Blinded by Glaucoma but he is just fine

Our dog went blind at age nine. We weren’t prepared for it at all. One day, I noticed a little spot on his eye. I didn't think much of it, just thought maybe he had scrapped it on something, so we took him to the vet to get it checked out. Our regular vet sent us to a specialist and when it didn't heal after some simple eye drops, he was diagnosed with glaucoma!

Glaucoma in dogs is more serious than it is in people. In people it can be reversed with a simple procedure, but it cannot be cured in dogs. It's caused by the position or blockage of the ducts in the eye, which drain eye fluid. When it doesn't drain, pressure builds up, causing pain and eventual blindness from the damage.

In our dogs case, the doctor thought it might be hereditary or related to the distemper he suffered when he was a pup. The only treatment is medication to forestall the progression.

Our dog had the initial sign -- that slight spot -- for several weeks before we got the diagnosis, so his left eye, the one with the spot, was too far gone to save and was causing him pain. The doctor recommended removal. His right eye was also damaged, but not as severely yet. He required daily medication (drops) but even with that within a fairly short time, he lost that eye as well.

Suddenly, we had a blind dog. Surprisingly, when I told friends, some wondered if we were going to euthanize him. That thought never crossed my mind and I was determined to do whatever I could so his quality of life wouldn’t suffer and he remained as safe as possible.

Do you research and be encouraged knowing that your dog is an amazing animal and with a little help, she will survive and even flourish, despite loss of vision. Even though you may not believe this at first he will do just fine.

There are some things I found out and want to share with you.

 Everything I have read advises that dogs create a map in their brain of where things are, so DON’T move the furniture. Bubble wrapped and scented everything that doesn't move and put bells on everything that does. I also placed pillows and cushions around sharp corners so if he did bump into something, I have also used bubble wrap which is easy to get to wrap table and chair legs until he got his map. Yes for a couple months our house did look pretty strange to friends. The kids really loved the new décor look…Me not so much… I am slowly taking down some of the bubble wrap as I see the has mapped the location of the item.

To help your dog adjust use smell a dog’s primary sense is smell, not sight. We found out by using fragrant oils to mark certain spots in the house -– his bed, the door, etc., -- so that by smelling his surroundings, he could find his way around. This can become a game to you if you stay on the positive side. There are now several online sites that sell items just for this purpose or you can get creative and rummage through you kitchen spice rack and discover there are a lot of smells. So his bed now smells of lavender, the backdoor oranges, the vanilla extract means doorways… with a trail on the rugs leading to the door. Ask around other Blind dog owners will have even better smell ideas.

Whenever we take him to a new environment, he will slowly circle the room to learn where things were, and once he has that map, he is pretty good and rarely bumps into something.
When our dog first lost his sight, we put down runners of a different material than our carpets so he could feel the different texture with his paws and use that to know where he was in the house. We did the same in the yard and put a walkway of bark through the middle of it that led to the back door so if he got disoriented, once he got to that bark, he could find his way to the door.

We found that by putting mulch about twelve or so inches out from tree trunks and in front of fences he would know how close he was to them. It did not take long for him to understand what that texture meant.

A great resource for learning and asking questions from others with blind or sight impaired dogs is Blinddogs list at Yahoo!Groups (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blinddogs)

It was suggested to put different bells or jingling collars on other pets so he would hear them coming and know which one and how fast. (kids and pets).
We've bought a harness which is recommended because it has a "handle" on the back and is balanced to help lift him into the car and guide him over problem spots.
Also it is highly suggested to teach verbal cues like wait, stop, down, sit, step etc
For toys we are looking for a “giggle Ball “so the sound will help him play ball which every dog loves. Even plastic bottles with dog food kibble inside make enough noise for him to hunt down and retrieve.

I met a blind dog the other day that amazed me I still do not believe it was totally blind even though the owner assured me she was. So there is hope… Just ask other owners to share their experiences with you….