Newly Blind Yorkie!!

[Britster]

Originally Posted by tritsy

You are all so wonderfully sweet and knowledgeable!!! UPDATE: We went to the specialist on monday, and he is an excellent candidate, but due to the very rapid loss of vision and swelling, i needed to do the surgery immediately.... so, 2.7k later, tuesday morning, he had cataract surgery. implants in both eyes, and it was done using the same method as on humans. i am now beyond broke (my mom said i should put him down.. sigh... and really i'm not adopted lol), but sammy is SO happy!!! we got home from the surgery and he RAN around the house, tried to go up the stairs (not allowed for 2 weeks), ran to his litter box and used it! it was a rough night-he would NOT sleep! he just looked and looked! though he has to wear the e-collar for 2 weeks, and have lots of drops, he is great. he is expected to have full vision in one eye, and close to full in the other, but if it was never been than it is now, it would be wonderful! i forgot how much energy he had! I'm glad the vet said the surgery was required, because i was not sure if i could afford it, and figured he would adjust, so i was somewhat debating.... naw, i would have done it anyway we do what we can for our babies, right?

THANK YOU, YT FOLKS!

What an AMAZING story! Technology is great, isn't it?

[tritsy]

sorry, no pics (for those who asked), sammy thought he looked pretty bad (i.e., funny). with a shaved face and bulging eyes from the swelling, he looked rather like a yorkie with a chihuahua face!
he had his 1 week checkup and doing beyond excellent! although he did pee in bed for a few nights (apparently steroids can cause this), with the dosage now lessened, he is fine again.

[zekie's mom]

I think I would put him in an ex-pen when you could not be with him. Show him where everything is and then be sure and keep everything in the same place. You need to be a seeing eye person for a blind dog. When I took my blind dog on walks I came to a stop everytime he had to step up or down and then I would tell him that he needed to step up or step down. More than one or two steps and I would lift him up. We also built a ramp for him to go up and down from the back porch. Of course, he was never let out on his own and was always on a short lesh. He could no longer be on the furniture or sleep with us. Good luck with the poor little guy.

[Yorkie24U]

Hi, I was just reading some of the posts about blind dogs and was very uplifted by the stories. My 12 yr old yorkie, Lacey, 4 1/2 lbs, has just been diagnosed with PRA, Progressive Retina Atrophy and I'm at a stage now where I want to just go in a closet and scream. Her 10 yr old sister, Lindsey, same parents. had an eye removed this past January due to Glaucoma and is doing very well. Now I guess she's going to have to help me with Lacey when she goes completely blind. We lowered the bed way low and I know she will have to be put in a X-pen when I'm not with her, and I'll probably sleep on the carpet with her a few times a week when she reaches total blindness. I feel so badly. I'm trying to be strong around her for her sake.
This post has been inspiring to me, its just gonna take some getting used to. This wednesday we're taking Lacey to the vets to get her tested for diabetes as recommended by her eye specialist. I'm hoping its not that too. I'm so broken up by all of the eye problems this year and the unknown ahead.

Lacey & Lindseys Mom

[AbbysMom08]

Originally Posted by Yorkie24U

Hi, I was just reading some of the posts about blind dogs and was very uplifted by the stories. My 12 yr old yorkie, Lacey, 4 1/2 lbs, has just been diagnosed with PRA, Progressive Retina Atrophy and I'm at a stage now where I want to just go in a closet and scream. Her 10 yr old sister, Lindsey, same parents. had an eye removed this past January due to Glaucoma and is doing very well. Now I guess she's going to have to help me with Lacey when she goes completely blind. We lowered the bed way low and I know she will have to be put in a X-pen when I'm not with her, and I'll probably sleep on the carpet with her a few times a week when she reaches total blindness. I feel so badly. I'm trying to be strong around her for her sake.
This post has been inspiring to me, its just gonna take some getting used to. This wednesday we're taking Lacey to the vets to get her tested for diabetes as recommended by her eye specialist. I'm hoping its not that too. I'm so broken up by all of the eye problems this year and the unknown ahead.

Lacey & Lindseys Mom

Hi,
I sure know what you are going through.
You can see my post on the first page of this thread.
It is so heart breaking when one of our furbabies loses it's sight.
It takes a lot of patience, adjustments and love which yorkie owners are not short on at all.
I will keep your little one and you in my prayers.
You can send me a PM if you need to talk.

