Sunday, January 30, 2011

Hey! Look what I found!

This is Paris's favorite game after he has a bath. Football!
I used to throw it all the way down the hall and he would come back for more. Now I can only throw it a few feet so he can hear it rolling. He still loves his football!

Friday, January 28, 2011

Rough Night

Paris was up most of the night last night (so was I).
He was crying and wandering around the bedroom, under the furniture and behind the door. Around 3:00 I thought maybe he needed to go out. So I let him outside but he came right back in. I held him in my bed for awhile but I was afraid to go to sleep in case he fell off the bed.
I put him back on the floor and he fell back to sleep.
In the morning he was shaking but seemed ok. When I got home from work he was fine.
Maybe he can't see at all and just didn't know where he was?
I don't know but it was a first, so I thought I would report it.
I hope we both get some sleep tonight.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Poor Lost Puppy!

The other day, Paris was outside doing his business and I went out to see where he was. Well, he was stuck in the flowerbed and couldn't find his way out.
Then later that day I found him staring at the cabinets in the kitchen. I don't think he knew which room he was in so, again, he was "lost".
This is happening more frequently.
I think his eyesight is really gone and then he runs away from me when I come to get his squeaky squirrel. Go figure? Maybe he hears my foot steps.
Maybe he could use some glasses?
But sadly, I know they wouldn't help.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Paris and Buster

The other night I heard crying and whimpering.
I thought Paris was having a dream so I reached down to his bed on the floor and NO Paris!
He had somehow gotten stuck underneath the bed!

I miss Paris sleeping on my bed with me.
Here is a photo of Paris on my bed with Buster the cat.
I miss Buster too. He died a few years ago. They were good friends.

Today it's cold again and the weekend. A good day to sit on the couch and cuddle my favorite blind wonderdog!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Paris Inside Out

Paris has such good bones. Don't you think so?
Here is an xray of Paris' collapsing trachea.
 I really don't see it but he sure coughs alot.
Paris had a pretty good day today he only walked into one thing.
This weekend I am going to work on a guiding path for him in the back yard. So he can find his way from his favorite pee spot back to the door. Poor thing.

Monday, January 17, 2011

No walk today!

Paris says, "Darn, it's raining so no walk today".
Here is what he looks like dressed in his vest to go for a walk.
The vest has rings at the neck for the leash to hook to. It is made by Puppia. I like it because it doesn't pull on his neck, because he has collapsing trachea.



Paris gets lost on our walks sometimes and just sits down. I get right down there with him and explain that we are going home and everything is ok. After a few minutes I guess he gets it and starts to walk again. I can't ever walk somewhere he's never been, he just won't walk at all without the smell clues.
He enjoys walking but I worry about him scraping his little nose on the cement. I wish he would trust me to lead him. Maybe that will come in time.
Off to play with the squeaky squirrels...

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Grrrrrowling!

Since losing his sight I have noticed a bit more aggressiveness in Paris' behavior. I guess I would be more snippy if I couldn't see hands coming at me or who was reaching over by my food.
He never has bit anyone but I am much more cautious who gets near him without first letting Paris sniff their hand.
 Who would think this sweet little dog would bite off the mailman's arm? LOL
Until next time....

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Smart Idea

Well I think it's a smart idea, Paris isn't so sure of this one.
He has become a food gobbler since he lost his sight. I've read that it's because they aren't sure when their next meal will 'just appear'.
This morning I placed a golf ball in his dish and it really slowed down his eating quite a bit.
Here's the picture:
That's the 'after' photo. After he ate all the food!
I could use a bowl that you buy for food gobblers, but this was free and works just as well!

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Brrrr! Cold day!

Today is a cold day for Florida. Paris wasn't sure he wanted to go for his walk this morning, but I bundled him up and off we went.
Here is a photo of Paris 'looking' out the front window. He used to love looking out the window at the traffic and the kids playing at the school across the street. I thought he had arthritis so I made him a footstool to climb up on the chair, but he didn't have arthritis he couldn't see to jump up in the chair anymore. He doesn't get up in the chair much anymore.



Yesterday he walked smack dab into the same area of wall in the back yard. I really need to find a way to mark it or pad it. I will have to make a trip to the home improvement store to see what I can find.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Fence

A nice friend donated some fence sections so I could block off the deep dark corners of my yard where Paris gets lost at night.
I really like them because they can be moved anywhere I need them.
I have a total of 8 sections like this. Two more close off the space behind my shed.
I hope this will help keep Paris safe. I sure don't like going out in the cold to fish him out of the bushes in the dark!
I am thinking of painting them green or brown so they blend in better.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Safety first!

