Well, we went to the Veterinary Opthamology department at the vet school.
My guy has been going blind.
I was hoping for cataracts.....I can see cataracts, and having more money than sense, I'd have paid a fortune to have those cataracts removed if Pink's sight could have been restored.
It's not to be. Pink has retinal atrophy, almost no vessels left behind his tapetum in the back of the eye. None.

So he is pretty much blind, stone blind.
Thank God he is so well trained, thanks to Leerburg.
His behavior at the vet school was perfect. ( I mean, he needed a muzzle at first, for the stinging drops...but then he was ok)

A little QUESTION : before going to his appointment, he required a bath. He has always hated baths ( considers it a "procedure"---very "suspect"--- and " for the love of God, it's zero out, we don't want to get WET!" Anyhow, he actually howled thru the whole bath. A cross between a howl and a growl, but more howl. Never did THAT before.

Now blind, becoming more a house guy, baths are going to be a part of life. Suggestions?

Betty, I'm so sorry to read this, it's just so damn sad when an active and busy dog has such a seismic change in their lives.

Is the bathing something that could be done with a soapy sponge and a rinse off, or even a dry shampoo and a good brushing? My boys had a life long pathological hatred of rain or baths and for Kaiser, especially, it was an easier and less stressful way of getting it done. It did take longer, but he tolerated the 'intrusion' of a sponge bath over the hose or bucket.

I know there will be far more logical answers and suggestions from everyone else, but this was something I did with the water haters that got the mud and fox poo off with the least line of resistance.

Give Pinker a scratch behind the ears from me. Bless his heart.

Yes, Tracey, in summer sponge baths work well.
I find, though, that really clean hair dries so much faster than semi-clean. And he HAD to be clean for his appointment.
He does swim. It's not the water.....it's the water, applied.

Right, got it!

I know Connie, Kelly, Bob and the other guys will have some great ideas for your boy, I was pretty much stabbing in the dark

I hope things settle down and become the new normal soon. It's just another journey for you both and I know you'll find your groove and routine and he will have a good quality of life as he adapts to the different routine. Sending my best wishes to you both and I am rooting for you

I took Toni to hydrotherapy after she dislocated her hip. Toni despises being in the water, and at 14, I see no point in training her to like it. So, we took peanut butter and spray cheese and held a small spoon of it in front of her. Toni very much enjoys her food, and she barely even glanced down when the water started getting deeper - just kept working for that tiny taste of peanut butter or cheese.

Would that be an option for Pink? Have your husband hold some yummy treats or peanut butter in front of him to lick or nose at while you bathe him? Eventually it will be like desensitizing him to it and he may start to look forward to his bath....

You can also marker train him to stand for a bath, but that may take some time.

So sorry that he is going through this. Watching them get old when there is nothing we can do to stop it is so hard.... best of luck, Betty!

Peanut butter on a spoon! Great suggestion
. Wish I'd thought of that yesterday at the opthamologist.

Peanut butter on a spoon! Great suggestion
. Wish I'd thought of that yesterday at the opthamologist.

 Quote: Betty Landercasp

Well, we went to the Veterinary Opthamology department at the vet school.
My guy has been going blind.
I was hoping for cataracts.....I can see cataracts, and having more money than sense, I'd have paid a fortune to have those cataracts removed if Pink's sight could have been restored.
It's not to be. Pink has retinal atrophy, almost no vessels left behind his tapetum in the back of the eye. None.

So he is pretty much blind, stone blind.
Thank God he is so well trained, thanks to Leerburg.
His behavior at the vet school was perfect. ( I mean, he needed a muzzle at first, for the stinging drops...but then he was ok)

A little QUESTION : before going to his appointment, he required a bath. He has always hated baths ( considers it a "procedure"---very "suspect"--- and " for the love of God, it's zero out, we don't want to get WET!" Anyhow, he actually howled thru the whole bath. A cross between a howl and a growl, but more howl. Never did THAT before.

Now blind, becoming more a house guy, baths are going to be a part of life. Suggestions?

