I watched that episode of POGDOGS and thought the device they used (similar to the angel wings) was great for dogs who were still adapting to their blindness and later for any novel places they might be taken to.

Hi Redsky! How old is your boy? I've known several blind dogs and I have never known blindness, even complete, to be an impediment to a dog being perfectly happy. If he's young, he'll just deal with it as all young animals do. If he's older, he might have to learn a few workarounds, but all eminently doable! I wouldn't stress too much about loads of tools at the beginning. The best tool he has is the one inside his head, and the more opportunities you give that to adapt to his world, the better he will cope.

Put yourself in his position. What would make your life easier? You'll need your house to be easily navigable, so have things always in the same places. You'll need familiar routes, and you might need extra guides in some places: maybe have a marker at certain locations, like a corner you need to turn. It could be as simple as a rock by the side of the road, or a small wind chime you've strung up in a tree by an important spot. Maybe you need to count at some places. Dogs can count-- they just don't do it the same way we do, or with the same ends in mind. He may need extra time to figure out a route, or his place on it; just give him that time to count. Remember what hazes him: for you, it might be fog. For him, it's snow, heavy rain, wind, or anything that weirds sound and smells. Give him extra time when his world is weirded.

Okay, now put yourself in his place again and think about how he has it a WHOLE LOT easier than you. Your eyesight is amazing! Think about what you can do with your eyes. You can distinguish ***textures*** with your eyes. You know how many other animals can do that? Put yourself in company with the octupi. It's you and the molluscs. You can distinguish depth. You can see patterns almost nothing else can. And your colour vision? Don't get me started. People rant and rave about the mantis shrimp, but for all its colour receptors, it is nothing compared to you. Colour detection is not an eye thing. It's a brain thing, and you have an anterior cortex to rival... well... someone else who is very like you. We don't really know much about visual cortices superior to ours, but we can be forgiven for that, perhaps... there aren't many. Long story short: YOU are a visual animal. Your dog, however, isn't so much. Vision plays a much smaller role in his life than it does in yours, and the loss of it, while significant, is not such a big deal, especially when you compare it with that nose. OH MY GOD THAT NOSE. Remember how I mentioned about a marker that might be useful at an important turning? You might need a flashing red light. He might need a nutmeg buried three feet under. You can use that nose. A scent that he associates with you can be used as a marker, so maybe cultivate a taste for an unusual perfume.

One thing you can do is make yourself more identifiable to your dog with an auditory sign, like a jingly bracelet, that you always wear. It doesn't have to be very loud, and it shouldn't be obnoxious or grating-- this is a sound you want your dog to associate with you, so it should be nice! If you can cultivate a habit of talking to yourself, singing, or humming, it will help him find you no matter where you are. Practise that recall, too: when he knows where you are, he should know to come to you no matter what. He should know a STOP signal, too: a short, sharp noise, like AAH! that you would use instinctively, is best. If you can teach him to STOP, STAND STILL, that will be extremely useful and may save his life. Most mammals have a natural instinct for it, so it is easy to train. AAAH! And then use slooooooow words, hooooold, hoooooold, hooooooold. Get him to hold until you touch him and you're golden. It's just a stay, really. Any dog can do it, but it's more important for a blind dog to respond to your natural, instinctive effusions: if you see him in danger, you're probably going to go AAAH! so best to train him to respond to you when you're at your most thoughtless.

Most of all, don't limit him, but watch for his limits. Don't expect he can't do a thing, but don't expect he can do it either. He is limited, but if you're sensible you can live within those limits and give them what for. Look for his strengths and play to them. And if anyone, anyone at all, tells you that you should have had him put down, you can send them straight to me.