Blindness in Schnauzer

[vonnie]

My 9 yr old schnauzer was drinking 3-4 bowls water a day plus wetting the bed at times, being a concerned loving mother of this wonderful little guy we went to the vet and was told he had disbetes, his sugar level top 465, put on insulin daily,37 cc., he was eating better but stills drinks a lot of excess water. That was a month ago by the way, so one morning we got up and he acted strange, confused, I looked into those big brown eyes and could see a milky looking object, rushed to the vet and he said it was catracts , which I was told he had them but the vet was so surprised they had spread that fast in both eyes. Well a few days has passed and I am sad to report he went totally blind last night. He is so confused, scared and bewildered it breaks my heart. I sit and hold and pet him and cry like a baby. I know his time is nearing and it saddens my broken heart so much I can not eat or do anything. He lays on the couch and whimpers, when I have to let him outside I talk real loud so he can follow my voice and have to almost hand feed him. I know it is not right to let him suffer but I cannot find it in my heart just yet to have him put down, I keep hoping and praying his eye sight will come back. I have noticed he has some big bumps on his side and neck, which the vet has never said anything about it but he knows I do not handle thigs well. I will carry him to where ever he wants to go, hand feed him as long as I can keep him. I am sure I am not in this dreadful boat alone and would appreciate any comment on how they are handling their blind pet.

[Guest]

so sorry to hear that your baby is having such a hard time. One thing you must do is hide your sadness, they say dogs can pick up on that. There is a great book "Living with blind dogs" and another great website

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blinddogs/

as hard as it is to do, don't baby him. lead him to his food and water, maybe place it on a rug so he can find it. scent mark important things. take him around the house and yard on a harness and leash so he feels "attached" and can get comfortable with his area that is now dark. let him smell everything. once his diabetes is uinder control he can adapt to the blindness a bit better. It is amazing what some blind dogs can do!
another great site is

http://landofpuregold.com/kaytee.htm

talk to him alot, wear a bell or something that makes noise, so he can find you.
my dog plays the "sympathy card" as much as he can. then a few minutes later he is off and running to beg for treats next door!
good luck
Liz

[Guest]

I forgot to mention what my vet said- dogs adjust to disabilities far better than humans do. and that dogs rely on their sense of smell and hearing more than they do their sight. It is a lot to adjust to, I know. I thought I was the only person with a sight impaired dog. I'm not!!! so glad to have found this site and the yahoo site.
less than 2 weeks after our lab had an eye removed, he was running up the hill to go "visiting and begging" I couldn't catch him, had to yell to the neighbors "stop the blind dog!"
we have a wooden stair case-several steps, a landing and 7 more steps. Hersh wanted no part of the steps. I got carpet treads for the steps. a few days later, at 4:45 a.m. there was a big brown nose in my face, a tail wagging and a dog ready for breakfast. he came up the steps to wake us up. his life revolves around food...
he has learned his way around the yard( we got him in April) he finds hisd way around the house, he LOVES car rides. I used to have to bribe him in with cheese, as he was afraid to get in and out. our jeep is high up. well, he is 75 lbs and I am not lifting him. I saw how high he could jump when he was excited to go for a walk. so with his harness and leash on we practiced it alot. now he is in and out, no problem.
he will bring a toy to play with, for tug of war, or fetch. he sniffs til he finds it.
he loves to chase my hub around the coffee table, or go outisde and chase as we clap so he can find us.
you can teach a blind dog new tricks!

[vonnie]

Thank you so much for your encourging words, we are getting along better day by day. He will venture in the yard a little more each trip and today he walked from the couch to his food. I always tap on the bowls so he can find them. Now he has begun to give a little bark when he wants something , his way of communicating I guess, and all I have to do is figure it out but learning fast. Sebastain is still unsure right now but getting better. The way I did him in the yard was to take a long leash and let it stay lax and kept saying Here I am until he would walk some now we no longer need the leash outside so will try same thing in the house. He has always attacked my vacumn so today when I ran it all he could do was stand and bark at it, now that was sad as he loved to grab it. We talk to him all the time, he is never left alone, we take in the car if possible except the grocery store but not gone for any lenght of time. He has a pillow I made for him when he was born that he lays next to, I keep evrything as it was when he could see. I had to laugh and tell my hubby good thing he always had his nose to the ground, which is a schnauzer trait. He still bumps into things but it will take a lot of time and training on my part. I moved a few of the kitchen chair as he loves to lay under the table so now he can get there easier.

