New foster is blind; any tips?

My newest foster is blind completely in one eye, and only has about 10% of his vision in the other eye. I'm not sure how to let him explore the house- he bumps into everything.

I've been keeping him on a lead and just leading him around to the important places- outside, the food & water bowls, his crate, etc. but I don't know how much freedom I should give him- plus he's a marker!

Any tips?

We had a blind Scottie who stayed with us regularly until she passed on In my experience, she learnt very quickly as to the amount of steps in and out of the house (as I voice jump jump on each of them!!). It took her about a day each time to get used to where the chairs, doors etc were. We didn't need to move chairs and stools as she would sense to move around them after a few hours. There were always a few bumps but she would know where her bed was and water bowl. We never let her roam outside alone (she was very old and slow to be fair) for obvious reasons. If she did venture out back she couldn't get out of the garden but she would just potter about sniffing! Maybe your guy is younger and that may be a challenge?

Best of luck with your new challenge!

Thanks Thelly. This boy is older, too...the vet thinks between 8-10 years. Seems to be a sweetie so far but will be hard to place.

Dogs really don't rely on their sight as much as their sense of smell. I have a blind rescued shih tzu who gets on just fine. Don't move furniture around or leave random things lying where he is likely to walk. Mine sussed the layout of the house in a day or two and although he does still bump occasionally, it gets less and less frequent. He gets to run around off lead as we have a fully enclosed field and even if we didnt, he doesn't wander off or chase other dogs, it just means we have to keep talking to him as we wander round so he can follow us. Leo can now jump on and off the sofa and can get in and out of the back door with no problems.

Just give your foster a little time and as long as you have removed any objects he may injure himself on, you don't need to wrap him in cotton wool.

Hope this helps