The Reiki Cafe 

If any of you have experience with caring for a blind dog, I would welcome your advice. My 11 yr old standard poodle has cataracts which have been progressing. Last night she awoke from a nap, panicky & was bumping into things. It broke my heart to see her whipping her head around looking in all directions & afraid to move. I didnt quite know what to do. I comforted her as best I could & gave her Rescue Remedy & after 30 min she calmed down enough to lie down & stay. After rearranging things in the house a bit so she wouldnt be tripping into & over things & spending time soothing her, I had a bit of a talk with her. Now those who are not dog people may think this strange. But I just told her what was happening to her & that she was intelligent & spirited enough to be able to handle this & we would find a way to work this out, that she could learn to find her way around the house by herself. Well, after 2 hours of sleep with her ner my bed, I awoke sensing that she had urinated next to the bed. This is the part I really need help with. Since this sudden increase in sight loss ocurred at night, I was not able to coax her outside to relieve herself & Im hoping that once the sun comes up that there will be enough light for her to make out shapes & shadows. Now after only 10 hours, she has progressed to moving tentatively around the house, getting her bearings & confidence. It appears that in very good light (just about all the lights in the house are on)she has some sense of shape or shadow but in the darker areas she is very confused. But I take great comfort in the progress she has made already & it may be wishful thinking but I think she did respond to the pep talk. I believe I can handle her loss of vision but the panicky helplessness broke my heart.
So, any hints will be appreciated.

peace & joy,
holobon

holobon,

/*\ Namaste :-}}

- yes, our animal companions get olde just as we do. Generally though we out-live any number of "pets" and it is always a bit of a wrench when one ails or dies.

- I suppose cataract removal is not a consideration?

- any chance that a smallish room in the house could be made hers? Stuff could be taken out that she would bump into and get hurt, etc. and this would be a 'safe' place for her to go? If it had a door to the outside that would be perfect. Maybe put in a shaggy piece of remnant carpet for a bed (if she doesn't have one already) and add any squeeky toys etc she is used to?

- talking to one's animal companions is not at all strange

>:-}}

- it is only polite, afterall, since they talk to us (in their own ways)

>:-}}

Reiki All Around,

All Blessings,

Firekeeper

Holobon,
I am sorry to hear of your baby. I have always had poodles, they are such intelligent animals. They do speak to us so no, not strange at all to speak back. I assume you have given reiki to eyes. The only thing I know of is blueberries. Blueberries help to maintain sight in diabetics. One cup of blueberries in any form per day. I have a dear friend who has been losing her sight and since using the blueberries her sight has maintained and not worsened. As for the unrinating, there was a great post earlier about using a mans pair of under wear with a pad stuck inside. Perhaps this could be for nights only. Do you use a night light? I leave the bathroom light on all night for my kids, is this a possibility?

Love is the most important thing and you seem to have an abundance of this:) I would be honored to send reiki to your pup if you wish.

Love and light,
Tracey

There is nothing strange about talking to your dog - I do it all the time with my old lad. We go nearly everywhere together and have long, involved and interesting conversations.
Keep talking to your pal - your voice will encourage her and she will be able to sense the calming tones which will have a reassuring effect on her. She will, I think adapt fairly quickly to her loss of sight - animals appear to adjust more readily than we do.
You could also encourage her to go out at night by perhaps installing a security light which would help her distinguish shapes at night.
Good luck and Blessed Be.

Hi holobon,

My heart goes out to you, it must have been awful seeing her like that.

With regards to going outside, how would she react to you putting her on a lead and gently leading her outside? She might feel more secure knowing that you are right by her side and hearing your voice will help to guide her.

Maybe trying to utilise her other senses will help, eg placing a rough mat by the outside doorway, so that she can feel the difference under her feet etc. or try and use her sense of smell in some way...

