Hi

I posted a little while ago and asked if anyone had any thoughts on what my boys eye problems could be. We have now seen the specialist and Im afraid the news isnt good. Im not sure of the name of the actual condition because I basically shut down and fell apart a little at the news but the long and short of it is that he basically only has 3 blood vessels left in his eyes and they are very small; he will be completely blind in the next few months. Im sure you will appreciate that we were shocked at the news since he is only 4 and there is absolutely nothing we can do to save his sight. As awful as the news is I am relieved that he doesnt have to have any intrusive op's on his eyes and in the back of my mind I was worried about the possibility of a brain tumor and so Im pleased that his condition is not life threatening. I have done a little reading on how to support pets with impaired or no vision and was surprised to find how well dogs can adapt with the right support.- even still being able to play fetch in come cases - and now knowing what I know I can see that he has already started to adapt. For example, the opthalmologist advised that its likely that Sox is completely night blind already and yet he finds his way down to the end of our 70ft garden and back avoiding a number of obstacles in the pitch dark!!

Now we are over the initial panic we feel quite positive and are absolutely comitted to ensuring that he has the highest quality of life possible and that we adapt as well as we know he will and would appreciate any help or advice that anyone can give us. Were aware of the obvious in terms of keeping furniture where it is etc but any tips on how we can adapt game playing etc would be welcome.

Many thanks in advance
Caroline

Sorry to hear your news. You sound very positive and 'can do' though so I'm sure you will make a great job of looking after your boy. I don't have any personal experience of living with a blind dog although my mum always took a whistle out with her when one of her old Shelties went blind. She had her on a flexi-lead too when they were out and about and they managed very well.

You should let his breeder know though as four years old is not age related and they should want to take it into account in any future breeding plans they might have.

Good luck with your boy. Hope things go well.    

So sorry to hear of your news.  That is both a shock (loosing his sight) and a relief (not a brain tumour), but its not an easy thing to bear.

I had experience living with a blind dog, my ESS Joy.  She was completely blind, and I dont think she could even tell lights anymore.  But, people wouldnt know she was blind, thats how well she coped. 

It is a lot of work, to keep a blind dog, but it can be most rewarding.  Joy, even completely blind, would still play, and even get the min pins with her paws as they were going past.  She'd smack them.  lol

We couldnt move any of the furniture anymore, and had to scent things, so she knew where certain things were.  She would get lost in the back yard, but soon we put some lemon scent at the door, so she could scent her way back to the door.  Little things like that, which you should start now, as there is some sight left with your boy.

Impish, would be able to give you more detail (my mom) than I can, but I wanted to touch base with you.  I will let her know of this thread, so she can possibly make some suggestions for you.

((((hugs)))))

My friend had a poodle that went blind at similar age to your dog and she coped just fine(lived to 17 years old)
She loved her tennis balls and would happily play fetch even after she went blind. Sometimes unless you knew she is blind you would not even realize she is blind as she would run and listen where the ball bounces and get to it like any seeing dog.
Sometimes she would run to the wrong direction but would then have loads of fun(tail wagging like mad) sniffing around to find her ball.

She learned couple commands that made her life easier like
forward
jump up (meaning she is in front of a sofa/bed etc and can lift her front legs up and jump on it)
careful (this would be used when she was about to run to a wall/furniture etc and she would stop and change direction)

She was perfectly fine with different environments and moving of furniture etc.
It would take her very little time to learn her environment even in places she had never been before.
Only few times did she jump on the bed that was no longer there :).

They had a another poodle and she would walk next to her on their walks so even then people didn't realize her disability when they both happily walked in front their owner.

I am sorry to hear about your boy.  The good news is that dogs are less sight reliant than we are and most cope very well, especially if they loose their sight gradually.  If you google Optigen there are links to articles about dogs coping with blindness.

Sounds like PRA http://search.live.com/results.aspx?q=Progressive+Retinal+Atrophy&src=IE-SearchBox.  It is the most common inherited degenerative eye problem in dogs and is basically similar to Retinitis Pigmentosa in people.

There are various forms of this condition most are recessively inherited and the same gene shared among several breeds.

The form that we have just got a DNA test for in my breed is late onset (showing symptoms after they have been bred from at 4 to 6 years of age).

It would be very useful to your dogs breed to inform the breed club and his breeder of the condition.

If the breed does not yet have a DNA test then sending samples of DNA to the Animal Health Trust for study will be very helpful.  Sadly because breeders have generally been careful to select against dogs that have produced the problem and obviously against affected ones it means that cases are quite infrequent, but for developing a DNA test you need affected dogs and their relatives to compare their DNA to get a test.

Thank you all for your replies so far. Its a really scary thing to go through (not least for poor Sox!) and to get such positive responses is really helpful.

I do apologise though, I should have said that we do know that he came from less than scrupulous breeding as we rescued him at a very young age from some vile people and I fully appreciate that this may well be the reason that he has these problems now. On a more positive note, we helped to rehome his mum some time later and I know she has since been sterilised and now has a happy healthy home. Whilst Im sure we could have avoided a whole range of problems had we not rescued him, Im just so pleased hes with us as his sight loss will make no difference to us and we will work hard to make sure he has the best life possible and will love him no matter what. In addition we never had and never would have bred from him anyway so at least we have not passed any problems on.

