Progressive Retinal Atrophy/vision Changes

[Guest mhall]

Jasper went in for his annual exam yesterday, and I mentioned to the vet I'd noticed some minor changes with his vision. He's not quite as good as he used to be a tracking small objects - for example if I toss treats in the yard for him & Emily she is now able to follow the toss and find the treat quicker than he is. I've also noticed his eyes reflect more light than they used to - there's more of that bluish tinge that you get in photographs of dogs if you use a flash. Otherwise his vision seems fine.

 

Our vet did a cool little vision test where she had Jasper track cotton puffs and gave his eyes a good looking over. She said his pupils were a bit more dilated than she would expect, but they do constrict properly in bright light. She thought that bluish-ness could be from cloudiness due to aging (I think she meant nuclear sclerosis), or that he could possibly have early stage PRA. Nothing pointed to cataracts, glaucoma or anything else that would require immediate intervention. I asked about seeing an opthamologist and she said if it was her dog she would closely monitor its vision over the next few weeks/months and if we noticed any further problems to contact her for an opthamologist referral. She recommending doing the cotton test with him on a regular basis and moving a few things around in the house to see if he bumped into anything or seemed surprised.

 

Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone had experience with progressive retinal atrophy, and also wondering what (if anything) one might do to help their dog adjust to gradual loss of sight. I know it's a bit premature to be worrying but I was just curious. Other than pannus, I haven't heard much about greyhounds typically having vision problems.

 

Thanks

 

Oh, and if it matters, Jasper is 5.5.

[greyhead]

Spencer's vet diagnosed him with age-related PRA around age 10. She said there was nothing much to do about it, other than make sure there's enough light for him to get around at night. We keep the light on over the stove and a low-watt light in another room, and we got some motion-activated lights for the stairs. Your Jasper does seem a bit young for this condition, so I'd be curious too. Our experience of veterinary specialists suggests that most of them charge $100 or so for an initial visit/exam. So if you can afford it and want to be sure, that's an option. Hope somebody else pops up here with experience in younger dogs' vision problems.

[Burpdog]

I would not wait. I would see a specialist asap. If you wait, he's losing vision, and what if it's not what your vet thinks but something totally different that could have been slowed or stopped?

[Guest trevdog]

I would get to a specialist as well. Dallas has Iris Atrophy, not the same thing but it took a specialist to figure it out. Her eyes stay dilated a lot too and eventually she will become more sensitive to sunlight.

[Guest mhall]

Thanks for the responses/information. At the appointment, our vet determined Jasper sees quite well - she did not see evidence that his vision has deteriorated in any way, and his pupils do react normally to light. She did not feel a specialist would be able to give us any more information at this point, and I trust her opinion. The only thing that concerned us initially was J being a little slower to track down treats in the yard, which could be vision related or could just be that his reflexes are a little slower than they used to be.

 

I definitely understand vision is not something you want to mess around with, so we will get him to a specialist immediately if we do see any evidence of vision loss.

[tbhounds]

I would not wait. I would see a specialist asap. If you wait, he's losing vision, and what if it's not what your vet thinks but something totally different that could have been slowed or stopped?

My thoughts exactly!