Pet parents might worry that their children aren't developing adequate social skills. Playdates, daycare, kindergarten, and school can all help with this. But sometimes your child won't be permitted to attend these places, which is generally the case when your child is a dog. All puppies need socialisation, and a puppy behaviour training class can be extremely beneficial for this. Even when a puppy has a disability, they shouldn't be deprived of the opportunity to interact with their fellow dogs while receiving the training that will help to make them a well-adjusted adult dog.
A Specific Class
It's unlikely that you will find an obedience class designed specifically for blind or vision impaired puppies, but this is not going to be an obstacle. You should, however, enquire whether the puppy school has experience training vision-impaired dogs, which in turn teaches you the skills you'll need to continue training your pup at home. Clicker training is a method that can be highly effective for all dogs, and especially so when a dog is unable to see. So essentially, ask which methods any prospective puppy school actually uses.
The Other Puppies
To accommodate your dog's disability, you should opt for a class with limited participants. It can be overwhelming for a blind or vision-impaired puppy to be introduced to multiple other dogs all at once. When there are just a few other pups of a similar size within the group, your own puppy will be able to interact with them without becoming too stressed at the unfamiliar smells and sounds of the other dogs.
Special Considerations
Your dog won't need many special considerations due to their disability, other than perhaps more closely supervising their interactions with other dogs than you would with a dog without any vision problems. You should ask the trainer how to teach your dogs commands specifically related to their condition, such as an immediate halt when ordered (the heel command). They should also be taught a verbal cue (with a precise wording of your choice) which encourages them to stop when there's an obstacle in their path, before smelling or touching the obstacle to allow them to find their own way around it.
Puppy training classes are helpful in building your dog's confidence (along with teaching them the most appropriate way to behave), and their confidence will need an extra boost when they're blind or vision impaired.
Reach out to puppy behaviour training courses in your area for more information.
Share26 August 2020
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