Can a Blind Dog be Happy? Part 3 of 3

One knows that one is falling behind when a friend and fellow coworker, Dr. Don Beebe, asks, "Tanja, when are you going to publish Part 3 of "Can a blind dog be happy?". Thanks for the nudge, Don. Here you go.

Can my blind dog be happy? The question that is wished on no pet parent has a short and resounding answer of yes. Blind dogs live very happy lives and their self-sufficiency is inspiring!

Part one and two of this 3-part series described how rate of vision loss, age of onset of vision loss, multiple on-going diseases, hearing loss, and diabetes mellitus impact blind dogs. This final part 3 will share insight about four more important factors that impact quality of life in blind dogs, specifically heart disease, kidney disease, skin disease, and the ability of the family to support the patient.

Factors that affect blind dogs and their quality of life. See Parts 1 and 2 of this series for topics 1-5.

1. 1. Rate of vision loss
2. 1. Age at the onset of vision loss
3. 1. Concurrent comorbidities (A comorbidity is defined as the simultaneous presence of two or more diseases in one patient. For example, a patient with both heart disease and arthritis.)
4. 1. Hearing loss
5. 1. Diabetes mellitus
6. 1. Heart disease
7. 1. Kidney disease
8. 1. Skin disease
9. 1. Ability of the family to support the patient

Heart disease commonly develops in dogs as they age and affects blind and visual, older dogs alike. The most common heart disease secondary to aging is decreased function of the mitral valve. The mitral valve can be described as the doorway between the upper (atrium) and lower (ventricle) chambers, of the left side of the heart. When working correctly, the mitral valve is a one-way passage that allows blood to pass from the upper chamber into the lower chamber of the heart, but not backwards. I imagine the mitral valve like a one-way, electrical sliding door going into a grocery store. Shoppers walk in through the door and the door closes behind them. Shoppers cannot turn around and walk back out through the IN door. Rather, the way out of the store is through the other one way door that exits the building. Over time, the mitral valve can become thickened and inefficient. Go back to the door analogy, given enough years and use, the seal on a door can start to leak, or the hinge on a door can fail. Either of these examples means that the door can fail being a effective one-way passage and people may turn around and simply go out through the same door they came in. While this backwards flow of humans through a door could result in some chaos at a grocery store, when it happens to the mitral valve in the heart, the upper chamber has to work harder to pump blood forward through the heart. Working harder causes the heart muscle to become thick (and eventually thin) over time, which translates to poor overall heart function, inefficient blood flow, and, ultimately ,heart failure. In blind dogs, families can mistake the slowing down of blind dog as simply decreased interest in life because they cannot see. In my experience, this is never the case. Vision loss does not slow dogs down but undiagnosed and untreated heart disease can and will. If your blind dog demonstrates exercise intolerance, panting in the middle of the night, or fainting, seek the care of your primary care team and advocate that blind dogs do not slow down because they cannot see, something else is awry.

The relationship between kidney disease and blind dogs centers on keeping blind dogs hydrated with easy access to water. Easy access to water decreases their risk for dehydration, which decreases their risk for developing or exacerbating kidney disease. It is important that families support their pets ability to find water. Placing the water bowl on a surface that feels different, for example, placing a carpet pad on a wood floor, and scenting the area around the water bowl can be helpful clues for a blind dog looking for water. This extra sensory information, based on touch and scent, is extremely helpful if a blind dog has a sleepover at a different home. The hosting family can bring the scented pad to their home, helping to ensure a happy, hydrated houseguest.

