Blind greyhound doesn’t have slow gear… how to keep him safe.

[GreytMom]

My blind 4 yo male greyhound with PRA does not know slow gear. Can’t see? 100 mph still seems like a good idea to him. I’m concerned he is literally going to break his neck someday. He has run into my yard and run smack into a tree. But today he ran into the sliding glass door pretty hard. 2nd time he has done that. I actually still have the painters tape X’s on it I put on glass whenever I get a new grey, but he clearly can’t see them at all. If he takes off and the door is closed I’m usually yelling “Closed! Closed! Closed!”. (I often leave the door open when the weather is nice so the greys can come and go as they please. So sometimes it’s open and sometimes not.)
 

Anyway, I think he kind of understands “closed” because he seemed to try and brake and managed to not hit head on but was slightly turned. He seems fine. Thankfully. But how can I stop him from doing that? It’s an open concept house, no way to put a gate, which he would probably run into anyway. I put a very thick pillow in front to try and cushion things, but when he’s off to bark at something outside it doesn’t help. Any ideas or suggestions on how to keep him safe? At a core level I have decided to let him be a dog and if he hurts himself and his life is shortened because of his blindness then that’s a consequence I’ll have to live with (e.g., I won’t leash him to me at all times), but at the same time I’ll do what I can to keep him safe while letting him be a greyhound. Thoughts on some way to train him, cue him, to know whether the door is open or closed? Thanks. 

 

[Time4ANap]

Does "closed" sound the same as "No" to him?  Maybe somehow teaching him to stop in his tracks when he hears NO or CLOSED or some other keyword such as STOP, I'm thinking that you need a command like that and be sure that he understands it using regular drills to reinforce it. I love that he is being a dog, but you're right that he needs to be kept safe. Good luck! 

[GreytMom]

Interesting that it happened again - kids behind us were yelling so he was going to go straighten them out. But I was sitting where I could grab him and stop him. He still wanted to go to the door but I had stopped him maybe 10 ft from it. I said “closed” multiple times then allowed him to go to the door. (I should have taken him but I didn’t. 🤦‍♀️) He trotted over to the door and stopped on the rug I keep just in front of it. And “looked” out the back door. Poor sweet boy. So I think he gets what closed means, but sometimes greyhound guard dog brain/there might be bunnies brain seems to override mom yelling closed. 

[rsieg]

I wonder if completely blocking the lower part of the sliding glass door would help. Not just a painter's tape "X", but completely blocked so no light gets through at all. He may be able to detect light/dark enough to recognize that, even though he cannot resolve the "X" which is not blocking much light at all. You could keep the upper part clear so you can look out, but he can't.

I also looked online and there is something called a "Halo" for blind dogs (https://www.muffinshalo.com/), but at greyhound speeds that would not give enough warning. I was hoping to see some sort of LIDAR sensor that might output an alarm based on speed and at a longer distance (like the collision detector on modern vehicles), but did not see anything in a quick search.

[GreytMom]

Good ideas Rob. I do think he still has a sense of light and dark because he uses me as his guide much more when it is dark, and I think he still senses some motion. Sadly those will only last a while longer. But the idea of blocking off the bottom part of the door is worth a try since I do think there is some detection of light/dark on his part.
 

And I think a sensor of some type was what was rattling in my brain as an idea but I couldn’t crystallize the thought. So thanks for that idea. The halo I’ve read helps esp if they are scared of running into things, something he is not at this point. But I can’t see having him in one of those all the time. Would interfere with stuffy tossing and fetch. Amazingly he does play fetch by sound and smell. Sometimes he thinks my arm is the toy 😆 but luckily it’s generally a light chomp. 

[1Moregrey]

Idea just for the door:  Back in the 90’s my in-laws had a little motion activated frog that would make noise when you walked infront  of it.  Could you use something like this to indicate if it was open.   Would need one on both sides of the door.  

[GreytMom]

Given his speed I wonder if something that close to the door would help - but some type of alarm sure might. If he is out I am either with him or the door is open so coming in from outside isn’t an issue, luckily. 

[LBass]

What an interesting and hair raising problem.

