Why Dogs Go Blind and 5 Tips to Help Them Live a Full Life

My Dog Bocephus is 20 years old (human years) he has been completely blind since January of this year 2023 about that time we moved into a new apartment it took him a few weeks to map out the new place an he does very well in finding his bed puppy pad and his food and water he is half Pomeranian and half Apple Head Chihuahua he is still playful an has a big appetite and when we are home from work he demands that I carry him around and keeping very close thank you for the video and we appreciate the tips

In my dog's case, it was due to kidney failure, resulting from prolonged daily use of prescription NSAID pain medication (Carprofin) to treat chronic pain from dual torn CCL's and shoulder injuries. About a month before I had her euthanized, I noticed a bulge in her lower spine that would make a crackling sound when I picked her up (her back end was paralyzed), which the vet instantly recognized as bone cancer, so that was surely causing her discomfort as well. She was just not able to get off of the Carprofin (NSAID)/Gabapentin pain combo that she was on, for the entire 9 months from the time of her initial injuries, to the time of her euthanasia and her kidneys suffered from that, unfortunately. This caused chronic dehydration that I had to give her several sub-q injections each day for, dark/foul smelling urine and, ultimately sudden (overnight) blindness in her right eye. I wish there were more options out there for chronic/severe pain management, other than narcotics and NSAIDs. I tried all the natural stuff, including curcumin, boswelia, fish oil, etc....but none of those things were strong enough to ease her pain and discomfort. R.I.P. Abby girl, daddy loves you!

I have a dog (pit bull/American Stafford who is all muscle and has crazy powerful jaws) who went from Glaucoma to having her eyes taken out in 2021. She has mapped the house and the back yard and can always find the deck stairs to get to the deck to be let inside. She knows where her water is and can go up and down a deck with 15 stairs without any issues. She knows that the words left and right mean. She knows what step up and step down mean. She knows where to be when it is time to eat and goes straight to the kitchen when I say "wanna treat? She loves going for walks and will always stay on the sidewalk except when she takes a couple of steps on to grass.. She is just like any other dog save for the fact that she cannot see and that has not slowed her down a bit

My dog got a very expensive operation,after a year it just came back,my parents are thinking of putting him out,he’s very very anxious and then he get aggressive,I hope the doctors can help him,we’ll see what happens, if anyone has had the same experience please let me know💕

Thank you so much for this video!! My chihuahua has just gone blind pretty recently and it helps to have these things confirmed

Do dogs go blind BEFORE they start insulin? I've never heard of any go blind until they START insulin. Do the INSULIN cause the blindness? I'm worried that's the case.

Thanks!

5ks too much for a 14 year old dog. Seriously to all vets. There got to be a better price for old dogs. It's more expensive than a human surgery.

One if my dog's SARDS symptoms is loss if smell...so difficult

Be very nice to your dog, this can be a depressing time for them, yes, they have feelings!

Thank you Dr. Alex. Our Shih Tzu is 14 years young and unfortunately after a routine teeth cleaning his eyes got infected (I guess they failed to keep his eyes lubricated during the procedure) and he developed ulcers in his eyes. Only one eye was saved. So now we have to help our dog to learn how to function with one eye. We take a lot of pride in keeping our dog healthy, so this was heartbreaking for us to see how much he’s suffered during the recovery post surgery (removal of eye)
Thank you for the advice and tips you have provided. Please feel free to let me know if there is anything more we can to to try to help our little guy.

Is excessive drooling linked to SARDS? We noticed our dog was drooling out of her mouth about 2 weeks before the blindness was too much for her to cope. She also only does it when she thinks she’s about to get food. She has never done this before.

Who thought of Jon Jones wen the salt comment was mentioned 🤔. 😆🤣

Keep up the good work doc!

My dog's noes is sneezing snot is it ok

My 11 yr. Pomchi went blind March 2020, literally overnight. We have made the best of it. I wear jingle bells on my clothes....held on by a safety pin so she always knows where I am. Luckily I had many throw pillows. I have placed them on the floor covering sharp edges of furniture etc. I use pool noodles on chair legs. She hardly runs into them anymore. She has adapted to her bummer situation. Yes, I’m saddened daily that she can’t see me but she knows I love her and will treat her like a little queen....til the end. ❤️

Thanks Dr Alex for your valuable videos and for taking the time to make them. So far my senior dogs Bigfoot and Arnold can still see good but I have noticed that bigfoot eyes they look a little different it's like Early cataract because the lens seems to look a little more white than before it may be all the pain meds idk. He is on 8 tramadol 50 mg a day and also now six gabapentin three hundred mg a day.. he does seem to be loopy at times and he does stagger like a drunk person but so far he still has good vision.. take care and God bless you 🙏 your biggest fans from across the pond...