My Grey Is Going Blind

[GreyBoy]

My soon to be 3 year old baby boy grey was just diagnosed last week with progressive retinal atrophy. I had taken him to the vet because of a limp in one leg. While there I asked the vet to check his vision because I felt something was a little off. I was not at all prepared for what came next. I was told he was going blind and will become totally blind. I was so shocked I hardly asked any questions. I was barely out the door before I burst into tears. Now it is a few days and I am doing what I usually do in a crisis, alternate between crying and trying to find out everything I can learn about a particular situation. I want my young grey to live a happy life, and a safe life. I did read some older postings on this site about blindness. They were helpful. Does anyone have any ideas of what I should be thinking about first and foremost? I would appreciate any and all help. This site has been extremely helpful to me in the past and it feels so good to go to people who love greyhounds as much as I do. Thank you so much!

 

Of note, his leg injury was probably due to jumping out of my SUV without depth perception or normal eyesight. I have purchased two different auto pet ramps and neither one seems quite right. Anyone have a suggestion as to what works best. Greyhounds are so tall, long legs, that I can see why they are skittish about those ramps. They are way up from the ground!

Edited May 22, 2017 by GreyBoy

[Potomacpupsmom]

My female grey went blind when she was almost 13 due to an inoperable brain tumor on her optic chiasm. We had a ramp built on our back deck for her to get out to the backyard for potty breaks, and she couldn't come upstairs to sleep in our room anymore, so we had a bed in the den for her downstairs. She still enjoyed going out for walks and sniffing the air (and anything else she could sniff). We just needed to be sure to guide her from bumping into things along the way when we were outside. She really was able to navigate the house well, and had no problem with meals and treats. We made sure that we would talk to her as we approached so she knew where we were. We gave her lots and lots of loving and petting. She did adapt pretty well.

 

I'm sorry to hear your boy's diagnosis and can understand how you feel about this. I wish you well with your sweet boy. He is young, so he should adapt pretty easily.

[GreyTzu]

I would get a second opinion for a Vet Eye doctor.

[45MPHK9]

Has your dog seen a veterinary ophthalmologist?

[greysmom]

You will get much more info and support from a veterinary opthamologist, if you have one near you. Specialists are really worth the price for something like this.

 

Dog usually adapt fairly easily to going blind. And there are some aids to help like a "halo" they can wear to help them not bump into things. Learn to speak to him whenever you are nearby or passing by so he isn't startled. If you have any visual clues for commands you should change them over to verbal cues. And decide how you want your furniture to be! That was always the hardest thing for my nearly blind dog.

[Brandiandwe]

Begin teaching him verbal commands now. A good friend of mine had a blind IG who she had completely voice trained. Basic stuff like: right, left, forward, stop, step up (step up step up for flights of stairs once for each step), step down. Do this before he goes blind completely. I think you'll find he adapts well.

[phall]

Hi GreyBoy - I'm so glad you posted here. I adopted Lucas last October, knowing at the time that he had progressive retinol atrophy (PRA). Lucas is two as well (he will be three in September). The group I adopted him from told me about his diagnosis and that he would be totally blind in about 12-18 months. They really wanted to get Lucas into a home while he could see so that he could adapt as he lost his sight.

 

After I got him home we had an appointment with a veterinary opthamologist. She is wonderful and is so kind and gentle with Lucas. She confirmed what the adoption group told me and based on the exam she gave him, she said she would estimate that Lucas had lost about 60% of his sight at that time (last December). She also said she was amazed at how well he had adapted at that time - she said she never would have guessed he had lost so much of his sight when he first walked into the exam room. His sight has continued to deteriorate a bit between now and then.

