Disease Description: An inability to see due to a large variety of causes.

Inherit Mode: -

Disease Symptom: Some of the signs your dog is having vision trouble include: Bumping into things; Acting afraid to move ;General clumsiness; Jumpiness; Apprehensive during play ;Unable to find water, food, and toys;Confusion; Not wanting to go outside ;Depression; Sleeping more than usua;l Anxiousness; Excessive thirst (diabetes and SARDS) ;Eye redness Enlarged pupils; Cloudiness of the eyes.

Disease Cause: Glaucoma – Very painful, increased pressure of the fluids in the eye that damages the optic nerve and retina; Cataracts – Painless cloudiness of the eye lens that produces partial or complete blindness; Diabetes – One in 10 dogs is diabetic and 75% of them end up blind ;Old age; Breed-specific - Certain breeds such as the Spaniels, Siberian Huskies, Malamutes, Shar-Peis, Poodles, Great Danes, Dachshunds, Dalmatians, Chow Chows, Bassett Hounds, Beagles, German Shepherds, Chihuahuas, and Shih Tzus; Infection; Injury; Progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) - Inherited disorder that causes retinal deterioration ;Suddenly acquired retinal degeneration syndrome (SARDS) – Painless and impossible to cure with no known reasons as of yet

Disease Diagnose: Diagnostic tests will need to be done to rule out underlying diseases such as diabetes and Cushing’s disease. Some of the tests needed may be blood glucose, serum chemistry analysis, complete blood count, comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP), urinalysis, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum cholesterol, bilirubin, and tonometry. Other procedures usually done at this time are serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP), serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), electroretinography (ERG), ACTH stimulation test, and ocular ultrasound. You may need to take your dog to a veterinary ophthalmologist for further testing.

Treat Method: Treatment depends on the cause of the blindness. With most cases of blindness, such as SARDS and PRA, there is no treatment. If there is an underlying disease, such as diabetes, Cushing’s Syndrome, or hypertension, that will need to be treated first. Otherwise, the only treatment is to train your pet to live with blindness.

Breeder Advice: In most cases, your dog will be back to normal after a few weeks of training. A dog is able to adapt quickly by using other special senses, but call the veterinarian if you need further assistance or would like recommendations for support.

Disease Description Source: Link