite awhile before she "catches her prey" and chews on it. She gets so happy when she smells it.

As a cute anecdote: The first night that she actually chewed on the pig ear, a little while later we were in the other room talking and she walked in. Hubby picked her up for snuggles then exclaimed that he smelled something burning. He ran around the house trying to figure out what was going on. He came back to report that it was worst in the living room (where she had been playing), but he couldn't find the source. Then he exclaimed that it was bad here too! The pig ear had been smoked and her stinky breath had made him think our house was on fire!

It is so heartwarming to watch her learn how to be the dog she was meant to be. Some puppy mill rescues, other abused dogs or blind dogs may not have an easy time learning to play, but it is worth the effort. For insecure dogs, excessive praise whenever they make notice of the toy or play with it at all can go a long way to help them know that they aren't doing anything wrong. For blind dogs, the same goes double as blindness can cause severe insecurity. Also for blind dogs, the stinkier the better and toys that make noise when they are moving or even while still are a great way to let them know where they are while engaging in those other super-sensitive senses.

I had been worried that we had missed "the window" and she wouldn't learn. I never should have doubted those poodle smarts. Neural pathways can still be forged even in older dogs. Work with your dog, try different techniques. Observe their behavior and then try to think about why they may be acting the way they are. Work with their brains to form new habits and abilities. It is worth the effort.

Don't Be Sad...The Future Smells Great!

The news that your pup is going or has gone blind is terrifying. We think about it as it would affect us. Vision is the primary means of collecting data about the world for us humans, so the thought of losing this major source of data is devastating. For dogs though, it's not the same. Dogs primarily view the world through their noses, with hearing and sight as secondary and third senses. It would be similar to us losing our sense of taste. We would certainly be losing something and parts of our lives might not be as rich, but we could certainly make that up in other ways and have a fantastic life. Similarly, since dogs vision isn't as important to them, they lose some data, but are still able to have lots of experiences that provide a rich and full life.

Losing their vision will certainly be hard on them and they very well may experience some depression and some clumsiness. Remember, though, that they are losing one small part of their data collection abilities. Also, without visual data taking up bandwidth, they'll be able to analyze other sensory data. They don't lose a lot, in the long term, they just get it differently. Humans learn to echolocate by rewiring so the visual-processing parts of the brain process auditory data. It's kind of like a laid-off coal miner being taught to write computer code. They can't do what they used to do, so let's teach them a totally new skill that they can excel at.

Your dog will adjust, it is just dependent on a lot of factors: health, personal resilience, age at time of loss, how quickly they lost sight, quality of their support system. If you have an old, not-super-healthy dog that lost their vision suddenly, all is not lost. It might take them longer to rewire their brain and they may not do so as well as a young dog or one born blind, but with you as their cheerleader, trainer and friend, they will also adjust. Don't give up. The future smells great.

Blind Dog Lesson #78: Sensory Data Quality

Blind Dog Lesson #78

Since blind dogs don't have any visual input, other sensory input becomes very important. They need to have other senses engaged so that they can have full lives. When left alone in their crate, play a CD or podcast or the radio so they have something to listen to. Give them a blanket of a texture they enjoy. Encourage them to smell all the things when on walks.

Also, you want to make sure that the quality of these sensory inputs are positive. If the sounds are jarring or the touch harsh, they will be getting a larger proportion of sensory data that is scary and can have a negative impact on their adjustment.

I learned this lesson tonight. Apparently, it is not acceptable to sing P.O.D. to the dog.

Everything I Ever Wanted

This dog is rocking my world.

So, when I decided I wanted to get a dog, there were three main reasons: 1). to have a running buddy 2). companionship 3). watch dog. Then I heard about Clarisse and once I met her, there was no question that she was coming home with me. I loved her instantly so much that it was no big deal to compromise on some things. Then I got to know her.

She is an epic companion. So ridiculously cute, joyful and has the most dramatic flare imaginable (When she is super happy, she covers her face with her front paws then head buts me). She has also learned that playing peek-a-boo with me makes me laugh and does it when she senses I am feeling down. She is the most epic companion I could have hoped for and she and hubby love each other too.

One day hubs came home while we were playing. He parked down the street and she didn't hear his car in the driveway. As soon as she heard someone messing with the doorknob, she was barking and headed for the door. Another night, I realized after she went to bed that I had forgotten something in the car. I think I woke her up when I was headed outside, but when my hand touched that doorknob on the way back in, she barked like crazy until I told her it was me. She can't see, but she is able to process auditory data more efficiently with no visual data slowing it down. She is an good watch dog.