 

I was advised that Lucas would adapt well and would learn to navigate the house and yard. They (opthamologist and director of the adoption group - who has a blind dog) advised me to treat Lucas normally and let him do, with care, all the things a sighted dog would do.They have been so right. It's evident that Lucas doesn't see well. If things get moved around the house and he is excited and not focused on trying to see things, he'll bump into things. When he's offered a treat he doesn't find it by sight - he'll sniff around your hand or the floor until he finds it by scent. His sight is worse in low light and at night. When he's sleeping on his bed if I or my other greyhound walk quietly around him, he may startle (jump up growling). So, things I have done to help him adapt - be careful about moving things. When I get up from the recliner I put the foot rest down so he doesn't run into it. At night I keep night lights on throughout the house in case he gets up in the middle of the night for any reason. Whenever he's sleeping and I need to get around him, I speak to him so he knows I'm there. For my other greyhound, I put a small bell on her collar so he always knows where she is (this worked like a charm!).

 

Things are going great. I'm SO amazed at how well Lucas is adapting. I'm sure your boy will as well. Lucas is figuring things out - he easily but careful navigates the full flight of stairs from the downstairs to the upstairs of my house. When we go for walks he tends to walk leaning against my side, using me as a guide on where we're going (he figured that out by himself). He and my other greyhound, Sox, have become very good friends and he tends to be near her most of the time.

 

Things I would recommend - there is a great book - Living with a Blind Dog - that I heartily recommend. Get a vest or harness that says "I'm blind" or "Blind dog" on it so that when you walk people are aware and approach more carefully. Join the facebook page for Blind Dogs. It's wonderful and has given me great support and suggestions.

 

I'd love to stay connected as we both go through this with our greyhounds. Feel free to ask me any questions. If I think of other things that I've learned over these last 7 months, I'll post them.

 

Good luck. I'm sure your boy will do well with your love and care. I have be so amazed at how resilient these dogs are and how well they handle things like this.

[JohnF]

As others have said, dogs have a wonderful ability to adapt to loss of vision provided that their environment is not altered physically. Their sense of smell, hearing and sound vibration, even heat proximity, serve them exceptionally well. With acute hearing they can probably echo-locate to a certain extent too.

 

Ramps almost always need to be as wide as possible and covered in carpeting (or fake grass) for them to be used happily. You can also cut a good 8" of the height out of the slope by backing your vehicle towards a curb. Some have even gone so far as putting in a level loading ramp or having one of those lift/elevator things that some hotels use for disabled people.

[dante2zoe]

One of our girls has very little vision. As others have said, low and no light is the hardest for her to navigate. We keep lights on at night in case she needs to use the dog door. We also have a light on outside which helps. She absolutely lives for her walks so she goes on them with the other two girls. When it is dark, we shine the flashlight a couple feet in front of her and she follows the beam. She does tend to stick close to my side, as well. You will also discover that his other senses will really take over. Her sense of smell and hearing are very acute. We knew Maggie's vision wasn't very good, but had no idea how bad it was - she has adapted that well!

 

I am guessing that your adjustment will be more difficult than his.

 

Scritches to your boy.

[Sundrop]

I'm so very sorry to hear of your boy's diagnosis. Our girl lost her vision due to a massive seizure, though she eventually regained much of her sight in one eye. She was unresponsive to stimuli in the other eye, but she compensated very quickly.

 

I purchased a book titled, Living With Blind Dogs: A Resource Book and Training Guide for the Owners of Blind and Low-Vision Dogs, and it was very helpful. I'd highly recommend you read it, as it has a lot of advice on how to deal with it and there are things (as others have mentioned) you can do now to start training him and make his life easier.

 

Our Tilly was so confused, as this happened overnight and she had no time to adjust - but she adjusted really well, and we started using more voice commands, leaving lights on for her, baby-gating stairs, etc.

[NeylasMom]

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is scent. You can use specific scents for specific things so he knows what's where. I might give each animal a smell, and also use scent to outline areas where he might bump into things, etc. There should be good resources for blind dogs out there that give specifics.

 

The Halo is a huge help to some dogs as well.

 

And I would keep stairs gated off and start teaching the verbal cues as suggested.

[GreyBoy]

Hi GreyBoy - I'm so glad you posted here. I adopted Lucas last October, knowing at the time that he had progressive retinol atrophy (PRA). Lucas is two as well (he will be three in September). The group I adopted him from told me about his diagnosis and that he would be totally blind in about 12-18 months. They really wanted to get Lucas into a home while he could see so that he could adapt as he lost his sight.