[Yorkie24U]

Thank you, I will be in touch. I recently retired and never expected this news but we'll adapt to whatever comes down the path for our furbabies to keep them safe and comfortable. Thanks again for all the information that will help me to be Laceys guide. Hugs,

Lacey & Lindseys Mom

[YorkieMother]

Originally Posted by tritsy

Sammy suddenly lost the remaining vision in the eye that had some sight left. (cataracts) we will go to the vet next week to determine if he is a candidate for eye surgery (veterinarian eye specialist). meanwhile.. my poor baby is soo scared! He runs into walls, so he has decided that standing still is the safest thing. If I set him down near his litter box, he will usually use it, but he can no longer get off the couch safely by himself (he misses he steps by a foot). I'm wondering if any of you have any ideas? I'm talking to him as much as possible so he can follow my voice. I say "oops" when he is going to walk into something, and I have removed everything but basic furniture. I have an area rug in one room, floor grates he can feetl with his paws (he can tell when to turn to go into his area). I did get him to follow my voice once today, (he is still a fairly recent puppy mill escapee, so no obedience training yet), and he will walk around upstairs fairly well, as he has not run into anything major up there, so he's not afraid... yet.


HELP! My baby is scared (and I am grieving, but trying not to, 'cuz the dog whisperer says it makes things worse).

I feel you pain. This hurt deep and hard ciase it may not be fixable and it sure is expensive..$5000 Canadain.
Greive away cause if you keep it bottled up the dogs only going to know anyway. They can tell.
My girl lives with cartacts all her life and they have gotten worse.
I had losts of help and contacted leading behaviourists in Canada and the US to make sure my already special needs girl made it through this
There is a blind group for dogs at yahoo as well... hope adm does not mind me say that. It helped in the early stages ot this all.

For bumping into halls. Check out this Littlest Angel Vest  ~for blind dogs who can't use a cane

Scent marking works as well.
I use vanilla for her bed.
I use orange for danger.. so stop and wait for help.
Steps smell like lavander.
Doors jams are rose.
Jasmine is for the cats

And on and on so she has a scent pattern
Do not change the room pattern they get used to everything in is place and will get a map in there brains and start missing things.

Floor runner help land mark from one place to the other.

My girl is still able to see movment it it is fast and across the eyes not striaght at.

I made the choice to not fix the eyes as she got wiring problems in the brain as it is and if I open up the eyes that have never seen right to things she does not understand it could short out what is left of her brain.

I wish you much luck and I hope all goes well.

JL

[Yorkie24U]

Lacey is completely blind now from PRA. It was the worst week watching her struggling with getting around. I had to go to the blind dogs group and researched a lot of information and I'm following thru with all of it. I've even looked into the Angel Vest, have the scents in place, and bells on her younger one eyed sister. My husband and I also wear bells so she can figure out where we all are. Everything seems to be going as well as could be expected under the circumstances. I'm adjusting better than I thought I would, simply because if I change my ways of thinking and feel sorry for Lacey she will pick it up and be even more depressed. So to keep them both happy we take them for walks, stroller and car rides and just go on with normal activities. They have the doggles which help keep the brightness out of their eyes, they are tinted, and keep their eyes safer. I'll update occasionally here. Thank you all for your posts with information on blind dogs, its helped a lot.

Dot proud mom of
Lacey-PRA - Progressive Retina Atrophy
Lindsey-one eye removed due to glaucoma.

[AbbysMom08]

I'm sorry to hear this.
I hope Lacey is adjusting.
I hope you are doing ok.
It was hard when my little Kayla lost her sight. So heart breaking.
Like I said before. She adapted pretty well.
I will continue to keep you, Lacey, and your family in my prayers.

[bfforever]

my sweet Fancy was blind for 10 years of her life. She gradually lost sight around four, but became completely blind. She was amazing, but in the beginning there were those bumps.

Block your stairs-- no need for any tragedy. Dont leave shoes laying on the floor when you kick them off. We never moved the furniture. We considered moving during those ten years, but never did because she would have been lost without the familiarity of our home. She would jump up on the couch, but would whimper to be put down.

We used doggles on her for awhile so she wouldn't rupture he eyes with the bumping.

She developed bat radar and could navigate the whole first floor.