Gentle Blessings
Helen

Thank you all for your kind replies & suggestions. Brandy is doing much better than I thought she would. I was able to get her outside on her lead this morning. She is stressed ( panting & constantly roaming, drinking large quantities of water)but seems to have begun compensating for the vision loss. I do have 3 lights out front but that was not enough for her last night. Im hoping that as she adjusts she may gain enough confidence to venture out at night. If not I will just have to decrease food & water in the evenings & arrange her schedule around sunup & sunset.
If you could have seen her while we had that Pep talk, she was sitting straight up in front of me & cocking her head a bit & listening. Perhaps it did me more good than her, to declare that this was not going to get the best of us!
Have found a site for owners of blind dogs & I admit I did not think they could have quality of life & this site most gratefully has proven me wrong. They did stress not pampering the dog.
I have tried Reiki to her eyes in the past but she has always resisted though she will sometimes take it for a limited period in other areas of her body, generally only when in pain. She is almost as stubborn as her owner. :)
Didnt think about the blueberries, great idea!!
Wish I had an extra room for her. But she has never adjusted to being placed in a room ( barks, scratches, etc), as long as she is near me or can see me she has been OK & I am trying to work with that approach. She has worn me down over the years I suppose. I like independant animals but it has been an adjustment to deal with a dog as strong minded as she is, even the dog trainer I took her to as a pup said she was a handful! As much as possible I have stripped the main rooms of things that she might bump into or trip over. Will keep doors closed to other rooms that might be a danger.
Sorry for going on & on but it helps, you know. :)

peace & joy,
holobon

Otoharo!

Holobon, I feel for you and your dog. We are all one are we not?

finality

Dear Finality,
We are all connected !! :)
Apparently I spoke too soon as Brandy is panicky, has been pacing for hours. She can not bear to be touched. Have sedated her & am locked in bedroom with her in an attempt to get her to go to sleep as she is exhausting herself.

peace & joy,
holobon

holobon,
I appreciate how difficult it must be for you but could it be possible that some of your fears, concerns etc., are being inadvertantly transmitted to Brandy? Dogs do seem to be particularly sensitive to owners moods - my old lad knows instantly if either my wife or myself are upset about anything at all.
It will be difficult but you may wish to try ignoring her. Don't vary her routine (if she has anything left of it, due to the cataracts), just keep her in her normal rooms and sit with her for as long as you can, but don't give her any attention. Eventually, she will come to you and you will then be able to reassure her and hope fully send her some reiki even if she won't accept reiki through contact.
Hope this helps a little and good luck
Blessed Be.

Dear Celticcapricorn,
Well, Im human so I cant very well say that this isnt affecting me. One reason Ive chosen to talk about this here is that it allows me the opportunity to vent without speaking a word that the dog might pick up on. And yes, I agree that maintaining her routine is the best idea & I am ignoring her as much as possible. :)
As for Reiki she walks away from it even if beaming. I am getting a chuckle from the picture of me following her around while pacing trying to beam Reiki at her!! ( I know that isnt what you meant :)
Sedation may seem cruel but this morning after a good sleep she is like her old self. Sleep deprivation and stress were just too much for the old gal & I mean my dog as well as me!! :)

peace & joy,
holobon

Dear Holobon,
Glad to hear the good news that Brandy is more like her old self. Once she has accepted her disability, she will just get on with life (bar the odd relapse). It never ceases to amaze me how well and quickly critters adjust. My old weimaraner had a leg amputated on the Wednesday and the following Saturday jumped onto the wall in front of the house to get at another dog!! I was just a gibbering idiot (some might say "what's changed" lol) but she just got on with it.
No, I don't think it was in any way cruel to sedate her. By doing so, you gave her the opportunity to calm down and recharge her batteries
You did right to share your problem with us - "a problem shared ......" - and even if no-one can come up with any helpful solutions, sometimes the mere act of talking about it can be cathartic.
Hope Brandy ( and yourself) keep progressing well.,
Blessed Be.

Hey Holobon,
Glad to hear things are working better for you.
I'd like to recommend to you, surrogate EFT tapping for your dog.
You can use it with statements like, ( head, around eyes, heart area, feet- down her back where you think chakras are if she lets you)

Even though I'm scared because I can barely see, I'm still a great dog and my owners love me.
Even though I am helpless without my eyes I'm a great dog.
Even though I'm a burden to my humans I'm still loveable.
Even though I can't see I still love myself.

You can also say it like this on yourself:

Even though Brandy is scared because she can't see, she is still a great dog and her family loves her.
Even though Brandy feels helpless because she has trouble seeing, she is still a loved very much by the family.

You get my point..
When you tap yourself... Say this over and over while you are tapping your head( whole statement at each point), then over eyebrow, side of eye brow, under eye, under nose, under bottom lip, high heart, underarm(high up) and tap between pinky and ring finger..

Just keep repeating each statement for one or two rounds.
After you have done a few rounds of this, see if any inspiration about whats bugging her and make up your own stuff. I can almost guarantee it will help her. Usually very swiftly you will notice change.

If you want to know more look up Gary Craigs EFT site by doing a google on it..

Good Luck!

Jahnavi