 

After I got him home we had an appointment with a veterinary opthamologist. She is wonderful and is so kind and gentle with Lucas. She confirmed what the adoption group told me and based on the exam she gave him, she said she would estimate that Lucas had lost about 60% of his sight at that time (last December). She also said she was amazed at how well he had adapted at that time - she said she never would have guessed he had lost so much of his sight when he first walked into the exam room. His sight has continued to deteriorate a bit between now and then.

 

I was advised that Lucas would adapt well and would learn to navigate the house and yard. They (opthamologist and director of the adoption group - who has a blind dog) advised me to treat Lucas normally and let him do, with care, all the things a sighted dog would do.They have been so right. It's evident that Lucas doesn't see well. If things get moved around the house and he is excited and not focused on trying to see things, he'll bump into things. When he's offered a treat he doesn't find it by sight - he'll sniff around your hand or the floor until he finds it by scent. His sight is worse in low light and at night. When he's sleeping on his bed if I or my other greyhound walk quietly around him, he may startle (jump up growling). So, things I have done to help him adapt - be careful about moving things. When I get up from the recliner I put the foot rest down so he doesn't run into it. At night I keep night lights on throughout the house in case he gets up in the middle of the night for any reason. Whenever he's sleeping and I need to get around him, I speak to him so he knows I'm there. For my other greyhound, I put a small bell on her collar so he always knows where she is (this worked like a charm!).

 

Things are going great. I'm SO amazed at how well Lucas is adapting. I'm sure your boy will as well. Lucas is figuring things out - he easily but careful navigates the full flight of stairs from the downstairs to the upstairs of my house. When we go for walks he tends to walk leaning against my side, using me as a guide on where we're going (he figured that out by himself). He and my other greyhound, Sox, have become very good friends and he tends to be near her most of the time.

 

Things I would recommend - there is a great book - Living with a Blind Dog - that I heartily recommend. Get a vest or harness that says "I'm blind" or "Blind dog" on it so that when you walk people are aware and approach more carefully. Join the facebook page for Blind Dogs. It's wonderful and has given me great support and suggestions.

 

I'd love to stay connected as we both go through this with our greyhounds. Feel free to ask me any questions. If I think of other things that I've learned over these last 7 months, I'll post them.

 

Good luck. I'm sure your boy will do well with your love and care. I have be so amazed at how resilient these dogs are and how well they handle things like this.

Thank you so much for your wealth of information. I am ordering the book you suggested. I have also made an appointment with a vet ophthalmologist even though my regular greyhound vet did not think it was necessary. It is necessary for me. I think I knew something was wrong when he did not take treats from my hand or placed by him, but instead had to sniff them out. That was new and different. His daytime vision I believe is still somewhat there, but in the dark, no. I really appreciate your offer to keep in touch and ask questions. That will be such a comfort. Not sure how to email you. I believe my son set up this account because I did not have an email address that was paid for, i.e. I use Yahoo. Again, thank you so much. I'm sure your grey is in good hands.

[phall]

Hi GreyBoy - I tried to pm you but can't yet due to the newness of your account on Greytalk. Here's my email address - pwhall@verizon.net. Feel free to be in touch.

 

Pat Hall

[seeh2o]

GreyBoy, please see a veterinary ophthalmologist to confirm the diagnosis of PRA. If it is confirmed the is a supplement that seems to slow the progress, it is named Ocu-glo, NOT Occuvite.

 

Also, it helps them a lot of you put essential oils, a separate one for each room, at nose level so he can differentiate between rooms. When walking, give verbal commands: at curbs "step up", "step down", turning "turn left", turn right" etc. I wore a bracelet with bells on it for a while to help her know when I was moving and put one on my other dog's collar, too.

 

Finally, what was your boy's racing name? My girl is a broodie so had some male pups who developed PRA, her female littermate also threw some pills with PRA. There may be a common genetic ancestor.