[Guest]

It sounds like he is adjusting already!! that's great!! sometimes I leave the radio on for Hersh. when I leave for work he gets a Kong with treats inside, too. Today I got him on the bathtub for a bath, first time! it is getting too chilly to bathe him outside.( he does LOVE going to get a bath at the groomer) I put a few treats in the tub, he wanted to get them so badly but was afraid. put the harness back on, and in he went. I am convinced that he feels secure when we are holding the harness.
you will find that he will develop new skills along the way, and gain confidence. have you checked out the yahoo blind dog site? it is very active and there are some wonderful, helpful folks on that board, too
good luck
Liz

[Guest]

I put a nubby door mat in front of the door. so when Hersh comes in he knows where the doorway is, as sometimes he "missed" and bumped the doorway. ouch!!

[Guest]

I am sorry but is your dog also a diabetic as mine is. The last few days mine is not eating much, throwing up a lot, getting where he can not hold water down at times. I am so upset as I know the time is getting near to putting him to rest. He is so sad, uncomfortable, that it breaks my heart into. I wonder if I am doing the right thing in prolonging this, I keep hoping as well as kidding myself he will get better but we all know diabetics works on other organs as well.
Yes I have tried to go to that site you sent me but says unavailable but thanks anyway.
This little guy is seldom left alone, we take him with us and have the tv on if having to go to the store as I don't take him incase someone stole him and when they find he is blind and sick maybe turn him loose on the street and what a terrible thought. He has enough trama to cope with.
I am living day to day now with him, wondering what is the best step to take concerning him. leave him be as he is and suffer in his total confussion or send him to doggie heaven, not a pleasant thing to have on your mind.

[tatchy]

I would like to know if anyone has given their dog VETSULIN and the results or side effects. Reason I am asking is my schnauzer was put on it about month and half ago and as soon as he had his first few shots he went BLIND. I firmly feel this caused it as he was fine before and had the starting of catracts but as the vet said to me This was so fast. I am very upset over this and will do some deep research on that insulin, which should have been done before giving to our pets.

[judylynn]

Our miniature schnauzer is 10 years old and was diagnosed with diabetes in May. He is on 14 unitls of Humilin N twice a day and it seems this is not working. His blood tests always show the more insulin he gets the higher his numbers are. At one point a spot check showed 250 and we felt like we were getting close. Now at 14 units twice a day his numbers are in the high 300's. He checked negative for Cushings and has no infections going on. Has anyone been faced with a problem like this and where can I find help in finding out what is going on. Any info is appreciated.

[judylynn]

I'm sorry, I forgot to add that our little Schnauzer went blind over night due to cataracts. Our goal is to get him regulated so we can have his eyes repaired.

[lindy]

My miniature schnauzer is just about 6 years old and she went blind in one eye overnight while the other eye is being treated for cataracts. In the eye that went blind we also found out that her retina was detached but the vet said they had no way of knowing what came first, the cataract or retina detachment. When we had to remove the eye that went blind (complications) eventually we opted to send the eye to the lab and the results indicated that the cataract had caused the retina detachment. I am now worried about diabetes as it seems quite common in this breed. Is this something that can be prevented through diet or will they eventually get this predisposed diseases?

[Blinddogs.net]

My miniature schnauzer is just about 6 years old and she went blind in one eye overnight while the other eye is being treated for cataracts. In the eye that went blind we also found out that her retina was detached but the vet said they had no way of knowing what came first, the cataract or retina detachment. When we had to remove the eye that went blind (complications) eventually we opted to send the eye to the lab and the results indicated that the cataract had caused the retina detachment. I am now worried about diabetes as it seems quite common in this breed. Is this something that can be prevented through diet or will they eventually get this predisposed diseases?

I am guessing there are ways to at least help with diet etc. but having no experience with diabetes myself, I would recommend joining this website on yahoo groups:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Cani ... mmuneCare/

There are a huge number of very knowledgeable folks on that list, and they cover many health related concerns, issues & questions.