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.