Cataracts

[jesse_3]

My mom works with a lady that has a doxie with cataracts. They are so bad that she can no longer see and starts to bump into things. She isn't that old either.

Can they get the cataracts removed, or what else can they do for her?

Thanks!-Steph and Jes

[Pam]

Cataract surgery can be done for dogs just as with people. I worked with a girl who had surgery for her standard poodle and I can't remember how much it cost but it was very expensive.

[jesse_3]

Okay! I will be sure to let her know that!

Thank you SO much!-
Steph and Jes

[Glacier]

It is extremely expensive to have cataracts removed and it can't be done by your regular vet. Requires a specialist. If she chooses not to go that way, the dog will adjust. I have a comletely blind dog who gets around just fine. Most people can't tell Preacher is blind.

[jesse_3]

Really, they need a specialist? I will let her know that too! I am also glad to know that she will adjust, I will let you know which one she chooses!

Steph and Jes

[dragondawg]

If allowed to follow close enough we have the seeing eye human with the dog following the shadow motion in front of it. My mom had a dog with severe cataracts that would follow her closely.

In the did you know category... A dog does have some sensory capabilities thru its whiskers per finding its way around. The whiskers of Cats are more acute sensory organs in this regard.

Note: High doses of Prednisone for a long period of administration can contribute to the development of cataracts.

[jesse_3]

Wow! That is interesting dragondawg. I will be sure to let her know that too!-Thanks!

I knew that cay had whiskers for that, but not dogs! I learned something new today!

Steph and Jes

[Glacier]

Preacher uses his whiskers to navigate a bit. He uses his ears lots. He's a husky mix and has floppy ears. He keeps the edge of ear against walls ect to guide him. He also has his own guide dog--Sleet. He follows her around alot. We can't rearrange our furniture--that really ticks Preacher off, but as long as things stay where they are, he gets around fine.

[mruffruff]

My RB dog, Bear, had cataracts from being diabetic. I waited too long to see a veterinary opthamologist so he couldn't have them removed. The surgery costs about $1200.00 per eye, or about $2000.00 for both. The dog can see immediately after the operation, but there are some risks. Drops have to be administered several times a day for the first month, tapering off to once a day for life. If the dog is young and the doctor says it's a good candidate and the money is available.............go for it.

Bear got along very well for six years or more. He still used the doggy door, ran in the yard, jumped onto the couch, enjoyed going to the off-leash park and played with the other dogs. I learned not to move the furniture and keep things off the floor.
He was 14 when he died of a heart attack in February.

Some commands to teach the dog now (before totally blind) would be "up" and "down" for steps, "slow", "stop", "wait", "right", and "left".

Bear got very good at 'feeling' where the walls were.

Mary

[lv4dogs]

As mruffruff mentioned if you wait too long they will not be able to remove them.

The whiskers help to navigate the dog quite a bit too like mentioned.

Try not to move furniture around.

Some people use scents to help their blind (or almost blind) pets (I've know people that do with cats, dogs & ferrets all with success).
Use all natural scents and only one for each catagory like.
For example put rose oil on anything that drops down, a step, a hole etc...
Use lavender oil for corners like walls, big furniture etc..
Use tee tree oil for favorite spots, a dog bed, blanket, crate etc...
BUT tee tree oil was an example. If you use this on you or your pet for any other reasons then by all means do not use that scent.

Try not to put 2 different drops too close together. You only need a small amount & only need to refresh it every 3-5 days or so (maybe more often like every other day at first). Obviously if you wash or rub against the area frequently you want to apply more drops there more frequently.

[jesse_3]

Wow! This is all so interesting! I think that I will print a lot of these off, if you all don't mind. They are having a real hard time waiting to adjust, and they are every day people who don't have $2,000 to spend, unless it is an absolute emergency. They love their dog so much and came to ME for help, because the lady listens to my mom talk about how much I love dogs, and my mom is amazed by how much intelligence I have gained since joining PT. I feel that I all most have to help these two with there dog as much as possible.

Thank you, and I will give this lady all the information you can feed me:)
Steph and Jes

[mruffruff]

Please feel free to ask any questions. I learned a lot by going to the diabetes board at ezboard. They have a blind pets board too, but few people post there. A lot of the diabetic dogs go blind so they discuss it.

Hopefully, they will start training right away. Let us know how they are doing.

[jesse_3]

Well, they are debating between the surgery and the seperate scents around the house.

They say thank you SO much to everyone on here for the suggestions!

Steph and Jes

[Vette]

They even have a little harness thing with a big loop that can fit over her head. HALO Harness or something like that is what they are called... ive seen a video of a blind dog with one of those on,, and it was kinda like an extra whisker sticking out there,, that allowed the dog to feel the object the ring was bumping into instead of the go itself bumping into things.

[jesse_3]

That is interesting, I will let her know about those, do you have any website for more info on these Halo's?

Steph and Jes

[Pam]

Originally posted by mruffruff
My RB dog, Bear, had cataracts from being diabetic. I waited too long to see a veterinary opthamologist so he couldn't have them removed.


Mary

I work for an ophthalmologist (human one :) ) and have never heard of that. Cataracts and diabetic retinopathy are two different things. If we all live long enough we will all develop cataracts. Cataract surgery is pretty straight forward and my boss does many surgeries each week. Years ago I had two toy poodles who lived well into their teens. For all practical purposes one of them could have been declared legally blind. He did well around the house because he knew it well. We didn't rearrange furniture, etc.

Regarding diabetes, a patient with diabetic retinopathy is most often referred on to a retinal specialist. Diabetic retinopathy manifests itself in different ways but usually there is bleeding within the eye caused by the rupture of little vessels in the eye due to the disease.

It may be that the diabetic retinopathy was so severe that it contraindicated the cataract surgery which, in itself, is fairly simple.