Shovelhead

My old Cocker had failing eyesight in his later years, bumped into things sometimes, but his nose was keen as ever.
Saw him sitting in the dining room, looking up at the china cabinet one day.
I thought he was going nutz.
Told wife to come look at the silly dog.
That's when she told me she 'hid' an unopened package of Oreo cookies on top of the china cabinet that afternoon.............. about 7 feet up.

I miss that dog..........

NJTman

I understand completely, as I feel that pain every day....

Fronty Owner

there is an old man (gotta be 70 plus) a few blocks over that walks his dog every evening (weather permitting). He said his dog is completely blind, He just talks to the dog in a soft voice and the dog follows him. If someone walks up or is talking to him, the dog stops and sniffs around. the footsteps seem to confuse him, but as long as its just the old man, the dog follows along at an old man pace.

tech-eh

well guess you have it all figured out that the dog will be OK but you will need to keep him away from stairs to basements and the like some put up gates or chairs . try not to change the lay out of the house radically and his bed placement as they will learn and have over the years these locations . always and I mean always keep him on a leash as the out side is a exciting place and that squirrel sent may cause him to take off. see many blind animals hurt due to trees getting in the way. you can now let him hang his head out the window as now the damage that it does to his corneas is immaterial and the smells he gets turbo charged up his nose wooohooooo . you can get his eyes repaired but it is expensive 3,000 plus usually one is done then the other six months later and glasses can bet fitted but most dogs dont care about clarity . the things you learn working for a vet when you are young

Lary Ellis (Top)

I had a Black lab that went blind from Diabetes...he lived another 5 yrs and adapted quite well, I was going to have his cataracts removed but we had so much trouble balancing his sugar that it was deemed that he was too sick for surgery.

He was a smart dog, one of the smartest dogs I ever had, he preferred to live out side in his own house because he patrolled the yard at night. He knew every tree, bush, rock in that yard and NOBODY came near the place without him knowing it.

I would let him in every morning and he would lay down on the living room floor with his back toward me and the kitchen. I would prepare his breakfast and he was aware he had to have his Insulin shot before he could eat.

I would get the Insulin out of the Fridge and set it on the table and then roll the bottle in my hands to stir it. I would set it down, grab a syringe and then fill it...placing the insulin bottle back down on the table. He would hear me set the bottle down and he knew that I was then ready for him and he would enter the kitchen and sit next to me with his back toward me so I could grab a fold of skin behind his neck and give him his injection.

As soon as I was done he would hurry to his bowl and have breakfast and then he wanted to go back outside to await his arch enemy Mr Squirrel I had to test his urine with special strips to check on his blood sugar level and I made a small cup on a long stick that I could follow him around the yard as he marked his territory and get my sample.

He was funny, he knew what I wanted and he would stand at the tree with his leg up waiting on me to get there with the cup before he started I really miss that old dog, he was a great companion and VERY protective of me and my wife. When he still had eye sight I showed my wife just how protective he was by holding my hand up to her looking like I was going to strike her...he immediately started a low guttural growl and made it quite plain he would have none of that in his place

Of course my wife loved it because he was my dog and I brought him into the marriage and she could not believe he growled at me like that...but he didn't put up with any funny business and I think he picked that up from me . She always felt safe alone with him and of course she babied him every chance she got.

I used to go to town with him in the back of my jeep and tell him to stay in the back of my CJ5...I could come out hours later and he would be sitting in the drivers seat like he owned it and I guarantee you NOBODY got closer than 5 ft to it

I truly hated the day I had to put him down but he got sicker and sicker and I could not bear to see him suffer as he did. I miss you Beaujack son of Blackjack.

NJTman

Got a Pic of Mr. Beaujack ???


God, I hope that she doesn't develop diabetes...

