Dog's eyesight failing...can anything be done ?

Rigsby

In the last month or two I have noticed subtle changes in my dog's ( 11 year old Tibetan terrier) behaviour, where it is obvious that her eyesight is starting to deteriorate.

I know this is a natural process in dogs of this age, but was wondering if there was anything I can do to help to slow down the process ?


Thanks.

the_syco

Just ensure that hair etc is not in her line of sight.

Irishchick

I would recommend a visit to Natasha Mitchell. She is an ophthalmologist.

Website here:

http://www.eyevet.ie/

ISDW

As you're in Dublin, Michael Woods would be nearer, he is fantastic, based in Dun Laoghaire. http://www.ourvet.ie/

Duvetdays

Have to second ISDW he's our vet and has also done specialist eye operations on the grannys ****zu. people do be there from all over the country to see him.

ISDW

Duvetdays wrote: »

Have to second ISDW he's our vet and has also done specialist eye operations on the grannys ****zu. people do be there from all over the country to see him.

Yeah, I drive from Sligo to see him, a long drive, but worth it, he's a really nice man as well as a brilliant vet.

MagnusDamm

Have you looked into laser surgery? They do it on humans so it might be possible?

Failing that I don't think there's much you can do.

Millem

Rigsby wrote: »

In the last month or two I have noticed subtle changes in my dog's ( 11 year old Tibetan terrier) behaviour, where it is obvious that her eyesight is starting to deteriorate.

I know this is a natural process in dogs of this age, but was wondering if there was anything I can do to help to slow down the process ?


Thanks.

Has it come on very suddenly? Have their been any changes in the dogs eye colour? To be honest I would just see your regular vet who will check the eyes and they will see if it could be glaucoma. If so your dog will need pain relief. Take a photo of your dog and see if the eyes "glow" if they don't it could possibly be cataracts. My old girl got the cataracts in both eyes removed with mike woods, extremely extremely expensive, can't remember exact figure but we had to spread it over 2years on pet insurance so it must have nearly €7000-8000 for both, she ended up getting nerve damage after second operation and then glucoma very quickly. We are just seeing our regular vet now not mike and trying out eye drops but more than likely will need to get an eye or two removed if pressure gets too much! Your vet won't have as specialised equipment as mike but will be able to suss it out. Don't get me wrong mike is very good but I wouldn't put my elderly dog through that again.

anniehoo

Rigsby wrote: »

I know this is a natural process in dogs of this age, but was wondering if there was anything I can do to help to slow down the process ?

No there's nothing we can do "non medical or surgical" as owners to slow down "the process". But, it depends what this is. Cataracts, glaucoma..retinopathy, keratitis. There's lots of issues that can affect canine eyesight.

You've got some great advice above, but remember the slow gradual loss of eyesight is not stressful for animals as long as their owners recognise this. Animals adapt incredibly well to failing vision, sure i have one little dog here myself who is blind in one eye and not great in the other. She senses every little vibration, knows exactly where her food and water is....and is quick enough to give out to the cat if he's annoying her.She's happy out. Her eyesight won't be "fixed". This is actually last on her medical list at the minute tbh.

11 is a difficult age. It's considered "senior" so if you have money (yep it will come down to money), spend it on seeing an Opthalmology expert as mentioned above and not a regular vet.As good as they are they won't have the knowledge an expert will.

Rigsby

Thanks a million to all, for your helpful replies.

DBB

You can also make some environmental changes to make things easier on your ageing dog too OP!
These include using oil burners, incense burners, scented candles, that sort of thing, with different scents in different rooms, so that the rooms become readily identifiable to the dog, and easier to find by using the nose... I don't think the nose fails them too much as they get older?!
It is suggested to use an Adaptil diffuser as a scent discriminator near the dog's bed, which has the added bonus of doing what Adaptil does, help keep the dog nice and chilled out.
You can also use rugs for tactile placement, to let the dog know he's near his bed, or food bowl, or furniture. Speaking of furniture, if you leave a radio playing at ground level, blind dogs can detect different sound waves which allow them to "detect" where furniture is... handy if someone moves furniture, or leaves something lying around that's not normally there.
Tighten up on verbal commands if they're a bit fuzzy: this will obviously help you communicate with pooch, but re-training old skills can be really enjoyable for ageing dogs, and helps to stave off mental ageing.
Speaking of which, keeping the ageing dog mentally active is really important, because it keeps dementia at bay. This means several short walks a day, rather than one long one; use of interactive toys (e.g. Kongs); playing hide and seek, or search games; re-training old skills and hell, why not some new ones too?! Ageing dogs can start to get wakeful at night-time, disturbing their own, and their owner's sleep patterns, so this extra activity during the day also helps to return them to more normal wake/sleep patterns.
In addition, dietary manipulation can seriously help in preventing, stopping, even reversing mental ageing (in conjunction with behavioural stuff as above): increased protein, Vitamin E, and fish oils are seriously beneficial to maintain nerve and brain health, cell-renewal, and have good anti-oxidant effects too.
My goodness, did this turn into a rant I've a bit of a soft spot for the oldies:o

Rigsby

DBB wrote: »

My goodness, did this turn into a rant

Not at all DBB. Your post was very interesting and helpful.