[phall]

Hi seeh2o - I read your post and thought I'd share with you my male greyhound with PRA. I had read that PRA is probably genetic so I'll be interested in learning more about this. His racing name is DC's Terra Nova. He'll be three in September.

 

Greyboy - I hope things are going well with your boy.

[seeh2o]

Hi seeh2o - I read your post and thought I'd share with you my male greyhound with PRA. I had read that PRA is probably genetic so I'll be interested in learning more about this. His racing name is DC's Terra Nova. He'll be three in September.

 

Greyboy - I hope things are going well with your boy.

Kiowa Mon Manny seems to be a common denominator here. He was my girl's sire and he figures heavily into your boy's lineage, too. My girl is Bella Run Softly.

 

Your boy is adorable in the picture, love his ears!

Edited May 28, 2017 by seeh2o

[GreyBoy]

Hi seeh2o - I read your post and thought I'd share with you my male greyhound with PRA. I had read that PRA is probably genetic so I'll be interested in learning more about this. His racing name is DC's Terra Nova. He'll be three in September.

 

Greyboy - I hope things are going well with your boy.

 

Hi. Thanks so much for replying to my post. My boy will be turning 3, born on 5/30/2014. His racing name is JS Polar Bear. He has Lonesome Cry and Kiowa Mon Manny as his grand sires. I was told by my greyhound vet that it is a genetic disease, there is no cure, otherwise he is healthy. He was going to contact the owner (at a Kansas greyhound farm) to check things out. I plan to see a vet ophthalmologist at the University of Minnesota but had to wait a few weeks for an appointment. I am plugging along with working on things with my boy Polar. He seems to see sort of okay in bright daylight, but things get worse in the evening. It is just such a sad thing to watch. Luckily we live in a somewhat large condo on the main floor with no necessary steps and a big yard to walk him. Please keep in touch and let me know about your boy! My thoughts are with you. My email is kathleen.meyer@yahoo.com. Thanks again.

GreyBoy, please see a veterinary ophthalmologist to confirm the diagnosis of PRA. If it is confirmed the is a supplement that seems to slow the progress, it is named Ocu-glo, NOT Occuvite.

 

Also, it helps them a lot of you put essential oils, a separate one for each room, at nose level so he can differentiate between rooms. When walking, give verbal commands: at curbs "step up", "step down", turning "turn left", turn right" etc. I wore a bracelet with bells on it for a while to help her know when I was moving and put one on my other dog's collar, too.

 

Finally, what was your boy's racing name? My girl is a broodie so had some male pups who developed PRA, her female littermate also threw some pills with PRA. There may be a common genetic ancestor.

 

Please see my reply below on 5/28/2017. Thanks. Let me know if you find a link here.

[spottydog]

My girl, JS Oakley also has Kiowa Mon Manny as her grand sire. Two of her litter mates have been diagnosed before they turned two. So far, Oakley shows no sign of it, but we are waiting to get into the ophthalmologist. Can this disorder be hit and miss within a litter, anybody know?

[Feisty49]

Just to add to the conversation with uplifting info. I have a friend who has a big, goofy male Grey who is blind. He came to the house blind so had to be taught in the dark all about the house. Most of the time, you'd never know he has no vision. They never move furniture around. They bought toys that, when rolled/tossed, make a continuous noise so he can find them. They made a path of carpet squares on the tile kitchen floor to the back door and on the wood floor to the bedrooms. It gives him double security of knowing where he's going as well as not having to deal with bare floors. My friend spilled something on one of the carpet squares in the kitchen and took it up to clean. Her Grey cried when he came to that non-carpet spot because he was afraid. She now has spare squares. :-)

 

The most amazing thing to me is that he does zoomies in the back yard. They spent time with him on a leash, walking the entire perimeter of the yard, walking up to the shed, walking up to the back of the house, again and again. In no time at all, he learned the limits of the yard and was walking around by himself. It wasn't long before he started trotting, then running and then zoomies!

 

My Annie has an eye issue which could lead to blindness. I tell my friends that if she does go blind, I'll be her seeing eye person and take her places as I do now, including our long walks.

