Milo is getting old

[eskilady]

My Milo is 11 years old and is going blind.  We think that he has PRA but are not sure.  But he is going blind.  He has lived in the kitchen his entire life - his crate is there and he is in his crate at night and when we are not home.  When we are home, he has the run of the house.  Things use to be very quiet in the house at night - Milo and Molly would both sleep the entire night - but things have changed.  Milo will now bark alot at night - and I do mean ALOT.  He was barking alot last night so DH came down and said that Milo was doing circles in his crate and he had to pull him out by grabbing his head.  We are wondering if, because he is going blind, that when it gets dark, he gets disoriented.  I do have a night light in the kitchen but it isn't a very bright one.  We are going to try tonight to leave him loose in the house and see if that solves the problem. He is old enough so he shouldn't get into any problems.  During the day, he should be fine, I hope.

[Roxbear]

Oh, I'm sorry to hear this Carol.  My friend used to have a little dog that was blind--they also had a golden retriever, and the dogs stayed in the yard all day.  The little dog was almost always right beside the retriever, and she seemed to do just fine, despite being blind.

[Jasmine]

Sorry to hear that Milo is not able to see well anymore, poor baby.  Would it help him feel more comfortable if you let him sleep in your room at night?

[snowflake's mom]

Poor Milo.      I had a suitemate in college that was mostly blind, and low light caused what little visual sensation she had to go away.   

[eskilady]

Sorry to hear that Milo is not able to see well anymore, poor baby.  Would it help him feel more comfortable if you let him sleep in your room at night?

I had been thinking of that but the bedroom is on the second floor and I would hate for him to fall down the stairs because he couldn't see them.  Plus there is no room in the bedroom for his crate.  But I was also thinking that I could clean up the bedroom and make room for his crate.  We will see how tonight goes.

[eskieagilitygal]

Poor little Milo!   It's tough getting old.    I know you'll find a good solution for him to make him as comfortable as possible.

[xragrl]

Poor Milo! That's so sad for that to happen. Sometimes I think it's harder on the owner than on the dog when this happens. We tend to let our emotions get in the way. I know you'll find the best solution for Milo. 

[Roxbear]

I meant to ask if you had stairs in your house Carol.  Can you gate him in a room and leave a light on for him overnight?  Roxie stays in the kitchen at night and for some reason we have left a small light on for her since the day we brought her home.

[Jasmine]

I had been thinking of that but the bedroom is on the second floor and I would hate for him to fall down the stairs because he couldn't see them. 

You could baby gate the top of the stairs at night so that he wouldn't fall down.

I meant to ask if you had stairs in your house Carol.  Can you gate him in a room and leave a light on for him overnight?  Roxie stays in the kitchen at night and for some reason we have left a small light on for her since the day we brought her home.

I leave a night light on for Jasmine too 

[Hana]

What if you kept him in the kitchen with the full light on?  I'm sorry to hear his eyes have been deteriorating.  Poor little Milo.  Let us know what you decide to do tonight.

[Saint Mom]

When Beauty (my cat) turned blind at around 15...or very very limited vision in one eye, we put up a babygate for her safety (she always stayed on the upper floor - bedrooms - because she was always too afraid of Nuuk) so she would not fall down the stairs. When she really got to the point of no return, we made her some kitty beds on the floor in various locations (always the same spots) so she can go relax. I did not want her to try to jump on the beds. She was very capable of doing so but I was the one concerned.

We also made sure that anything on this floor was never ever moved as it was her guides. She knews exactly the parameters to everything.

Leaving a bright light maybe an excellent recommendation at this point since he can still see a bit, I hope anyway.

Can you leave sort of a radio on an AM station (very low volume) 24/7 near his crate so he can feel some sort of safety?  The sound always coming from the same place would give him some sort of orientation.

I wished we so didn't have to go through that phase of seeing them grow old. But the reality is that each and everyone of us will get old and so will our pets.

Good luck and let us know how his night was.

[Kathy]

It sucks getting old!  I hope you find a way to make Milo secure and comfortable.

[eskilady]

Well, he is in his crate for the night and when I take Mona upstairs, I will turn on a light that I moved into the kitchen.  There is also a fan running for "white noise".  We will see how that works.  I hope that I get more sleep tonight.  While his barking is not that loud because of where he is, I find myself laying awake, listening to him bark.  And when he does it for most of the night, that means that I don't get alot of sleep.  I need all the beauty sleep that I can get.   

[Roxbear]

Good luck--let us know how it goes.

[Steve]

The poor little guy - must be scary.....

[eskilady]

Well, it went pretty well until about 3:30.  I thought that I had found the solution but was wrong.  He started barking again so I went down and let him out of his crate.  I stayed with him for a bit then went back to bed.  The rest of the night went pretty quiet.  I will try it again tonight - leaving him loose.  I was giving more thought to putting the crates in our bedroom but decided that that just wouldn't work.  He has never been in our bedroom and never been up the stairs to trying to get him to go up and down the stairs with his limited vision would probably not be the best thing.  And he is way too big for me to carry.  We will try something else tho - right now, Milo and Molly are the only ones in the kitchen and there is an empty crate between them where Mona is during the day.  I am going to move Milo's crate next to Molly's.  Maybe with her next door, he will feel better.  If that doesn't work.  I guess we will try leaving him loose in the house, with a light on, and see how that works.

[Christinn]

How are things going with Milo?  It's so hard to see our beloved pets grow old and develop health problems.  Buck had the same thing going on and I always left lights on for him.  Eventually I moved him into my bedroom at night.  At first I had to carry him to his sleeping spot by my bed if the light was off but he eventually got confident enough to find his way to the water dish that was on the other side of the bed all on his own.  I never changed the way I have the furniture set up or left stuff out that he could run into.  I don't know if it was because his came on so gradually but he seemed to just take it in stride and it was so surprising how he just adapted to his limited vision.

[casper_d_dog]

Poor Milo! Hope you were able to find a solution.

[Rileysmom]

Just saw this thread.  Poor Milo!     Just a thought, but maybe his barking at night is insecurity due to his hearing sounds or seeing shadows and being unable to check them out from his crate.  Leaving him loose at night with a few more lights on to reassure him could be the answer--at least until he adjusts to these changes in his vision.

[Yukon]

Awww, poor Milo.  Sending him huge hugs and kisses with hopes that he starts doing better at night.  Let us know how it goes.

[vlynn]

So sorry to hear about Milo's eyesite.
I hope you find a solution for him that works.

[eskilady]

Milo was loose in the house again last night and it seemed to work.  We are going to try this, until he gets into trouble.

[sanddollar_78240]

Oh. :-( 11 isn't *that* old. Maybe he is lonesome for you.
He could be getting cataracts at that age, too.
Poor little guy.

[caroline]

Poor Milo, i was just thinking, 11 isn't that old, that's Shiraz's age.  I do notice that she retreats to her bed a bit more often, but I have a ranch style house.

[snowballsmom]

how's he been doing, carol?