Uveitis/acute Blindness (Sudden Onset Blindness)

[Remolacha]

I am sorry his blindness wasn't temporary, but from what I have heard (no personal experience) most dogs adjust to being blind just fine. Also have no experience with high blood pressure, but it is important to get it under control (you already know that ) I use Pill Pockets to give pills. Other things may be a little cheaper, but PP are easy and not messy. Good luck!

[seeh2o]

I'm so sorry his blindness is not going away. I had a dog go blind within hours due to SARDs, the website posted above - www.blinddogs.com - has a wealth of information for owners of newly blind dogs. They were the ones who told me about putting a different essential oil on the doorway to each room so that each room is assigned it's own scent. Put the scent on the door jam level with their noses. I also, for a while, would wear a bracelet with bells on it so my girl would know where I was, I also put a cat bell on my other dog so she would know where he was, too. She acclimated so well, most people didn't know she was blind. She would navigate with her nose, so expect a lot of nose prints all over the house! She used her nose like a white cane, except her nose wasn't to the ground. My vet called her a miracle dog. She lived a normal life span, which is very rare for dogs with SARDs. I realize that Pae doesn't have SARDs, which is a godsend.

[carronstar]

I am sorry to hear that the blindness isn't a temporary thing. All I know from what I have learned here, and with poodles in the past is that they do far better with it than we do. They don't attach the emotions to it which makes it something they just deal with. Peanut butter works well for pills here.

[Laur]

Chef boy ardee ravioli,( economical and bowel friendly) works well to hide pills.

Make a tiny slit, pop in meds.. and the ravioli almost self seals.

Plus the meat/tomato sauce covers the pill smell.

 

Sorry to hear of Paden's blindness.

My 12 yr old boy has some blindness due to a stroke... not too obvious during the day but at night on potty walks it is very evident.

[sweetdogs]

I'm so sorry about Paden's sight. But it sounds like he is a smart boy & is already adjusting.

 

You mentioned he was on prednisone: is he still on it? That can really strip the pounds off a hound, depending on dosage. I don't know anything about the BP meds he's on but maybe one of them is bothering his belly.

 

For weight gain, I always like eggs. But you may want to wait until his belly settles down unless he's already used to eating them.

[tbhounds]

Not only will pred cause muscle wasting it will increase blood pressure.

[rascalsmom]

I'm sorry his blindness hasn't resolved but glad to hear he is adjusting.

 

Re pills -- I do it the mean old way -- shove 'em down the throat and then immediately give a "good dog!" and nice treat. My angel Batman would actually show up at @ pill time and stand there patiently waiting to have his pills shoved on down so he could get the treat.

 

Hugs and best luck going forward.

Must say, this made me laugh. "Waiting to have his pills shoved on down..."

 

One tip--if Paden is the type of dog who gets stressed out by going to the vet, even for a BP check, ask them if they would come out to the parking lot and take his BP while you are in the car. Years ago, when our vet thought Buddy had high BP, I asked them to do this. Buddy was lying on the back seat of the van, very relaxed, and no high blood pressure. He was the type of dog who HATED going to the vet, so this was an easy way to get a true reading.

Edited December 12, 2011 by rascalsmom

[duncan41]

I am so sorry that Paden't retina reattachment didn't restore his sight, but I have to tell you, he is one of the sweetest looking hounds - his photos just melted my heart! It sounds like you have done and continue to do everything that you can. I understand your frustration with your Vets. Have patience and stick to your guns. Give that handsome guy some extra scritches from me. Oh, and Pill Pockets always work around here!

[XTRAWLD]

Thank you for the update on Paden. I'm sad to hear although the retina's reattached that he is still blind. Poor pup!

 

I use pill pockets, because I am not as efficient as hubby to throw pills down the throat at just the right angle and not have Kasey gack like we are trying to kill him. They can be expensive if you need to use them on a daily basis though. Otherwise, if Paden is food motivated, just smearing peanut butter on it may works, but if he's fussy I have found regular Kraft Singles Cheese effective as well, or even a little bit of sliced deli - ham, salami, whatever. Soft bread is super easy too!

