How Blind is Blind?

[Crawford Dogs]

Rose is my first vision-impaired dog and she can't even seem to do that right. She was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease (Early IMR with a differential diagnosis of SARDs) about 19 months ago. I followed the opthamologist's treatment plan until March when I pulled her off her immunosuppressive drugs due to repeated UTI's. Her vision continued to deteriorate on meds and has continued worsening since going off them. IAs is normal for this disease she has weeks where she doesn't have many collisions and will catch the occasional toys. Then she has weeks where she runs into everything and all toys bounce off her head (which freaks her out of course). Supposedly she will one day go completely blind. So, how blind is blind? How do you know how much your dog can see and when she's totally blind?

Some people say Rose can see because she'll watch sheep intently but I've seen her watching empty pens intently as well. And she can obviously hear the sheep and can smell the sheep. . So does she see the sheep or does she just realize they are present?

In the woods Rose continues to hunt rodents (she cocks her head, sniffs, and pounces) but doesn't notice the frozen rabbit right in front of her unless it makes a noise or Loki chases it.

 

Has anyone had to make this determination before? I know I could take her in to an opthamologist however it costs $150 for the exam plus extra for any extra tests they might run. At this point I simply want to maintain her overall health and her regular veterinarians have no problem with this conservative treatment approach. So, it's just my curiosity making me ask, how blind is blind?

 

Bethany, Rose, and Loki

[Gideon's girl]

I would assume that she is blind and start watching for what coping strategies she uses, so you can use them to. Think about mixing a particular scent in a sprayer with water(like an essential oil) and spray on walls and furniture, so she learns that that scent means be careful to not run into something. You can use other scents to mean other things too. I'd stop throwing things for her to catch.

[CptJack]

I had a tiny, ANCIENT, poodle once, who was both deaf and blind. She'd been dumped out in a parking lot, we had to fight with AC to not euthanize her and give her a go. Most people would have thought she was just stubborn and uncoordinated. She'd walk into an odd bit of furniture, and obviously didn't respond to sound, but she navigated WELL through touch and smell. She'd high step a bit, use her nose, and rarely if ever walked into a person or dog -I assume she felt vibrations- and never fell off anything. Would find food rapidly if it was left, follow be around, play pretty danged good, too, though we made sure she was playing with things that had some pretty strong smells at first, via essential oils.

 

She only lived about a year with us before she had a stroke and died, but she had a really full, happy, year for a little old messed up dog somebody else had thrown away.

But basically, use her nose and her hearing, she'll probably adapt super well, and you may never really catch the exact point she loses all of her sight.

[simba]

CptJack- how did she interact with people? Would she know you were there, and who it was?

[CptJack]

Yep. She had a really good sense of smell. She'd follow me around the house as I moved around by keeping her nose against my ankle. Would EXPLODE in wiggles and licking and happy barks when my husband 'appeared' (got home and sat down beside her). She'd even play some versions of light wrestling games where we'd gently poke at her and she'd sniff you and then try to catch your hand. She did spend a lot of time curled up asleep, but she had a lot of happiness in those last months of her life, both from people and comfort and food.

[Sue R]

We had a dog that was shot and his vision was very compromised, deteriorating for some years before he became essentially blind for maybe the last five years or so of his life. He coped so well that few people even realized he was blind but he was certainly affected in certain aspects. He lived a long and happy life, relying on hearing, scenting, and feeling. It wasn't until his hearing began to deteriorate with more advanced age that his lack of vision sometimes caused problems. He was a happy dog in most every way.

[Crawford Dogs]

Captain Jack your dog is very similar to Rose in that if we're in a new area or situation she leans against me and walks touching me. She also does the same thing to Loki. Loki helps Rose down/up stairs by waiting patiently for her and then going down slowly while she touches him. He also runs slower on trails so Rose can pace him and comes back to her whenever he notices she's anxious. It's kind of cute to see although a bit sad.

Rose is still recovering from her latest accident. She ran down the hallway after Loki and I heard "screaming." I found Rose injured in the hall on three legs making a terrible racket. I'm guessing she ran into something and injured her carpus. She's sticking to me like glue while she regains her confidence.

My main issue I've noticed with Rose is that now she tends to wander off after interesting smells in the woods and becomes separated from the group. She now wears a medical tag on her harness in case she is found by someone else before we reconnect. I also keep a closer eye on her but she often seems to be in her own world sometimes. I'm in the process of buying a house in Des Moines. It won't be fenced until next summer so the dogs will have to be supervised at all times when outside. In Rose's case she might find herself tied on a line despite my dislike of tethering. Also the home has an open floor plan with steps going down to an unfinished basement. There is no door at the top of the steps so I will have to install a safety gate before moving in so Rose doesn't end up at the bottom of the stairs in a crying heap. It'll be a big change for all of us but I think Rose will adjust fine as long as I keep calm and positive.

[Maxi]

I can' t add any additional advice..

 

but I wish you, Rosie and Loki all the best and hope that your house move goes safely and smoothly.

[Tommy Coyote]

I have taken care of many blind and deaf dogs. They do a lot better than people do. Ijust had a deaf blind puppy that was the result of breeding for merles. She was amazing. She air scented constantly. I was amazed at her. She had such a love of life. She was just so joyful. I just read that a dog's sense of smell is 100,000. Times better than ours. And she had a hightened sense of feel. She was so cute.

 

You do need to be really careful of stairs. And make sure she can't walk through the railing on the deck.

 

 

The older dogs learn to compensate but they have a harder time. I wrap towels around all the sharp corners because the walk into stuff. That is hard to watch. I just keep them right withme so they can guide by leaning on my legs. They can get turned around and lost really easily. Sometimes they do better in a confined space like a kitchen. They feel safer.

 

And the idea ofusing scented oils is wonderful.