Skin disease and blind dogs. The relationship between skin disease and vision loss affected me personally with my beloved dog, Ki. Ki was a 6-year-old, red, labrador that I adopted when I lived in Canada, in 1998. I met him as a puppy. He arrived at the teaching hospital for a wellness exam and vaccinations. Baggy skin, cute red color, big doe-y eyes, uncoordinated gait, and a tail that never stopped - it was love at first sight. As fate would have it, Ki needed a home. I jumped at the opportunity for him to be mine and he became my cherished companion. The story and irony of Ki being my dog is a tale for another blog. Staying on point with this topic, skin disease and blind dogs, Ki had both. Problem one: Ki had chronic low-grade allergies that would flare up if he strayed from his hypoallergenic diet or was exposed to an overload of the environmental allergies that played havoc with his immune system. Problem two: Just before his 5th birthday, Ki had both of his eyes surgically removed (by me, his veterinary ophthalmologist and dog mom) due to painful, blinding, inherited glaucoma that no longer responded to medications. After we, I should say I, after I gave myself time to grieve the loss of his vision, I regained my balance and my gratitude that he was still with me. We went merrily on our way happy together. One day, Ki developed a particularly bad ear infection, secondary to his chronic allergies, and the infection spread deep into his inner ear canal. The subsequent swelling in his inner ear canal affected his vestibular system and threw off his sense of balance. Unfortunately, lots of pets get deep ear infections, but when this happens to a blind dog, rather than a simple head tilt, they will progress to full loss of balance. Imagine rolling when they try to get up, whining because they are distressed, moving their legs in a way that can be mistaken for paddling, which is a clinical sign of a pet having a seizure. This all happened to Ki. Thankfully, his ear infection was identified with a physical exam. His ear infection could be treated and Ki recovered fully.

Blind dogs with skin disease can develop inner ear infections and cannot visually compensate for the ensuing loss of balance. It may, in fact, look like they are suffering from a seizure. The take home lesson, if your blind dog looks like they are having a seizure, remember to advocate for the possibility of inner ear disease.

Ability of the family to support their blind dog. The physical things we can do to support our blind pets start with making their homes safe for them. Blind dogs will rely on touch, smell, and hearing, more than ever. We can help them by placing carpet runners on hardwood floors to create path through the house to the dog door, for example. Others things we can do to support our blind dog include: placing a unique surface at the top and bottom of stairs as a sign that stairs are starting or stopping; scenting the top and bottom of stairs can have the same positiving impact; using our voice when we go on walks to teach them new commands such as "my way"(short for please get closer to me so you do not get hurt), "wait", "sit", "step up"(increase the inflection in your voice so the second word "up" is on a higher auditory scale than the first word "down") and "step down" (decrease the inflection in your voice so the second word "down" is on a lower auditory scale than the first word "down"). There are lots more great training tips on the world wide web that show families how to support a blind dog.

Also, know that other pets in the house often step up and become a blind dog's seeing eye dog. Clients share heartwarming stories of the "seeing" housemate going into the yard to get their blind housemate to come back in their home, "seeing" dogs and blind dogs running, full bore, shoulder-to-shoulder, and rough-housing together, ala lion king style. Though it may not be intuitive, blind dogs who loved to hike will still love to hike. Blind dogs can be happy and amazing off leash (with supervision, of course). Blind dogs can play fetch (make sure their playing space is clear of obstacles). Blind dogs can do water retrievals (Ki did!).

After reading all this information that shares again and again that blind dogs can live full-filling and happy lives, I will close with a final topic about you, the person who loves a blind dog. The amount of time it takes to grieve, process the loss, think though things that you wanted to be different, let go of dreams you feel you have lost, rebalance, and get to gratitude, is variable for everyone. I have seen stoic individuals who give off an air of unaffectedness, sob when they learn that their pet is, or will be blind. Part of my responsibility in helping blind pets is to help their families, to remind families to be kind to themselves as they adjust to a new change. I have no doubt that the blind dogs will lead their family back to being happy. I see it again and again and again.

Your blind will help you find joy, laughter and, eventually, only pride that your dog, your blind dog, is the best dog you may ever have the honor of having in your life. With that awareness comes the flood of gratitude that they found YOU to be their forever home.

Thank you for taking time to read this three part series "Can a Blind Dog be Happy? and for learning that the answer is 'yes'. Your Apex Veterinary Ophthalmology team is committed to supporting families and their pets. Our mission is simple, help people and pets live their best lives.

Dr. Nuhsbaum is a board-certified, veterinary ophthalmologist. She works to improve the ocular comfort, vision, and quality of life of animals. Dr. Nuhsbaum is part of the team of experts at Apex Veterinary Ophthalmology Specialists.