 

Popular food for weight gain is the Satin Ball. There are several variations of the receipe but always contain raw hamburger - yes you can feed raw hamburger to your dog and he won't blow up - oatmeal, wheat germ and eggs. I fed them to Kasey with varying results - at the time oatmeal was not a confirmed allergen - and thus started the vicious cycle of allergies, medication (prednisone), and weight gain/loss.

 

The best part - you can hide the pills in one of these as well! Win-Win.

Edited December 12, 2011 by XTRAWLD

[JJNg]

He'd had a urinalysis at his regular vet a few days before we took him to the opthalmologist, and the results were normal so we'd already ruled out kidney problems.

Is Paden under the care of an internist now? Primary hypertension is pretty rare in dogs, and there's such a strong correlation between hypertension and kidney problems (glomerulonephritis) that I would want more than just a urinalysis to rule that out. Was there any protein in his urine at all? Did they do a microalbumin level? What was his urine specific gravity?

[3greytjoys]

I echo everyone's sympathy for Payden's blindness.

 

Below is a wonderful tool to administer pills. One $3. tool lasts decades. I use them with ease for dogs and cats.

 

http://www.entirelypets.com/pillgun.html

 

I shoot the pill down center throat, close pet's mouth (muzzle upwards), rub outside of throat once or twice (downward motion) to encourage swallowing.

This method takes 1-2 seconds, and I know it went down the hatch.

[Guest Paden]

Hello again, and thank you again for all the input and sympathy for Paden's blindness. He's doing really well. So well, in fact, that my dad and I are beginning to suspect that Pae may actually have a teensy bit of vision back in his right eye(!) He is just getting around the house too well to be a totally blind dog, navigates sidewalks and curbs like a champ and if I hold up a treat and move it from side to side he follows it instantly by turning his head back and forth at a speed that just would not be possible by smell alone. My own dog, Buster, is completely blind so I have a lot of experience dealing with a fully blind dog. Paden's eyes are still completely dilated and probably will remain so forever, and if he has some vision I assume it is just the ability to detect some light/shadows.

 

It was a relief to hear that the Prednisone causes muscle wasting/weight loss because he's tapered off of it now so he'll no longer have all the side effects. Appetite still strong and energy level/confidence much improved. He's also been taking his pills in peanut butter with no problems, though I made notes of everyone's pill-giving suggestions in case we ever need to change tactics with him in the future.

 

As for the hypertension issue, I called up his regular vet to make an appointment to have his BP checked again, only to discover that his vet no longer works there and is planning on opening up his own practice next month (ugh, I wish they'd given me some warning!). So if anyone here has a recommendation for a good vet for greyhounds in the Northern VA area, please let me know. It'd be especially good to find someone in the McLean/Arlington/Fairfax area.

 

jjng, I asked them to email me a copy of Paden's urinalysis results and I'll cut and paste them below if you care to help me interpret them. I really appreciate your knowledge and concern, but to be honest, at this point my own dog (a coonhound named Buster) is sick and as Paden's care has already cost our family a small fortune in unexpected vet bills, and his hypertension finally seems to be under control, my immediate focus has shifted from Paden to Buster (who is scheduled for an abdominal ultrasound this coming Monday).

 

In fact, I would really like it if I could post about Buster in this forum and get everyone's feedback and suggestions about his medical issues because my vet is stumped. I have his blood panel & urinalysis results and would be very eager to post them if jjang, or someone else, would help me with ideas about what may be going on with Buster or what questions I should ask the internist. Or, if anyone could refer me to a similar forum to this one that is not greyhound-specific, I'd really be grateful.