She had never worn a leash before, but the first day she was with me, she leash trained in five minutes. Poodle smarts I guess. She has been getting more and more confident on walks as she learns that I am watching out for her. On our walk out, I walk ahead and move anything in the way. We practice our commands ("oop!" to swerve, "this way" while using harness pressure to move from the edge of the sidewalk if there is, say, a bunch of bushes overgrown). She improves every day.

Then one day, we were walking and I was talking with her. She was really happy and smelling all the things. Out of nowhere she took off running toward me. I thought she was trying to catch up, but she kept going. We ended up getting a (super careful) short jog in. It was a light jog for me, but she was just running like the wind with her little legs. I was jogging backwards/sideways to make sure we weren't going to run into anything. This was a path I have run barefoot on for years, so I know every crack in the sidewalk. As I always do, I let her set pace, decide when we need to sniff leaves and when it is time to come home. She was tired when we got home, but not too tired for the crazy cuddles. Since then, we've gone on more short jogs and we play chase in the yard or at the dog park. I clap my hands or tap my thighs while I run and she follows the sound. Eventually, I stop and let her catch me, but not before we both get our heart rates up a little.

People say I'm doing something special by taking in the poor blind dear, but she is the most perfect dog. In every single way, I can't imagine how she could be a more perfect fit in my life. I got everything I wanted in a dog, and she is already potty trained and doesn't chew things! One would never assume to get a running buddy when they adopt a blind toy poodle. Of course, we won't be running marathons together, but here she is living this vibrant life and the blindness doesn't matter.

Hello, Clarisse

World, meet Clarisse.

Clarisse is a 4.5 year old toy poodle that came into my life a few weeks ago. She is the most vivacious, inspiring and fun dog I have ever known and I knew you'd all want to meet her.

She spends her days like most other dogs. She plays catch in the back yard, explores the neighborhood, hits the social scene at the dog park and steals the cat's food. She goes for jogs with me, loves to snuggle and will do anything for her favorite treat.

However, Clarisse didn't have the same start to life that other dog's have. She started her life as a breeder at a puppy mill. Her litters were all born dead or deformed, so she wasn't valuable for the breeders. When something happened to her eye (we are unsure what), they didn't want to waste money on a vet bill for a non-profitable dog, so they cut it out at home. Since they, obviously, didn't do a professional job, they damaged the optical nerves and she lost vision in the other eye as well.

Eventually, she was listed on Craigslist and the woman who ended up rescuing her responded. She already had a couple of poodles. When she got there, the other woman threw Clarisse to the ground and kicked her over, saying "Just take her. I don't want her." The rescuer was not in a place to take care of a blind dog long term, but couldn't leave her there. She took her home and got her returned to health: spayed, up-to-date on vaccines, vet checked and loved on. She spent a good amount of time working to find the right home for her.

I had been looking for the right dog for our family for several months, to no avail. When I heard about Clarisse, I knew it was right. I did some research before emailing her rescuer so I knew a bit of what I was getting into. As we emailed, I researched more and more. When I met her, it was instant love.

The whole drive home, she slept and barely moved. She was interested in us, but seemed down, as is totally understandable. When we got home, I walked her around the house so she could get acclimated to the home. Then she slept and slept and slept. I held her while I read. I knew that rescues take time to get used to their new situation and that a week of depression is more common than not.

All of a sudden, she was awake. She started kissing me and then went nuts. She started head booping, kissing, rolling around, and, most adorably, giving these tiny little non-productive sneezes. Her "sst" noise is her happy noise. She doesn't sneeze ever except when she is absolutely happy. It is ridiculously cute.

Over the last couple of weeks, we have enjoyed taking her on new adventures and loving on her excessively. She has responded by becoming much more confident and is just filled with joy at all times. I'll share some of these experiences in future posts.

Clarisse is an inspiration. She had such a brutal start to life, one that would justifiably teach many of us that the world was a cruel and bad place. But for Clarisse, it has just made her appreciate any love she gets. She loves everyone who is good to her. She is up for adventures, learns incredibly efficiently, and lives life to its fullest. Abuse did not stop Clarisse. Blindness does not stop Clarisse. Clarisse is joy personified.

I can't get over this smile!