Gardening for Blind Doggies

 

Welcome to Saturday!  Today I'm hoping everyone will leave me alone so I can work in the back yard for once and get it all done.

Actually, I'm hoping they'll join me out there... willingly, voluntarily!  But,  ahh, no matter. Construction of the Laura Botanical Gardens should begin as soon as I finish this cup of coffee.

Right now it's too dark outside to see where the dog poop is, but today my plan is to turn the back yard from looking like Buddy's Toxic Minefield into a blooming paradise. 

And that's going to be a tad harder than you might think. I'm about to teach an old dog a new trick.  An old, semi- blind dog.

Blind dogs pretty much need to know where they're going ahead of time.  Established patterns help them get around without bumping into things.  Since we haven't changed the yard since Buddy lost his sight, it's been ok to let him outside by himself to "go"  because he already knows where everything is located.

But occasionally he walks right smack into something and that always make me cringe.   I've seen him underestimate the distance to our front door and walk right into it.  He's missed his step on the deck and fallen right into the pond in the front yard .  He's walked into the basketball hoop more than once, and it's been in the same place for almost 10 years.  Since we have a giant hole where the pool used to be, that's a concern as well.

I've got to change the yard around, however, because it's falling apart.  There isn't any lawn out there, just dirt and weeds where the grass used to be.  Areca palms line the fence, and giant Queen palms circle the pool, but otherwise it's fairly haphazard.  This is last summer, weeds and all, before the pool was taken out:

The butterflies loved it. So did the bees.  If you're allergic to bee stings, DONT put butterfly plants near a pool!
Around the yard, I have a lot of plants, but I'd like to make it look more appetizing than it is now.  You can't walk out there barefoot... at all. 
And I'd like to do all this by spending as little $$$ as possible.  Mulch from the tree trimming crews will make that possible, and relocating other plants will help as well.

A purty Amaryllis.

Water restrictions being what they are, I've decided to turn what used to be a beautiful lawn into mulched paths and so forth.  I'm tired of competing with grub worms and I don't like to use pesticides every week as my neighbors do. 

  I have a lot of plans for ol' Buddy and I. We'll be out there together, digging in the dirt, so he'll know where all the new plantings are, and I'll also teach him just where he can "go" and where he can't.
He'll learn that when he feels stones and pebbles underfoot (or under paw, as it were),  he'll have to back off and walk onto the mulch again.  That way, he won't walk smack into a thorny rose bush.

I'm hoping to leash train him to use a single a wide area where he can "go" at anytime without worrying about bumping into things, or pooping on the mulch.  Since it's an area he already uses to some extent, I think he'll catch on quickly.    

It's going to be an adventure!

Here's Zoey and Rico, who are almost always together, lying where the garden used to be. They are big and fat these days. Note that Zoey has put on a lot of blubber.

The garden will be moved to a new location! Note the old green pepper cages.

Whew! Want to come and visit? Shovels always welcome!

Comments

[Rico Suave, Local 459, International Brotherhood of Felines]

Just don't expect our members to pitch in. We're on work-to-rule. In other words, you work, we rule.

[Carolyn]

Awww, I didn't know your doggie was blind. That's cool he can navigate his way around though! ~~ Well, mostly ;) Your yard is beautiful!

Happy Easter to you and all your family (including furkids!)

[dad]

plant four oclocks. need little water and bugs hate them. and the come in colors seeds available in Walmart. we had few mosquitos last summer due to four o'clocks all over the yard.

[jeff-nhn]

What a great topic! We just went through the ordeal of our Pekinese going blind and bumping into things. He had the same backyard for almost 15 years but I think age had something to do with him probably forgetting where everything was located. Great insight for us dog owners that either have or someday might be faced with pet blindness.

[Old Horsetail Snake]

Wow! I admire your "let-me-at-it" attitude. I trust you will showing us progress pix from time to time????

[kenju]

Love the kitty pix. Did you remove your pool?

[Laura]

Hoss, sure thing! I'd like to do before and after shots, although this project will take most of spring and summer. It's just too big for me to do alone, so I can't do it all at once.

Judy, we had an in-ground, vinyl liner pool that the previous owners installed. The liner lasted a good 15 years or so, and then began to fall apart
Because the pool was only 4 ft deep, it was a liability as the kids got older. Their friends would try to dive into it, and that always gave me nightmares. Their favorite thing to do was to try an alternative way to "jump" in the pool, not realizing that could hurt them as well. I got so sick of having to warn them and got tired of being a hard a*s in threatening to take them out if they did it again.
Anyway, last summer the leaks and tears got to be too much, so we took it out. A simple, kidney shaped pool construction here in the tampa bay area costs roughly 30K, so I don't think we'll be installing an inground pool anytime soon.
Fiberglass pools are cheaper, but they're itchy and nobody likes 'em.

Jeff, (and hello! btw!) ;)
Buddy lost his sight from diabetes, but I hadn't thought his memory becoming a factor, especially as he gets older. That's a good point there.
I have a few ideas for this yard that I'm hoping will work out for him, and hopefully other owners of blind dogs will be able to use them as well.
Looks like it will all be trial and error!

Mom, you've mentioned the 4'oclocks before, thanks.

Carolyn, thanks for the compliment! Note that those are close-up photos. The entire yard would make you gasp, LOL.

Rico Suave, I noticed you slept all of yesterday afteroon on the rocking chair. Today I expect to see you outside dragging the branches to the trash. About time you put that mouth of yours to good use in hard labor instead of incessant howling. Thank you.

[dani813]

Last summer I planted sunshine mimosa in a test area in the yard. I have to say I've been very pleased.It's a florida native and a ground cover.Little one really likes the fuzzy pink flower heads and the plant leaves close up when you touch them.Pretty cool plant to replace sod.And also,did Buddy lose his sight soon after being diagnosed or just the ageing with diabetes??Kitty has been doing 3 units twice a day for about a year now and was just curious.Your the only one I know that has another pet with diabetes.

[Laura]

Dani, Thanks for this tip. I googled it, and I've seen it before, but I didn't know what it was at the time. Did you grow it from seed?

Buddy lost his sight gradually after his diagnosis. It's been a little over 2 years now. I've noticed his anxiety level has soared as well. While he has adapted well in other respects, he's constantly pacing to find out where we are, even if we've been on the couch watching tv.
When he goes outside,he'll come running back in and spend the next few minutes walking around "snifing" to find out where we are. Since he can't see us, he'll walk right up to the chair and inhale. He won't rela till he's inspected every chair in the house.

He takes 21cc of Humulin N insulin twice a day. And I'd love to find a place that sells it cheaper than Walgreens.

[Seamus]

I didn't realize Buddy was blind! What a good mom for accommodating him so.
I'll be right over with that shovel. Painted your name right on the handle and all. You're welcome. Glad to help. Do you have bleachers set up for those of us with beer?

[dani813]

I think Wilcox nursery has some 1 gallons for sale. If you find some growing wild just take some and root it in some dirt,it'll take off quick.That's what I did.

[Laura]

Not a problem, Seamus! One of our shovels broke today, so we could use a free one. By the way, I painted your name on the chain saw so you won't be so bored having to sit on the bleachers all the time. I also added your name to a few trees as well... have a great time, and don't worry about a thing, I'll spring for the beers as well!

Dani, good idea. I'll pull some up when I'm out walking around here. I have a small rock wall in the back yard that this might look good growing in and around.

[Sandy]

I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't laugh..but I did. We used to have a dog that was so intent on running, that he didn't pay attention to WHERE he was running and would ram smack into stuff. The look on his face always had me cracking up..lol