Today I purchased some of the foam tubes you use to insulate your pipes from freezing and cut them to fit on the rungs of the outdoor chairs Paris keeps bumping into. I also am placing it on the legs of tables or doors that stick out that he bumps into.
Paris was a great helper. Now his poor little nose will bump foam instead of metal. Thanks Mom!
That doesn't look too bad. What do you think?
I don't know why he goes under the charis and gets stuck but hopefully this will help. If not, it's back to the hardware store. LOL

Friday, January 7, 2011

Todays episode

Well today Paris got lost in the bathroom.
He thought he was in the hall I guess, and couldn't find his way out of the bathroom.
I had to go in and carry him to the hall.
Then when I let him out he bumped into the outside patio chairs and got caught under them between a supporting bar that runs between the front two legs and another between the back two legs. When he got out he looked so frustrated. I just picked him up and hugged him! I felt so bad but it is best for him to find his own way out. I just kept saying "oops". (That's my word for him to keep trying to figure it out.)
He still likes to play and still wags his tail when my son and I come home. That's a good sign.
Tomorrow I'm going to try to 'blind proof ' parts of the yard. I'll let you know how that goes.
Yikes!

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Lost in the Bedroom

This morning Paris got lost in the bedroom. It was still dark and I started through the door and thought he was right behind me. When I got to the end of the hall...no Paris. I went back to the bedroom to find him on the far side of the bed standing staring at the wall. He missed the turn out the door I guess.
Poor thing.
Here he is sleeping on his sleeping bag, doesn't he look comfy?

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Paris' New Toy

Here is a photo of Paris and his new toy he got for Christmas!
He loves these baby squirrels.
This is called Hide a Squirrel, they squeak!
Don't even try to take it from him!!
He carrys it around and even sleeps with one.
Today was a pretty good day for Paris.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Whammo!

Well today started off with Paris walking right into the dresser as soon as we woke up. Not a great start to the day.

I thought I would give you some background info on Paris. He is 10 1/2 years old and I have had him all his life. He used to love going for a ride in the car. (I guess most dogs like that?) Now he doesn't like it so much because it must disorient him, and he cries all the way to where we are going.

He also suffers from Collapsing Trachea which causes him to cough and honk like a goose. He was diagnosed with that earlier this year.

He has had one surgery for bladder stones that went very well. He didn't much like wearing that crazy plastic collar around his neck but I didn't trust him home alone.


I have started wearing some jingle bells on my shoe when we go for a walk. He seems to be getting the idea that the sound he hears is Mom walking beside him. I think it's starting to work!

Stayed tuned...

Monday, January 3, 2011

Paris' Story

This is a blog about my dog Paris who in November 2010 was diagnosed with Progressive Retinal Atrophy.
I had no idea he couldn't see.
The Monday before his yearly checkup I noticed he couldn't find his treat right next to him on the couch, but I didn't think much of it.
Then the same week on Friday going into the vets office he walked right into the door!
I asked the vet to be sure to check his eyes, the vet did and much to my surprise, told me Paris was blind!
He said he could probably only see large shadows not people or his beloved squirrels that he loved to chase in the back yard.
It was very hard to believe.
The doctor explained that Paris had "mapped" the house and knew his way around, so I wouldn't really notice a difference as long as I didn't move things around.

Several days passed and I did notice things by now, because I was looking for them.
Paris seemed to be using his sense of smell a lot more to navigate the house.
I bought a motion sensor light for the hallway, because he would stop halfway down the hall when it was dark and wait for me so he could follow me.

Paris can still jump up on the couch but if it is dark in the room he will cry to get down. He won't sleep on the bed anymore, he is afraid of falling off I guess. He will lay on the bed while I am reading but when I turn off the light he wants down. I have made him a bed right next to me on the floor.
I got a bright nightlight for near his bed, but I don't think he can see light anymore.

Yesterday I marked the door outside with peppermint oil so he can learn to find the door when he comes back from using the potty.
I found him standing at a table leg barking (he thought it was the door) and it nearly broke my heart.

Today when I got home from work I let him out and he walked right into a large potted plant, then he walked a few more steps and walked right into the wall of the house.
I suppose it would be funny if it wasn't so sad.

I will continue to post ideas to deal with Paris' blindness in hopes that I can help someone else. Just writing this down has helped me.
Thanks for reading.