This Red terror costs us $125 a month in feline insulin. His name is Lucky..... do you think ???

and Lady's sister (the big black dog in the back) Pita costs us another $140 a month because she has a genetic disorder called EPI


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exocrin..._insufficiency


It's an enzyme production deficiency of the pancreas where she cannot naturally digest any food. The supplement, which is actually frozen pig pancreas that has been freeze dried and converted to a powder, gets sprinkled in her food @ each meal. Without it, she would be dead in about 3 weeks. With it, she'll live a long happy normal lifespan.

I love my dogs..... almost as much as I love my wife....



T.

slatemd

I chew my Beagle's ear all the time.....

Just keep giving her "mushes" and "lovins" as you most certainly do on a regular basis anyway and hide some cookies. She'll find them.
If we are going to leave our Beagle (Rambo) alone for the day, we hide cookies in the most obscure places around the house. He manages to "sniff" them all out. I just wonder how long it takes him. After that, its all about the nap!!

It's what Beagles do best!

Good luck.

6cylinders

My wife had a Lhasa Apso that went blind, common problem with
that breed, the dog did good, but I think it's a slow onset
so maybe they have time to adjust.
I think everyone has covered it well, don't move the furniture!
And watch out for curbs and other elevation changes.
Hers would get "stuck"under the kitchen table and had to be
helped out of the maze. We called it "lost in the forest"
Good Luck , so sad to see our buddies get old.

NJTman

We met the Dr. today.

After previously calling all of the other eye specialists in NJ (there are currently only 4 locations) and discussing, my wife and I decided to go ahead with the necessary testing and surgery. It will be expensive, but less than what the other 3 locations wanted, so it's not the end of the world for us. My wife really loves this dog.... and she's willing to sacrifice to get the surgery, ... Can't really argue with her.. as it would get me nowhere fast. I'm satisfied with his approach, so .... so be it.... It's just money... and I'll print up some more the next time I'm in my basement sub cellar. In a few years, we'll have it paid off, and it will all be forgotten. (as I keep telling myself this)

There are added benefits to doing the surgery, as with her eyesight restored we can not have to deal with the separation, and extra safeguards that are required to keep her with her siblings. She will ultimately have a better quality of life .. for the few years she has left.

The Doc was very nice. I tend to be an arrogant when in these situations, so I was just a little confrontational in the beginning of the conversation. I told him, from the start we were going to get a 2nd opinion, and that's the way I did things. I had 4 pages of notes that I had copied from different articles that I read over the last few days, so I was pretty confident I knew what needed to be done... although not enough to do it myself

After bantering back and forth and getting personal with his career, we told him that we'd get back to him by the end of the week. By the time we were in the car, heading home, my wife had already made up her mind, and wanted him to do the testing and surgery. I pretty much felt the same, myself, as I found him to be of good character and well versed in his craft, having done about 6500 eyes in the last 2 decades with what he claimed to be a 90% success rate. He had a really pretty assistant as well, so..... I just had to say yes to letting him do the surgery..

As with all surgeries, the extenuating circumstances are always there to keep in the back of your mind. She had no uveitis (intraocular inflammation) and the test for glacoma showed none present. Her BP was normal, her blood sugar was normal, and she's in great physical condition (from my wife's persistence in keeping a healthy dog). Her outlook is very good.

So..... all things being said..... We're looking hopeful to the electroretinography (ERG) which will show if her retina's are good enough for the surgery. If so, then it's onto scheduling it when they're avail. If not, then we're done, as if the retina's are not good, there will be no surgery to do. Testing is this week.

The before and aftercare is where you need to be on your toes. Dogs get significant uveitis after surgery which is not present in humans. This is why she's been immediately put on a topical prednisone in her eyes. This will reduce the risk of complication by keeping the swelling of the eyes to a minimum. She will require drops on a descending scale after surgery based upon time. The eyedrops will continue for about a year and a half or so afterwords. Her vision should return to normal..... or close to it... within about a week after surgery. We're looking forwards to it, as life can return to normal for us as well..