Knine

ISDW wrote: »

As you're in Dublin, Michael Woods would be nearer, he is fantastic, based in Dun Laoghaire. http://www.ourvet.ie/

This guy is brillant. He operated on our Cocker as the skin folds on her head were too heavy and causing a serious eye problem. He gave her a facelift! We were refered from our normal vet and this guy did a fantastic job on her.

Rigsby

From what you all say, Michael Woods seems really great. Unfortunately, an operation is out of the question for my dog. Recently, the vet wanted to take an X ray. She took some blood samples to see if it was OK to put my dog under anesthetic and when she analysed the results she was very reluctant to do so.

Mo60

I had a dog that began to lose his sight at about the same age and found that because it was gradual he adjusted as time went on. He eventually went completely blind and was quite happy to potter around in his own space. I used to be amazed at how he managed to find his way around as easily as he did.

Rigsby

Mo60 wrote: »

I had a dog that began to lose his sight at about the same age and found that because it was gradual he adjusted as time went on. He eventually went completely blind and was quite happy to potter around in his own space. I used to be amazed at how he managed to find his way around as easily as he did.

Thanks Mo60. That's very reassuring, as are all the replies I have received.

ISDW

Rigsby wrote: »

From what you all say, Michael Woods seems really great. Unfortunately, an operation is out of the question for my dog. Recently, the vet wanted to take an X ray. She took some blood samples to see if it was OK to put my dog under anesthetic and when she analysed the results she was very reluctant to do so.

I'd be the same as you probably, with a dog of that age, it is a natural part of the ageing process (I know not all dogs lose their eyesight) and I wouldn't want to put an older dog through an operation unless it was life threatening. Our old spaniel cross had failing eyesight as she got older, she wasn't as active as she had been obviously, and it never really bothered her, as she pottered around.

I take two of my dogs to Mike Woods every 6 months for check ups, one has corneal dystrophy and one has cataracts, I doubt either of them will have an operation for the conditions, but if you can afford it, it may still be worth going along to him, as he may be able to offer some more advice.

Rigsby

ISDW wrote: »

it may still be worth going along to him, as he may be able to offer some more advice.

Thanks. I will certailly consider that option.

aonb

Mo60 wrote: »

I had a dog that began to lose his sight at about the same age and found that because it was gradual he adjusted as time went on. He eventually went completely blind and was quite happy to potter around in his own space. I used to be amazed at how he managed to find his way around as easily as he did.

just out of curiosity - my elderly dog is starting cataracts, and will not be a candidate for surgery should his eyesight start to go - did you take your dog out for a walk still when he was blind or was he happier to stay home all the time? (My dog is ADORES his walks)

Mo60

aonb wrote: »

just out of curiosity - my elderly dog is starting cataracts, and will not be a candidate for surgery should his eyesight start to go - did you take your dog out for a walk still when he was blind or was he happier to stay home all the time? (My dog is ADORES his walks)

At first he was quite happy to continue on his walks, but as time went on he was content to potter about in the garden. I'm not sure whether this was due to becoming blind or to his old age - he lived to the ripe old age of 17 years.

aujopimur

I fostered a blind dog for a few months, he has since been rehomed, he did everything other dogs would do and has a great life.
He had a 6th sense when he ran or played, often off the lead in safe open spaces, all he needed was a little reminder as to where I was if he wandered away.

Eyespy

Hi Rigsby,

I can only echo what other posters have written, there's not a lot to be done to stop the deterioration of eyesight but from my own experience anyway dogs seem to adapt really well. At least a whole lot better than I think we would, if we suddenly lost our sight. My other old age citizen went blind in the space of about 2 weeks. He'd had cataracts for about 2 months previous to that but awoke one morning totally blind. After some stumbling, he had mapped our house and garden within a week and can even run full tilt without collision at the moment unless something appears in the garden that shouldn't, in which case he will crash into it. And we have slopes and coping but he can navigate around amazingly.

He does have trouble getting out of the car as you can imagine so he's lifted out but also I'm not sure if it's just my fella but he gets horribly disoriented in any kind of wind so just keep an eye out for that. But otherwise stand back and let your doggie amaze you.