 

As so many have said, your boy will adjust and probably easier than you will.

Edited May 28, 2017 by Feisty49

[phall]

Seeh2o,

 

thanks so much for your quick reply. Interesting that Kiowa Mon Manny seems to be a common denominator in this. Tracking information like this is very interesting to me and so helpful to know. Your comment about Lucas's ears made me smile. I love that about him - that one floppy ear. It's so darn cute.

 

GreyBoy - Lucas is the same re: seeing fairly well in bright daylight although that is starting to diminish a bit too. This afternoon I washed my utility room floor and moved a chair out of place, not thinking. Lucas bumped into it - but gently and he just moved around it. Night time is definitely more difficult for him, but he's careful when he moves around and isn't anxious at all. He's unbelievable with how he is adapting - I just love this boy.

 

Same as Feisty49 said - about her friend's grey that does zoomies in the yard. Lucas does as well, and chases Sox all over. (Sox wears a bell so that helps with the chase). It's amazing to watch.

 

I'm enjoying this thread - hearing from so many people is great.

[dmdsmoxie]

I'm not saying you are wrong about KMM, but I don't see how you came up with that conclusion since both Oakley and polar bear have the same dam and i am not saying it is her either. KMM has almost 4000 offspring and he is the damsire to almost another 1100 pups. Are there a lot more cases of KMM pups that are going blind?

 

I don't know the answer, but I hate to see a dog get labeled for something without more proof and maybe that proof is out there.

 

Dick

[seeh2o]

I had a 10 year old Chow Shiba Inu mix become blind from SARDs during a 4 hour drive home from Thanksgiving. She could see when we got into the car, stumbled getting out, i finally realized it when she ran into the curb. It was crazy, but she adapted really well, could find a tennis ball under a chair, she loved to bounce it herself and catch it with her mouth! She asked faster and better than I did to her being blind. She was the one I used the essential oils for as well as the bracelet with bells and the cat bell on my other dog.

[seeh2o]

I'm not saying you are wrong about KMM, but I don't see how you came up with that conclusion since both Oakley and polar bear have the same dam and i am not saying it is her either. KMM has almost 4000 offspring and he is the damsire to almost another 1100 pups. Are there a lot more cases of KMM pups that are going blind?

 

I don't know the answer, but I hate to see a dog get labeled for something without more proof and maybe that proof is out there.

 

Dick

We have a number of dogs out here who have PRA with KMM in their background. That name is one that seems to be coming up a lot. The is a thread about PRA on Pro Greyhound discussing this and the appearance of a possible genetic link, too. I don't think KMM is the only sire mentioned.

 

My girl is 10, he was her sire, so far her vision is fine. IIRC, PRA strikes when they are younger and typically males. That said, I believe both the dame and sire have to be carriers for it to manifest in their offspring. I'm glad I know and can give a heads up to adopters of my girl's puppies.

[dmdsmoxie]

We have a number of dogs out here who have PRA with KMM in their background. That name is one that seems to be coming up a lot. The is a thread about PRA on Pro Greyhound discussing this and the appearance of a possible genetic link, too. I don't think KMM is the only sire mentioned.

 

My girl is 10, he was her sire, so far her vision is fine. IIRC, PRA strikes when they are younger and typically males. That said, I believe both the dame and sire have to be carriers for it to manifest in their offspring. I'm glad I know and can give a heads up to adopters of my girl's puppies.

 

Thanks for the info. I just know there had to be more to it than just KMM.

[GreyBoy]

As I understand it from literature given to me by my vet and written by a vet ophthalmologist," most forms of PRA are inherited as an autosomal recessive trait, which means that the affected dog has inherited one abnormal gene from each parent." The other important thing in this one-page handout is that "there is no treatment available for this genetic disease. The disease is not painful and does not affect the rest of the body. All affected animals eventually go blind."

 

So that is what I read the day I learned my dog had this disease. Depressing. But I am learning more, working with him all the time now, and as mentioned, totally determined to give my boy as good a life as I can.

 

Thank you to every one of you who comment. I totally appreciate it.