I think I've posted on here before regarding my youngest girl.  She would always walk into a room, wave at everybody and not shy away but would never let anyone touch her.  So of course her show career has never started which was the main thing I wanted her for.

I took her to one show, warned the judge and she waved at him as usual licked his hand when he first came up to her but when he tried to go behind her she flew at him.

Well I had her eyes tested for glaucoma, results were good as she'll never get it but I had the shock of my life.  Unfortunately she is almost blind in one eye!  Nothing hereditary or anything just that the lense never developed.  The eye specialist was surprised at how no-one knew and how she'd coped for the first 12 months of her life without anyone noticing and said how amazingly well she'd adapted.

Now we know why she would never let anyone go over her as she couldn't see what they were doing so was unhappy.

In a way this is a word of warning to those people who think that their dogs are just ring shy, there could be something else going on that you wouldn't even know about!

I'm still in shock because as I type she's outside throwing her toy and catching it with the greatest of ease.  I would never, ever have guessed that this was what was really wrong!

Goodness, that must have come as quite a shock for you :(

What a little Trooper Carmen is for coping so well for all this time. It's obviously not affecting her quality of life greatly which is great but at least you know now what was causing her to behave as she was.

Give her a big hug from me and the mutts :)

Very surprising that it was not picked up and yes it is a good warning to others, it's a good thing that you now know and can make allowances for her, of course Carmen will know no different, you just now have to get used to it.  She'll probably wonder why you are giving her extra cuddles. :-)

Ohh, she has been having extra cuddles :d :d  Still can't believe it as she's such an active (actually over-active) little devil and there really are no signs to her having any problems with her eyes.  It just shows how animals and humans learn to adapt.

Blimey what a surprise -and a valid warning indeed never to take anything for granted. Glad to hear it isn't hereditary.

Thank God that we do eye test our breed, or should I say most of us do.  If we didn't I would never have known and people could of started  calling her a nervy dog, i always knew that she wasn't as her demeanor when she walks into a room is always "look at me".

What a shame, Diane.

M.

Thats extremely interesting! I'm just about to see an eye specialist with my GR for a very similar reason. She tends to back off people and barks a lot. Sometimes she will appear to want to be friends and then freak out when they get too close. SHe occaisionally appears to not see me out on a walk and doesn't always recognise people she knows from a short distance. My vet says her eyes are very small and sunken for her breed and so jsut for peace of mind we are going to have them checked out. Its awful, because in a way it would be a relief if it was her eyesight, rather than her being a bad tempered/ nervous dog.

That's why I'm so relaxed about it.  People come up to you and say oooh, she's been badly treated but I knoew that she wasn't nervous as she will go up to people on her own terms and want to play etc.  She's actually the opposite of nervous and a little bit OTT !!! 

Long story which I cannot go into here, but today I have found out MY ring shy dog is in a considerable amount of pain and has been for months. So that explains him as well!

It just goes to show doesn't it!!  These dogs are clever little things who unfortunately can't tell you what's wrong!

Just a bit of an update for you, to emphasise the point of this post even more, my goldie saw the specialist yesterday, and not only is her sight comprmised by small eyes (due to interbreeding - she was an accident!) but she is developing cataracts. THis is why she panics about the slightest thing and barks all the time! Its such a relief to know that it wasn't just because of bad training!

what a horrible shock it must of been for you.
correct me if im wrog thougth. but surely if a dog is born with no or compromised site in one eye, it would never know any diffrent and so it would not really effect its behaviour?

my friend had a deaf dog, who was def from birth and he was the happiest, most confident dog. he didnt know that sound exsisted as he never heard it.

The problem with dogs with partial vision is that unlike totally deaf dogs who hear no sound they do see but only partially. Not at all the same not being able to hear. This is why unilaterally deaf dogs can appear normal until they are tested(this is the reason Dalmatian puppies & parents should be BAER tested to ensure their true status is known)

To a dog that is blind or sight impaired in one eye anyone approaching from that side will not be seen normally & can suddenly appear which is what startles the dog.

A friend of mine rides a horse who has only one eye, he has to be riden so that his sighted eye is on the traffic side when he is on his own so that he is always aware of traffic & if ridden with other horses his sighted side is always the side the others horses are on

Thank you Moonmaidern!!!

My girl will not allow anyone to touch her or go over her, now I realise because she hasn't been able to see them properly.  She will once she knows someone allow them to and soon becomes friendly with people and boy once she has become friendly with you, I presume maybe due to her using her scent skills so much more she will wave away at them when theya re at a distance and gets really excited when they get close to her!

Once she has befriended a person she is their friend for life :d

Unfortunately, a judge is not able to befriend a dog prior to judging them so I will never be able to show her.

I am hoping to do gundog work with her as she has a brain that's way too large for her little body and for me :d  She's such a character and I think that this is where she's going to have to excel in!

Sorry to here about your dogs eyes, it's such a shock isn't it, but I don't know about you but it was such a relief when I realised that it was not due to behavioural problems.  Although fortunately for me it was just one of those things and nothing hereditary.

She will once she knows someone allow them to and soon becomes friendly with people and boy once she has become friendly with you, I presume maybe due to her using her scent skills so much more she will wave away at them when theya re at a distance and gets really excited when they get close to her!

Once she has befriended a person she is their friend for life :-D

That is spot on dog's sense of smell as we all should know is almost infinite & once a dog has your scent & it relates it to a good experience then you will get a welcome.

You could train her to accept being handled by getting people to talk to her & then go over her & rewarding her when she allows(first the talking & then the touching) it it wouldn't be quick but it could be done(did it with a friends GSD who had tunnel vision. LOL he did love liver treats mind you which did help

She does actually adore food and will take it off anyone :d  I think it's me that's the anxious one now so it's me that needs the training not her :d  It's such a shame because she's a wonderful girl though we are definitely going to go the working route, if I have enough time!!

I totally agree, whilst it was a shock and in a way upsetting, at least i now know that shes not stupid or undersocialised, she has a valid reason for reacting like she does. And i supposed whilst it doesn't make her behaviour any better i can try and understand why she is reacting to certain things and try to help her a bit more.