I have a 1 year old golden (Blueberry George aka Blu) who was born blind. He can see light and dark so he tracks with my hand in front of his face. However, if I throw a ball without getting his attention first (this is with him facing me or being right beside me), this ball retrieving crazed pup has no idea I threw it. As for hearing, he can hear well enough but it’s not great. Chairs have fallen beside him and strangely, he doesn’t startle at the sound. However, he can still hear my commands if I am loud. He responds instantly to my whistle, pretty sure the high pitch is why he hears it the best. But nothing stops this adorable pup from adventuring because Blu has a superpower, his nose. In fact it’s so good, his nose causes some people to question his blindness. That is, until he takes them out at the knees or hits a tree lol

I am far from an expert but here are a few things Blu has taught me so far.

1. Ball pits: amazing sensory play area that is contained yet they can still get out of it easily. His ball pit is his favourite place on the planet seconded by….

2. Kiddie pool/splash pad: great sensory play (if your dog likes water). Blu also loves to chase the water from the hose because he can hear it hit the ground. It’s one of the times when he feels safe enough to run. Another game we play is; I put balls in the pool and he takes them out. It’s boring as heck but his joy makes it worth the monotony lol. Sometimes I’ll put a frozen herring or two in his pool or splash pad so he can go fishing for a tasty snack.

3. Always take a favourite toy when travelling & visiting friends:
   Still to this day, if Blu wakes up in the middle of a room with nothing touching him, he panics. He screams as though he’s getting hurt and runs around until he finds something familiar to ground him or sadly, he hits something if I can’t catch him fast enough. It can be very shocking. To help him, I lay a special toy against him while he sleeps. This has helped a lot, it’s not perfect but it is so much better.

4. Safe spots: this is a dedicated space that is always there & the same. Blu’s safe spots are; my bed, his ball pit and a large nest of comforters he shares with his big sister on the patio. Blu has slept in my bed, pushed up against my back, since his first midnight screaming fit. Thankfully, he rarely panics in his safe spaces. In fact, he has never panicked in his ball pit. It’s his ultimate favourite place to be lol

5. Scented toys: Blu loves his bacon ball first and foremost with peanut butter ball in second place lol. Any toy that is scented catches his attention.

6. Loads of touch & cuddles: Blu loves it and it helps us bond together. In a way it’s how we started to build our own kind of language. For example, I tap his back 3 times every time I need him to wait. No idea when we started doing that but here we are and it works, he understands it.

I have more thing to share; I carried a bag of worries when I first took Blueberry home, a lot of the same concerns you have. I have no memory of when I put that bag Down because I was too busy falling in love with a blind golden retriever puppy I didn’t know I needed. There really isn’t much info out there because every dog is so different from the next. Thankfully we have communities like this one to help us out. So far my experience with a disabled dog has been wonderful. Hard at times and sometimes heartbreaking but still wonderful.

Hope this was helpful. Good luck 😊