puppy blindness

[muddaisy82]

Hi, I am trying to figure out if my friends puppy is blind or not. She is a catahoula cur , she is only 4 1/2 weeks old. But she just doesn't seem right. Like she never really looks at you. I just didn't know if maybe her eyesight was not fully developed yet. I would appreciate any advice!

[HollywoodNVegas]

I have some personal experience in this area. I had an Akita that was diagnosed as blind at merely 7-8 weeks of age. While muscles and joints and whatnot do continue to develop, eyesight doesn't really fall into the category. It does, but to an extent. The puppy may not be looking at you for no particular reason. A foster puppy I had did the same behavior but is now a bouncy, happy, completely sighted dog.

What do her eyes actually look like??

If you are concerned, I would really call and make an appointment with your vet. They can verify whether or not there is retinal activity.

A common disease in dogs, which may be what she has IF she is (going) blind is Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA). It is more common in some breeds than others. It is a disease that is what it sounds like - it is a slow to aggressive regression in the function of the retina. Dogs can live very happy and incredibly normal lives being blind. If this is the diagnosis, I would love to help you further. Just don't give up!

[muddaisy82]

HollywoodNVegas, Thank you for taking time to answer me. I will pass the info along. The puppys eyes look normal, my friend called them glass eyes. I'll probably suggest he take her and get hers checked at the vet. Thanks again!
Sincerely,
muddaisy82

[Scooby4]

At 4 1/2 weeks it may still be too early to tell. The eyes should have just opened about 2 weeks ago. There may still be a little bit of a "glassy" film over the eye. Looks like tears formed on the outside all the time. That may be normal at this age unless a possible eye infection has been caught.
I also wonder if anyone may have tried to force the puppy's eyes open prior to the appropriate time? Kids may try this on puppies not understanding the consequences. If that may be a case, then the eyes will just develop a little more slowly right now. Could have vision problems in the future.
I would wait until 6 weeks before being overly concerned. It is when it starts moving around more and bumping into things. Right now it can't help but to fall down like any other child learning to walk and play. Good luck!

[muddaisy82]

Thanks so much for the advice. It is greatly appreciated.

[pound_adopter]

Has she taken the dog to the vet yet? Does he look towards you when you make a sound, like whistle or stomp on the floor? I have had an experience a little like that. I had rescued a blind Labrador, who my brother has now, but he is still a great dog. What are your worries? Are you worried about him not finding a good home? Great luck to you and your friend, and of course the little puppy. Send me a private message of how she is doing soon!!!!

[muddaisy82]

My friend says now that he is sure she can see things right up close but from far away she can't see you when you call her. So I passed along the info and he said he will just take her to the vet. Thanks for all of the great input! I truly appreciate it. Muddaisy.

[texanmike1]

I have purrty much the same problem as Muddaisy82 was talking about. My little puppy is 5 weeks old and still cannot see .. sometimes i think she can and other times , not. I took her to an Opthamologist in Houston and he did a complete eye exam and said everything about her eyes is completely normal. He said the only thing he can think of is a nutritional problem. We got the puppy when she was only 3 1/2 weeks old. The breeder did'nt tell us and i did'nt catch it till we got home and she won't return my money, but really i did'nt want my money back i wanted to get this little puppy back to normal myself, after all that happened i found out she had Cocitia and hook worms. Then noticed she could'nt see. I'm hoping somehow she will be able to see before long. .. Has anyone ever heard of this kinda thing before and what kinda results happened? My Vet said he thinks maybe as she gets better her sight will come in, but also said hes seen puppys in much worse shape than mine and could still see .. i'm just praying she will get to see soon .. Any input would be helpful