 

for now, here are Paden's test results:

 

[Batmom]

The only thing that strikes me is that by greyhound standards, he's a bit anemic. In a greyhound, you expect to see RBC, Hemoglobin, and Hematocrit at or above the upper end of the range for all dogs rather than in the midrange as Paden's are. I don't know if the meds he is on could contribute to that -- perhaps jjng or others will know. You could also put in a free consultation request to OSU's Greyhound Wellness Program, which is free. There are instructions for how to do that in the big Osteo Thread in this forum.

 

I think if you posted your non-greyhound's info in a new topic here you would likely get some responses. I'm sorry your pup isn't well.

[DesiRayMom]

Just want to add my sympathy for Paden's loss of eyesight....glad to hear he's doing well; hope he continues to improve.

He is a VERY handsome hound.

 

I'm sure the wonderful folks here will be glad to offer advice on Buster....I'm here to ask that if you post more about him,

attach a pic, please. I have a passion for hounds in general & LOVE coonhounds. So others can give opinions and advice,

and I'll chime in to tell him what a handsome man he is. Hope his ultrasound goes well.

[JJNg]

Paden's urinalysis looks fine. As Batmom mentioned, his hematocrit is a little low for a grey, but I wouldn't be too worried about a single reading. Would probably just recheck it in a few weeks, and if it's persistently low, consider testing for tick-borne disease.

 

How is Buster doing? Any news from his ultrasound? If you want to post more about Buster, it'd probably be better to start a new thread so it doesn't get lost in this one.

[Guest Paden]

Hello again, everyone. Just wanted to post a quick update. Both of my dogs (Paden the greyhound and Buster the blind bluetick coonhound) are doing well. Paden seems to have slowly recovered vision in his right eye (hard to say if he has any in his left). Both his eyes are still permanently dilated but he sees light/shadow and movement, and gets around well enough that most people would never guess he has vision loss. The 5mg dose of Amlodipine 2 times a day is still working to keep his [idiopathic] hypertension in check. He's a happy boy.

 

Meanwhile, shortly after Paden got out of the woods, Buster developed swelling in his back end and the radiologist who conducted an abdominal ultrasound concluded that the thin membrane of muscle tissue below his rectum (part of the structure of muscles that cradles the colon) had dissolved or ruptured. Initially when this occurred, it appeared to cause Buster some discomfort and he had swelling in his hind legs and groin, but within a few days Buster's body seems to have adjusted and he no longer exhibits inflammation. I consulted with an internist and she said that this condition is very rare; she herself had only seen it perhaps five times in as many years, and she said no one knows what causes that muscle to deteriorate in some dogs. When I adopted Buster 9 years ago, he had chronically impacted anal glands and I took him to a vet who surgically removed them; it's likely that that surgery weakened the muscle back there. In any event, there is no way to repair the muscle. To prevent his colon from drifting too far through the hole where the muscle used to form a barrier, a surgeon would need to make an incision all the way from the base of his rib cage to the top of his groin, cut through the abdominal muscle wall to the colon, gently gather the colon up ("like you'd gather up a loose sock or pantyhose to pull it back up your leg"), tack it in place by suturing it to the abdominal wall and sew him back up again. I fretted for weeks about committing to the surgery, not just because of it's $3K price tag but also because I wasn't sure if it is even necessary or worth the risk (not to mention the pain Buster would experience from a slow recovery, being a geriatric dog). Ultimately I decided against the surgery. Sometimes the area just below Buster's anus will pouch out a little just before he has a bowel movement, but other than that he's in very good health for a 12 year old hound, and his stool is pretty much ideal.

 

 

good ol' Buster:

 

Thank you again for all the advice, encouragement and support. This is a marvelous forum and such a useful resource.

[sweetdogs]

Glad to hear Paden is doing well! And look how cute Buster is in his little hat. He's a fine looking hound. Best wishes for both of them.

[greyhead]

Delighted to hear that Paden and Buster are doing well. Adorable Buster looks like he might have some soft, rubbable earsies!