My Nate is 6 and also has PRA.  When he came a 1.5 yrs, he seemed to have some sense of light/dark but that is long gone.  Unlike your boy, Nate is careful when off leash.  He happily explores but at a walk or trot.  However, when he's leashed up, he goes full speed ahead and leaves it to the human on the other end of the lease to keep him safe.  He recently surprised one of the vet techs who took him out to get a urine sample. Outdoors, Nate seems to have a mental map of the yard so he knows where trees and fence parameters are located.  Also, when he wants to "run" he spins on a circle, like Western reining horses. So, my experience is somewhat different from yours. 

It seems that your primary worry is that sliding door.  My thought would be to teach him to behave as if it is always closed.  In other words, that he stops at the door for "permission" to go through it.  He doesn't go through that door without your verbal permission.  Training that might mean leashing him to you for a while but, once mastered, he'd be leash free and safer at that door.

I also had a Grey who learned to respond to the "slow" commend.  That might be a useful command to teach your boy.

 

ETA: Another thought has come to mind.  Nate very clearly demonstrates a sense of the presence or bulk of objects.  I wonder if your boy does as well?  I've seen Nate demonstrate awareness of bush/cart/building/chair/tree.    Of course, this is usually when he's walking and not focused on any distractions. This is not to say that he never runs into things, but it is an augmented sense of his, for sure. I'm not sure how to make that useful with regard to your door.  We redid our deck and the thing that really freaked Nate out was the absence of all the big planters that we laboriously moved off the deck to spend several months in the yard while the new deck wood dryed out and then got painted.  He was freaked out on the deck all those months, though the stairs were in the same location (even on the same stair frames--stringers?)  The thing that finally helped him was getting the big flower pots back in place on the deck.   Anyway, if your boy demonstrates this awareness of bulk, I wonder if one of two large planters or large somethings could be put in front of the slider door as a reminder for him?  Enough space between them for all dogs and humans to still get out the door.

Edited May 30, 2023 by LBass

[GreytMom]

Interesting about Nate’s awareness of objects or bulk. I think Dune has the same, but he may actually still see them given he still has some vision. I forgot in my synopsis above to say he ran at high speed smack into a wall last week also. Maybe his vision is worsening and he isn’t taking it into account yet. He survived that accident also. Poor boy. I would think eventually he will learn to slow down so he doesn’t get hurt. And I think he is learning “closed.” On leash, once the jumping is over, he is very good. I usually give him only a foot or two if on neighborhood streets so he doesn’t get a stick in the eye or something, but at the beach I give him longer lead yet he stays pretty close. Poor pups. I feel so badly for them. But he is a happy boy despite this. 

[FiveRoooooers]

I’ve not had a dog with PLA but wanted to add about another word that might be helpful. My campers have learned “Wait” before exiting any door and for anytime that I just need them to stop what they’re doing and take a momentary breath. My first boy, Pal, learned this at dog camp and I remember that “Wait” takes less time to say than eg, “Stop.” The girls hear me say it in different intensities, depending on the situation  I release them every time with “All done” rather than “ok”. That was another lesson we learned 

Perhaps asking Dune to Wait at the door before releasing him could help. Once he makes the connection you could use Wait for other situations. Good luck and keep us posted! 

[phall]

15 hours ago, FiveRoooooers said:

I’ve not had a dog with PLA but wanted to add about another word that might be helpful. My campers have learned “Wait” before exiting any door and for anytime that I just need them to stop what they’re doing and take a momentary breath. My first boy, Pal, learned this at dog camp and I remember that “Wait” takes less time to say than eg, “Stop.” The girls hear me say it in different intensities, depending on the situation  I release them every time with “All done” rather than “ok”. That was another lesson we learned 

Perhaps asking Dune to Wait at the door before releasing him could help. Once he makes the connection you could use Wait for other situations. Good luck and keep us posted! 

I agree with this.  My Lucas is completely blind now from PRA.  Teaching him the "wait" cue has been so helpful and has saved him from an injury several times.  I've used it in different intensities and he has realized that a very strident "wait" means to stop as something is not right.

[GreytMom]

Wait is a good idea. Unfortunately what comes out of my mouth is “careful!” Except with the slider in which case it’s “closed.” Time for some “wait” training. Wish me luck. He’s not dumb. Just stubborn. 🐾 But I think he is better with closed since last weeks crash into the door.

[LBass]

Wishing you the very best as you try to help your boy.