Thanks for all the kind words of encouragement from everyone who responded It's truly appreciated and heartfelt. This was one of many interesting experiences in my life that I thought might help .... or irritate someone else out there. Thanks for listening.

tech-eh

if you do this you wont be able to,let his head or nose out the window it drys out the eyes in a hart beat just my two cents

RobbieB

I've never had a dog that went blind...most of the dogs in my life have had arthritis problems, but not blindness. Its so hard to watch a dog's health deteriorate. Sorry to hear about your "puppy".

chaikwa

You WILL keep us posted as to progress, RIGHT?

NJTman

Sure,

No Prob ! Really didn't think there was that much interest in it, but I'll be glad to oblige..

We went to the first Dr. on Wednesday. Dropped her off, and picked her up a few hours later.... in good spirits, although a little drugged up as they had to lightly sedate her for the test.

The test, in which they attach what look like two contact lenses with wires attached to both of her eyes. I guess these are some kind of sensors. They tell whether or not the retina's are receiving messages of light input or not. Turns out hers are functioning fine and this gave the go ahead for the surgery, which was scheduled for next week.

he asked that I keep using the prednisone in the eyes, once a day, as this will keep the eyes from Uveitis (swelling internally), as stated in the above post, so every day around dinner, she gets a drop in each eye.

She's getting around really well. I can't believe it, but she goes down stairs like she had eyes that worked. Makes me a little uneasy, but as long as she knows where she is, I guess it works. Will do the best to minimize this... as I just don't trust it.

Harder for my wife to get used to the "not being able to see us" thing. When you speak to her, she looks off to the right or left, as she's pointing her ear canal at you. Really goofy, kind of cute, but really weird @ the same time.Truly amazing how well they learn to cope, as at times it's almost as if she's not really blind. Wave your hand in front of her face, and you prove yourself wrong.... unfortunately.

Looking forwards to next thursday. She's staying there till Friday when I can pick her up. They keep her overnight to play it safe. She'll have a cone on her head for about 10 days, and has to be minimized from exercise or barking.... Yeah, right.. Try to get a beagle to not bark is about as futile as trying to get away with not paying taxes... Just as wesley snipes. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/1..._n_794263.html

I will warn any of you out there who truly love your dogs. You will, and you can quote me now, pay way more attention to your dog once this happens. I find myself making way more of a fuss over "miss bump" now that she's temporarily handicapped.... She's taking advantage of it, so don' t you worry


T.

NJTman

This is a first for me as well.


The dog I posted above, that I'm chewing on her ear, was one of those dogs you speak of. She was AWESOME ! Loved that dog more than I can ever put into words. I can still smell her forehead scent in my memory. She was an incredible part of my life (15 years worth) and I miss her every time I open my flip cell phone.... as she's still on it. She had an unbelievable life with us, and I can't remember a single moment.... other than towards the end.... of an unhappy second of existence. In the end, the arthritis overwhelmed her as none of the drugs helped any longer. I just miss her so... She's still with me inside....at least until the day I pass.



T.

chaikwa

Well I can only speak for myself, but I'd like to know what happens and hope things turn out well.

I understand fully! The one I have now, Jake, gets my undivided attention most all of the time. Partly because he's a working dog and I HAVE to spend a lot of time with him for him to do what he needs to do reliably. But also because of my last lab, Ranger. Ranger didn't have the ideal life but his love was unconditional and never ending. In the end, I am the one that put him down when he was suffering. I wanted him to be as relaxed as possible and be with me in his dying breath. I owed him that much at the very least. But the one good thing that came out of that was my appreciation for Jake. Not a day goes by that I don't think of Ranger and what I should have done differently with him, and FOR him. Jake is the recipient of all the 'should haves' now, and altho he's only 5 (on the 26th of this month!), I'm already dreading the day it will be all over and making the most of everything for him.

I think you'll see her again, I really do. There are those that say only humans go to heaven, and I'm a believer in God, the Bible and all that's Holy, but I truly believe that dogs go to heaven too. They HAVE to. Where else could all that love and trust go to when they die? It can't just go away and fade into oblivion. We'll see them again.