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Chock_Full_o__N's avatar
Chock_Full_o__N
Explorer
Aug 04, 2014

Wondering if my doggy is giong blind?

Is anyone experienced with blind dogs?

Our little Bichon, Tiki-bird was a rescue pup and we have had him for 18 months. At the time, Tiki was afraid of everything, but especially men. He warmed up to DH quickly and he accepted DS19, my mentally handicapped son after a few visits but he continued to react to my oldest, DS27. Tiki also reacts wildly to strangers, to the point that we just have to put him in his crate upstairs.

Here's what I'm noticing. Every time DH or either DS comes down the stairs, Tiki goes crazy barking. They are both very gentle with them and Tiki loves them both. But he is hysterical until they come close and speak to him or touch him. Then he's all "I love you, you're beautiful..." Yesterday, he even reacted to me, even though I had just been downstairs about 30 min before.

I'm wondering if he can't see clearly at a distance. He is not bumping into walls and he is okay walking around in the backyard, although he doesn't just love being out there. He can run out to the car and he can negotiate steps in the house. The vet has estimated that he is 6yo, roughly. Bichons keep their puppy looks for the duration of their lives, so he could be older than that.

P.S. We used the ultrasonic bark collar for about 6 hours on Saturday. It was a bust. That thing picked up every little noise and made him sad and wary. I took it off him and he was back to normal quickly.

8 Replies

  • Chock_Full_o__N's avatar
    Chock_Full_o__N
    Explorer
    Aug 05, 2014
    Deb and Ed M wrote:
    The million-dollar question: if you toss a treat his way - does he see it/catch it?

    Jack the Cattle Dog developed cataracts in his old age; and although he could get around just fine (up/down steps, in and out of the car, etc) - he couldn't catch anything tossed his way. But you could clearly see the haziness in his eyes. I'm assuming you are NOT seeing that in Tiki?


    Well, yes and no. Tiki is not food oriented in the least. He will eat a tree if it is pretty stinky, like bacon or salmon or roasted chicken. He will eat it from your hand, but if you throw it down he sometimes has to look for it if he's not looking directly at me.

    I took him to our vet this afternoon. She says she can't see any cataracts and he is definitely seeing close up, like if I put my finger to his inner eye. But it is quite apparent that his peripheral vision on the left eye is very poor. If you try to sneak your hand behind the right eye he is quick to catch it. On the left, your hand has to almost get in front before he sees it. The vet gave me a referral to an ophthalmic specialist and I will call her tomorrow.

    In the meantime, my vet wants to do a dental deep cleaning. Tiki's breath is horrible. It smells like something crawled up in there and died. We have held off on the dental because he has been so traumatized in the past, but it's time. His teeth look terrible. We'll get that on the calendar in two weeks (we're going camping next week.)

    Thanks for all the good advice and well wishes. I did some reading about Bichons last night and apparently they are at high risk for eye problems, I think about 11% of that population. Yikes~!
  • Deb_and_Ed_M's avatar
    Deb_and_Ed_M
    Explorer II
    Aug 05, 2014
    The million-dollar question: if you toss a treat his way - does he see it/catch it?

    Jack the Cattle Dog developed cataracts in his old age; and although he could get around just fine (up/down steps, in and out of the car, etc) - he couldn't catch anything tossed his way. But you could clearly see the haziness in his eyes. I'm assuming you are NOT seeing that in Tiki?
  • sue_t's avatar
    sue_t
    Explorer
    Aug 05, 2014
    Regarding the behavior, we've had numerous rescue dogs with two going through a barking/alarm phase, which started months/years after they moved in.

    One was about four months old when we adopted her and was fearful of men. She didn't cuddle with hubby at all, but hung around me a lot. About six months after moving in she started barking at my husband when he approached. If hubby was downstairs and started coming up to where I was, Tazz would start hysterical barking at him until he was near. She grew out of this after about four months and also started to become his dog at that time. They were best buds until she died.

    The other started his barking about 3 years after moving in. He was about 18 months old and extremely anti-social & fearful when we adopted him. He accepted me after a year and it took another two years to get settled enough to be social. Now he barks whenever my husband approaches. Once my husband is in the yard or near me, then Kodi goes quiet. I'm looking forward to him growing out of this phase as it scares the living daylights out of me sometimes.

    Both these dogs had fear & social issues when we adopted them. Our other adoptees were all socialized when we adopted them and they did not go through this issue.
  • Chock_Full_o__N's avatar
    Chock_Full_o__N
    Explorer
    Aug 05, 2014
    I'm taking him to the vet tomorrow. She can give me a recommendation for an ophthalmic vet, I'm sure.
  • blackeyed1's avatar
    blackeyed1
    Explorer
    Aug 04, 2014
    Get it to a vision specialist vet. We had a cocker that we didn't know had sight problems. One evening we opened the dishwasher door and left it down. She walked into it. Put a couple other objects in the hallway and did the same thing. We were very surprised.
  • HTALLEN's avatar
    HTALLEN
    Explorer
    Aug 04, 2014
    I would have a doggie opthalmalogist have a look. My last dog developed PRA (a retinal disease uncurable that causes blindness). she went blind slowly over several years....first clue was difficulty seeing in low light and dark.....she did very well...just don't change the furniture. I adopted a rescue last year and you guessed it...he has PRA...what a terrible coincidence....but they can live an almost normal life.
  • roamermatt's avatar
    roamermatt
    Explorer
    Aug 04, 2014
    Glaucoma is fairly common in certain breeds and it strikes very fast - much faster than in humans. I had a dog who went blind from this and she lost her sight before we even knew what was happening. If you think your pooch is losing her sight, do not waste any time getting him into a vet who specializes in eyes/vision. Most general purpose vets don't know enough about eyesight handlse this situation. If you catch it in time, glaucoma can be managed pretty well with daily medication.

    If the worst happens, know that dogs can actually manage very well without sight, because their powers of hearing and smell (especially the latter) are so much superior to ours.
  • dspencer's avatar
    dspencer
    Explorer
    Aug 04, 2014
    While we have experience with blindness in 2 dogs it's different because we obtained them that way, they were both rescue's and only blind in one eye. Now that brings me to our current situation, 3 years ago we rescued Sampson a Boston Terrier that is blind in one eye and was born that way. We noticed this spring that Sampson starting acting very afraid of sudden and or strange noises, ex. firecrackers, thunder, a person walking into a room suddenly that type of things. Those things never bothered him the first 2 years of having him.

    We questioned maybe he was going blind in his other eye or maybe his hearing was changing. We had him examined by a vet and everything was good as far as he could tell. We didn't want to go the medication route if at all possible so we thought what the heck and purchased a Thundershirt to give it a try. All I can say is WOW, our old Sampson is back. Now he never started the barking but he became very anxious and nervous and he paced and just very nervous. In his case it made all the difference in the world but I realize it may be totally different than your situation. That may not be much help but thought I would pass it along.

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