My dogs name is Raven, she’s a black Skipperke. She was born July 3,2004. This past Wednesday September 23,2015 we noticed that Raven was walking into things so me made a vet appointment and she went to see the vet yesterday September 24,2015. The vet stated that Raven is completely blind stage 3 cataracts. And she’s got diabetes, the last time she was at the vet in February she was 17lbs and they wanted her to lose weight so we changed her diet according to what they said to give her. And yesterday she was 11lbs.
My mother and I have been crying, it’s really sad and everyone keeps saying she’ll be fine don’t worry she will adapt. But it’s hard and sad seeing her like this. And now I’m really scared with her having diabetes.
I have a million questions that I wanna find out but none of the sites can help me. Like if she gains her weight back will she still need insulin shots? What’s her life expectancy? It’s like a really bad break up and I know j should be thankful she’s alive but it’s really hard. She’s the only dog that I’ve had since she was born so all of this is new to me.
Honey, just be glad you have a diagnosis. I have a two year old Dalmatian Boxer mix. I woke up one morning to his eyes turning from a rusty brown to white overnight. I took him in, there was no irritation in his eyes, extra pressure or broken vessels. They tried claiming it was cataracts, gave him medicine for it. The medicine only made it worse for him. The only reason I haven’t freaked completely out, is because eventhough Rigby occassionally rjns into things, especially when I move furniture, but he hasn’t given up. He still plays, does all of his tricks and listens just as well if not better. The only trouble I have is teaching him new tricks. All I am saying is if she’s still happy, and she doesn’t seem depressed or lays all day, give her your love everyday. Rigby surprises me everyday with how much energy he has, how smart he is and how this hasn’t effected him one bit. So just remember, she’s still fighting to be with you, blind or not. But when things get worse don’t hesitate to do the better thing, after all. She is family.
Also, don’t forget to be her eyes. Rigby tends to wander, I’ve managed to teach him to stay by me by walking bent over holding my hand on the opposite side of his ribs and be his eyes. Trust me, your dog will adapt to not seeing. My dog is living proof. He went completely blind within two days. Just keep furniture, tables and things off the floor that can trip her. She will learn your house like the back of her paw being able to see or not. Just be there for her until she can’t fight anymore.
I wish the best of kuck to you and Raven.
It DOES get better with time. We have an 11-yr-old toy poodle. So, also born in 04. They adjust better than we do. She was put on steroids for a cough & I was told she would wet more. We had some bad vet care. I stopped the steroids & she was still wetting in the house, & coughing. Took her to vet & asked if she might be diabetic. She was, and went blind a month later. The vet never warned us she’d go blind, had no ophthalmoscope to test eye pressure. She had one eye removed 6/1/15 & the other eye ‘resorbed’. It was so painful to see our cheerful little poodle returned as an empty poodle suit after surg. Now, in Oct, she is more used to her environment. She wags her tail when we get home. I hug her all the time, kiss her, tell her how special she is. She walks around the house pretty good. I’ve seen some dogs negotiate stairs & everything. She is afraid to. I carry her out to potty & set her down. Keep talking to her & tell her where I am. She walks right back to me. I keep a bowl of water next to each dog bed in every room. She prefers to eat in my lap. The other pets take advantage of her blindness & try to take her food otherwise. But she is doing lots better. I don’t think they can stop insulin if they regain the weight. It’s the same as a human. Once the pancreas doesn’t work right, I don’t think it ever will again. We went back to our prior good vet & the tech’s son is diabetic so she helped explain a lot of things. I would be glad to answer any questions. I met a nice friend on here who reassured & supported me & I’d like to do the same for you. Ours gets shots 8AM & 8PM & is doing quite well. I’ve met people who say their dogs have lived years longer on insulin. Dorothy & Coco Toy Poodle
Thank you ladies, she’s adapted a lot better than I expected. Though I haven’t taken her on walks because she gets scared but she knows her way around the backyard. The only difficult thing I’m having problems with is giving her the insulin shots. She tenses up and then screams. Too bad they don’t have pills that can take the place of the shots. Thank you so much for the encouraging words.
Are you giving her shots by puckering/pinching/lifting the skin, inserting a SHORT needle (8mm) horizontally to the body (not at a 90′ angle) so that the fluid goes under the skin, and the needle never touches the muscle? My schnauzers almost never even feel the shot. Good luck!