We adjusted along with her, as she required special safety precautions. When she was gone, I only came to realize how much we watched out for her. I miss her so.

[Yorkie24U]

Lacey is amazing !! Gosh, all that worrying on my part and Lacey is doing so well adapting to her blindness. I've calmed down and let her go ahead and learn what she has to do to adjust. We don't have any steps so thats a good thing, only a small house of which she navigates pretty well. I feel so bad tho when sometimes she goes the wrong way and walking into a door or wall. She goes about sniffing her way around and has come out of her shell of sleeping all day. She finds her food, bed and puppy pads ok, so her adjustment is slow and thats a good thing. Just wanted to update here. I'm in the process of getting her set up with an halo, which is like a white walking cane for a blind person. It will give her more confidence to move around. Thanks for your warm wishes and prayers.

Dot proud mom of
Lacey - with PRA Progressive Retina Atrophy
Lindsey-one eye removed due to Glaucoma

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by Yorkie24U

Lacey is amazing !! Gosh, all that worrying on my part and Lacey is doing so well adapting to her blindness. I've calmed down and let her go ahead and learn what she has to do to adjust. We don't have any steps so thats a good thing, only a small house of which she navigates pretty well. I feel so bad tho when sometimes she goes the wrong way and walking into a door or wall. She goes about sniffing her way around and has come out of her shell of sleeping all day. She finds her food, bed and puppy pads ok, so her adjustment is slow and thats a good thing. Just wanted to update here. I'm in the process of getting her set up with an halo, which is like a white walking cane for a blind person. It will give her more confidence to move around. Thanks for your warm wishes and prayers.

Dot proud mom of
Lacey - with PRA Progressive Retina Atrophy
Lindsey-one eye removed due to Glaucoma

They do adjust quickly! I have two pups who are losing their site. One, my George, due to inoperable cataracts....the other is my foster, Gizmo, who has PRA. His owner surrendered him and did not mention anything about his sight being impaired. He was very scared and would nip at me and the pups in my house. Now, that I know what is wrong, I say his name before approaching or touching him and he is doing so much better. Poor baby had to relearn a new environment....now I worry about what will happen if/when someone wants to adopt him.
It is heartbreaking to see them bump into things, but once they do it, they usually adjust and don't bump into the same thing. They just need to learn. The best we can do is to make sure there are no safety hazards.
I had purchased an adorable table at Pier 1 recently and did not think...it had leaves and birds on the base. When I got it home it occurred to me that a pup with no or decreased vision could hurt himself on the points of the leaves. Sort of like baby proofing the house.
I am happy to hear that your Lacey is adjusting well.

[AbbysMom08]

I am so very glad to hear that Lacey is doing so well.
Yes, they do seem to adapt rather well.
Please keep us posted and I will keep Lacey and you in my prayers.

[Yor-Key 2 Luv]

I have an appointment on Monday for Sasha who is 15 with a specialist who will evaluate her to see if she is a candidate for cataract surgery. She lost her hearing about one year ago and now all site is gone, otherwise I believe her to be in good health. Yorkies can live to be in the upper teens and I would like to give it a shot if the doctor thinks it is a good call. I will let you know the out come.

[mylittlegirls]

Originally Posted by Yorkie24U

Lacey is completely blind now from PRA. It was the worst week watching her struggling with getting around. I had to go to the blind dogs group and researched a lot of information and I'm following thru with all of it. I've even looked into the Angel Vest, have the scents in place, and bells on her younger one eyed sister. My husband and I also wear bells so she can figure out where we all are. Everything seems to be going as well as could be expected under the circumstances. I'm adjusting better than I thought I would, simply because if I change my ways of thinking and feel sorry for Lacey she will pick it up and be even more depressed. So to keep them both happy we take them for walks, stroller and car rides and just go on with normal activities. They have the doggles which help keep the brightness out of their eyes, they are tinted, and keep their eyes safer. I'll update occasionally here. Thank you all for your posts with information on blind dogs, its helped a lot.

Dot proud mom of
Lacey-PRA - Progressive Retina Atrophy
Lindsey-one eye removed due to glaucoma.

After reading this... My heart goes out to you. I really feel when God decided for us to have pets. He selected only the special one's that could take the time for special needs. You're really outstanding and very caring person. God Bless You...