Traveling with blind pets

Taking both dogs is not an option. It's normally a 12 to 13 hour trip in just a normal car. I'm anticipating between 14 and 15 hauling the camper. I have the extended cab silverado and 2 growing boys.. taking both pups on a 4-5 hour drive is manageable, but not longer. The youngest dog is 2 and will either hang out with my daughter or go to the coolest doggie spa ever!

Update on my newly blind friend. She is coming to terms with her handicap. She is learning one word commands to help guide her. She sniffed out her ball and was playing with it tonight. I think she'll be just fine!!

I now have 2 seniors that are blind and partially blind. And one that has had 2 pancreatitus attacks and doing well now.

I find they feel most confident and comfortable when they around their owners and familiar surroundings. I would NOT leave them in a strange kennel at this stage of their life. Stress at a kennel IMHO would be too much for them.

I would most "definitely" take BOTH dogs with in the RV. :C

Thanks everyone, we are adapting....she's coming along....it breaks my heart to see her like this...but we'll manage...

Our Kissie is almost blind and also must take insulin 2x daily. She absolutely still loves to travel in the mh!!

Her favorite areas are the beach because she can walk on the beach, leashed of course, and knows she will not bump into anything.

We also have a doggie stroller that we use for her.

Think of it this way:

You're blind. You have a choice of being in a small place with familiar scents and your family, with occasional trips to unfamiliar outdoors; OR being in a small kennel in an unfamiliar place with 20-60 strange dogs barking all around you.

Most dogs will be happier with you than staying in a kennel. Being blind can increase that preference.

I would say to watch her carefully during the trip. She may make nervous barking when you're away - even if she's never barked before. She may have accidents when she never did before. If at some point, you see that she's overly stressed, then you can decide if it's better she not travel.

We adopted a 14 yr old doxie female off Craigslist because her family didn't want her anymore -- reason. She was going blind and mostly deaf. We started fulltiming about 1 year after we got her and she did great. We carried her in and out of the motorhome so she didn't have to try to deal with the steps. She still loved to walk on a leash and sniffed her way around. It did help that we sat in the same place a few months at a time. I wouldn't hesitate to take all my pets, healthy, or with health problems with us. I don't think I could leave them with someone else for more than a couple of days.

Managing a blind, diabetic/pancreatitis dog may be easier in the RV than at home as the area is smaller and leash walks are required. As long as she is comfortable in the RV and used to the surroundings, it shouldn't be an issue.

Doug, DVM

A year ago we were camping with our blind (cataracts) and mostly-deaf Cattle Dog. The was, IMO, one missing-sense too many; it was a stressful trip for all of us. However, had he only been blind, he would have been fine because he sort of used the leash like a Seeing-Eye dog in reverse?? And I made sure to walk him on flat, fairly-smooth surfaces. He still enjoyed walking and sniffing. Negotiating the steps to the 5er was a bit of a challenge.

Belle is a 17 year old Jack Russell/Chihuahua mix. She is mostly blind and at least 1/2 deaf. She full-times with no problems. She gets a little panicky at night trying to jump back up on the bed if she gets up to drink, but I hear her pacing and get up to put her on the bed. Otherwise, she enjoys spending her time with us. She has her own outside chair and she loves to sleep on it in the sun. When moving, she rides in her crate so we don't worry about her being bounced around. Over all, we prefer to have her with us - she probably doesn't have too much time left and we want her to enjoy the time she does have.