He has just enjoyed a juicy bone and is now enjoying a cuddle on the sofa with me. Im really not sure he culd be less bothered about all of this if he tried!

Once again, thank you for the kind support and advice - please keep it coming.
xxx

BTW Barbara - Youre spot on about the PRA - Thank you!

As Crespin has already said our Joy was completely blind, but did get around very well.  Her being obedience trained from a puppy did help.  Being a ESS, I trained her hand signals, cause I was conserned that her hearing would go because of scaring from ear infections, but all good plans do go arye.  But with the obedience training, she was used to where the lead hit her when she was walking right beside me. (if I said heal, after her sight went she would get nervous and lay down), but with the loose lead hitting her shoulder she was always right beside me.  Walked better after her sight was gone than before.

We would always say her name before we would reach out for her so she would know we were there before we place our hands on her, and if I called her, I would keep repeating her name until she got to me, so she could follow my voice all the way in.

At the vets and meeting people on the street I would tell her to "say Hello", so that she would know that someone was going to reach out for her.  My vet is fantastic, and always plays with my dogs during the appointment, so the trip to the vet is always a fun experience even if some things are not the most pleasant, so this was not a change in her trip to the vet.  (I behave, I play, and I get cookies, all my dogs love a trip to the vet).

I did invest in some baby gates for at the stairs that did not have a doors on them, for her safety, and my peace of mind.  The hardest change in the house was remembering to close the basement door when I would go down to the laundry, so that Joy would not follow me down there, as she had fallen on the stairs and injured her shoulder once. 

The last little while when I let her outside, I put her on a line so that I could gently guide her back to the door.  Made it easier on both of us.  And also scented the doorway for her nose to tell her where to go.

People that did not know her would never realize that she was blind, as she go around so well.  She would listen for every sound and that is how she could still play with the min pins.  The plush toys became a thing of the past, and were replaced with the harder squeak toys the would make a thump when they hit the floor so she would know which direction to look for them in.

We did have to move the bag of dog food.  It could no longer be beside her dish.  As she would hit the bag and then run from her dish as she knew she was not allowed to get into the bag of food to help herself.

I just made adjustments as they became necessary, and they were well worth the effort to have my Joy for the almost 8 years that she was lossing her sight and for about the last 2 year being  completely blind.

A friend of mine had an Old Eng. Sheepdog, that he took in, when it completed it Championship to have the eyes certified for breeding, and to his horror (as he was a judge) found out that the dog was completely blind, (needless to say he was neutered and never bred).

Many blind dogs to exceptionally well, so you have to see how you dogs does, before making any decisions.  But if your dog is already night blind and coping well I would say that is a good sign

Caroline, you will cope with this.  I had a Toy Poodle back in the 70's, and I now know that the breeder had a PRA problem in her breeding dogs.  My boys sight was going before he was 3 years old.  One eye had to be removed, and the other eye just gradually lost all sight.  I left his face hair quite curly over the removed eye, and people didn't notice it was missing.  Visitors would say that he couldn't possibly be blind, the way he confidently jumped up on the settee with no hesitation.

He would race up the stairs, do a swift turn at the banisters on the landing, race into my bedroom and jump on the bed.  I just never moved the bed.  He was used to my little 40ft garden, and did just fine.  I moved house when he was nearly 12, and my old neighbour said how cruel I was to take him out of an environment that he was safe and happy with.  On the day I moved, he was put into a 200ft garden, and walked close to the fence to get his bearings.  He settled in just fine.

When walking him in town on a lead, I used "care full", as two seperate words, when we came to a step or curb.  He slowed up to sniff before stepping up, and never tripped, as he was used to being warned about obstacles.  I would take him out into fields, and let him run free.  I always ran with him, and talked to him all the time, so that he would stay close to me.  He learned to trust that I wouldn't allow him to run into anything.

The bond we built was so strong, and we were so close, that I was inconsolable when I lost him at 13.  But I would never hesitate at keeping a blind dog again.

WOW - What fantastic and inspirational stories! Your descriptions of dogs that people have no idea are blind describe Sox really well. I know he has a little sight left, but my husband and I have even been questioning the specialist as we just cant believe that his vision can be that impaired when he seems to cope so well. Clearly, this is the case with him too and so im really encouraged by your stories and advice.

Thank you so much, you have no idea how much this means to us.

Hi Caroline,

Warmest of wishes and hugs for yourself and Sox xx We're rooting for ya!!
I have no experience to offer but know of someone who would be happy to offer some inspiration Rivers ~ The working Sled Dog Rivers ran 2 Iditarod races!! (His book through the eyes of a blind sled dog is really good too)

Also, you ought to start a blog about how you guys get on! I know I'd be glued to it...and it may also help those that go through this in the future?
Lots of love Liv x