The morning of New Year’s Day, yesterday, I let my 7 yr old shitzu-poo, Fergie, out to potty as our normal routine. She acted fine as usual except she went under my bed upon coming back in the house which she usually finds my lap. So, that alerted me and when I coaxed her out.
I noticed her left eye was partially closed. I thought she had scratched it in the yard. With it being a holiday, only emergency animal hospitals were open, so off we went thinking a few doses of eye drops and everything would be fine. Unfortunately, 45 minutes later I was leaving my sweet girl at this hospital because she had glaucoma with acute pressure in her left eye.
They started topical treatment which did not work, then IV treatment which only dropped the pressure 15 mm. This morning, the vet opthamologist inserted a needle to relieve the pressure more efficiently. The pressure is down, but her sight is gone in her left eye. I’m hoping to bring her home tomorrow morning after they monitor her overnight. I have accepted that she will be blind in one eye, but I am desperate to save her good eye.
Every thing I read tells me that all surgical procedures only prolong primary glaucoma. I am beside myself and feel helpless. What does a dog think when they begin living in total darkness? Will she think she is being punished? If anyone reading this has any information regarding success in preventing glaucoma in the other eye, please contact me. This is heart breaking.
Every dog is different so each dog will experience blindness differently. So if you have a confident sighted dog then you will most likely have a confident blind dog. If you have a fearful sighted dog, then you will probably have a fearful blind dog.
Just remember that dogs don’t think about things like we do. They don’t think about how bad everything is now that they are blind and they definitely don’t think that they are being punished. If they feel any depression usually it is very short lived.
You will be surprised at how well your dog will handle being blind. They are amazing really.
Sometimes dogs act a bit depressed at first, but that doesn’t last long usually, and the dog will take its cues from you. I think it’s important not to cry or be upset around the dog, for that reason. If you are cheerful and upbeat, encouraging the dog to continue with walks, hanging out the car window, playing with toys, etc., Fergie will adapt surprisingly well.