I'm so sorry, Betty, that Pinker has this happening to him. I believe that dogs accept challenges like this better than most humans, but of course that doesn't mean it's at all easy.

He's fortunate to have you -- you aren't someone who will trigger or reinforce emergent anxiety and loss of confidence.

My dog Oliver had severely negative feelings about baths. He screamed throughout the process. Just stood there in the tub screaming. (He screamed about anything that made him unhappy, and screaming was a big factor in his separation anxiety, medical-type procedures, and definitely baths.)

He was about eight when he came to me, and all this was very ingrained.

Along the lines of Tracey's suggestion, I "bathed" him with extra large, extra thick, pre-moistened baby wipes.

There are tons of these available in scented and unscented and in several sizes. I found good deals in them online. Target had a good selection and good prices, and free shipping if the order came to (I think) $35 or more. But they're widely available (eBay, Amazon, The Honest Company, NorthShore Wipes, and many many more) and free shipping also isn't hard to find. Extra large baby wipes, adult disposable washcloths, heavy-duty wipes -- lots of names to Google. Extra large baby wipes led me to pretty much all of them.

So these gave me some breathing room so we could proceed with the bath training at an unhurried pace.

Both his "procedures" training and bath training with me were marker-based.

As Kelly mentioned, I used very special food rewards for the bath work (for him, it was real no-nitrites/nitrates bacon, diced and cooked and kept in the freezer in little baggies, to be thawed and a little warmed in the microwave when needed; the bacon rewards were reserved only for the procedures work and bath work).

Of course, that level of reward is over-the-top for most situations. I wanted to use something so irresistible that his fall-back screaming wouldn't get going. The screaming was very well established and habitual; I wanted the rewards to be thrilling to Oliver.

Karen Pryor has a good article here about marker work with a bath-hater:
https://www.clickertraining.com/node/3199
Scroll down to Splish splash, we're training a bath.

One thing that I could readily see dialed back some of Oliver's bath anxiety was giving him much better footing in the tub. (This was mentioned in something I read at the time, and Pryor's article, linked above, also stresses it.)

I used a thick towel on the bottom of the tub, but since then -- this month -- I've acquired a nice thick non-slip bathtub mat with the familiar suction cup backing and I think still made of rubber (or the like), but now it feels like nice fabric rather than slick rubber and it really grips the tub very securely. My daughter bought it for me at either Target or Bed Bath and Beyond, and I just left her message to let me know which store it was. (I'll post it when I find out.)

One other thing that I've read about ... an anxious blind dog in the tub may feel much more secure if you keep one hand on him throughout. I wish I could remember the source, but I can't. It might've been that Caroline Levin book that we've talked about, Living With Blind Dogs.

Amy called back -- she got the non-slip mat for the tub at Target.

It's this "Rubber Bath Mat White - Room Essentials" for $12.99.
https://www.target.com/p/rubber-bath-mat-white-room-essentials-153/-/A-50224475?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&fndsrc=tgtao&CPNG=PLA_Bath%2BShopping_Brand&adgroup=SC_Bath&LID=700000001170770pgs&network=g&device=c&location=1014251&ds_rl=1246978&ds_rl=1247068&ds_rl=1246978&gclid=CjwKCAiAwJTjBRBhEiwA56V7qy-5pNPLNiZRtkxyYerVi-1jde86VdCZpBmv4BWs_-UH6eXMA129zBoCS4EQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Over to the left of the mat's picture, the third thumbnail picture down is a little short quick video of how to make sure the suction-cup backing is secure. Not exactly rocket science, but still useful.

I like that mat. It feels secure and comfortable.

It might be something that will improve the Pinker's bathtub experience. The bath towel on the bottom of the tub helped Oliver, but I wish I had known about the soft mats.

Good ideas from all above.

Why not marker training?

It may have to start in the room/hall outside then into the bath room, then into the bathroom, tub, tub with very low water for very short duration, etc.

HUGS for Pinker!