I am a middle adult for a family of five and I have two dogs. One is a young boxer around 9 years old, and a Yorkie Pomeranian mix who is 14 and blind. He started losing his eyesight around 3 years ago if I recall correctly, and ever since my family has done their best to take care of him and his needs for walking around the house. I'll just call the dog "Yorkie" since I keep my identity hidden online.
So besides occasional dog walks, sometimes my boxer prefers the backyard space since we have a wide open grass field that's fenced so he can run around and get some exercise. When the boxer needs to go out, I open the sliding door and he bolts out. The Yorkie on the other hand sleeps in his bed unless he signals to go out, in which he'll walk around in circles looking for the door. However, my father thinks whenever the boxer wants to go out, the yorkie must go as well, regardless of if he's sleeping and unable to walk at times. I think it's a bit of a stretch, but I guess I see why?
When the yorkie does want to go out, I tend to carry him to the backyard so he can get his business done and head inside. To make it as gentle as possible for the dog, I snap my fingers so he knows i'm there. Last thing I wanna do is scare him awake. I give him a nice pet and rub his back before I carry him to the backyard. Afterwards, I genteelly place him on the grass, where he can walk and do his business. He used to walk out to the grass himself, but before the grass is a patio, and he'll bump into anything that'll hurt him and he'll lose his way to the door, which is why I carry him.
However, my Father thinks otherwise. He thinks that by carrying him to the back, i'm "torturing" him? What I know about my father is he doesn't like it when things are done the "easy" way and always wants everything we do in this house to have some sort of challenge. What he wants me to do instead is constantly clap my hands, snap my fingers, and whistle at him and expect him to wake up from his bed and walk over towards the patio. I cannot touch the dog in anyway whatsoever. He wants the yorkie to do it on his own.
While he probably thinks that's how it has to be done, in my honest opinion I think his method is far worse. You can't expect a blind dog to get up on his own from constant clapping, especially within old age, they tend to sleep a lot; then just casually walk 30 feet towards the Patio, then the grass, on his own. My Dad does it and half the time it works, other times, it doesn't. If the yorkie does walk, it takes approximately three to five minutes to reach his destination. I try to reason with him that his method doesn't work, but he'll get angry and get into a fierce argument because thats his "method" and I have to use it.
Then after he gets tired of clapping for the poor dog, he decided to buy a clicker off Amazon. Yes, the clicker is for training dogs and guiding them, especially those that are visually impaired. However, my dog is within old age, and since he tends to sleep alot, he'll not respond to anything, nor wake up during his naps. My dad is obligating me to use the clicker from now on and constantly mash it while calling the dog's name. Chances of him waking up are low, but when he does wake up, he'll still walk slowly towards the grass, and bump into places in the process.
I don't wanna say that my methods are any better because i'm always doubtful of my POV towards things, but i'm writing this because for what my Dad is doing, is a bit of a stretch for something as simple as letting him go to the backyard, do his business, and come right back in. I just wanna carry him to the back so its straightforward and safe without involving lots of bumps and crashes. So I wanna ask you, Reddit? Do you agree with what my father is doing? Or with what i'm doing. Tell me what i'm potentially doing wrong? Or is there a better method that you guys can suggest? I just want to end this conflict. I'm all ears, so don't worry about what you say. Could use some feedback. Thank you all!
TL;DR: I safely carry my old blind dog to the backyard so he can use the bathroom, but my Dad thinks its torture so he has me constantly clap and whistle the dog, even when he's sleeping, until he wakes up and heads to the back potentially bumping into stuff on the patio. He buys a clicker, and makes me use it to have him walk to the back instead of letting me carry him so he can travel safely. I'm not good at TL;DRs so I recommend reading the whole thing. Thanks!
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/ke4d04/advice_for_walking_my_blind_dog_to_my_backyard/
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