Buffy, my 9-year old cocker spaniel, started bumping into the walls on Sunday morning—meaning she was blind. This has happened before, but each time it’s worse. Buffy has glaucoma and only one eye. She had her first eye removed at the end of June after glaucoma caused her to lose her vision and drugs no longer reduced her ocular pressure.
Her second eye also developed glaucoma. The ophthalmologist said that at best she would have 1 ½ years before she would go blind.
It’s been ten months and she is now blind. She has four eye medications and receives a total of twelve eye drops each day.
Cocker spaniels rank high on the breeds known to have eye problems. My mom picked bought Buffy because of her large, bug-eyes, and her long eyelashes. Now Buffy is paying the price for her breeding.
In Buffy’s struggle with glaucoma, I’ve learned a few things, some from the veterinarians, and some from observation:
- Very red eyes signal an eye emergency—bring your dog to your veterinarian immediately. Even a delay of a few hours can cause loss of vision.
- Squinting indicates eye pain.
- Since Buffy had her first appointment with the ophthalmologist the day before her eye turned red, the vet thought it wasn’t an emergency—but it was.
- You may want a second opinion.
- When the ophthalmologist didn’t think Buffy’s condition was an emergency, I took her to my regular vet after a few days. She noticed Buffy’s eye condition as serious.
- Dogs can recover some of their lost vision after even a few days of blindness.
- Buffy has had four bouts of temporary blindness, sometimes lasting for days. The longer her blindness lasted, the less she recovered.
- Her first period of blindness lasted about an hour. You can read this story here. All of her sight came back within a few hours.
- Her second one, right before Christmas, lasted about four hours. Click here to read more. Buffy lost most of her vision, but seemed to retain about 10% or so. She could see movement better, but couldn’t see a treat on the floor.
- On March 1st, Buffy had been blind for several days—of course, over the weekend when everything usually happens. I was shocked when my vet said her eye pressure was only 7. After a few days, Buffy recovered about 5% of her vision.
- As of today, March 27th, Buffy has been blind for three days. She has been squinting for the past day. Today her eye pressure was 44. Ocular pressures over 35 can give a dog a headache, similar to a migraine. During Buffy’s Christmas pressure spike, her eye pressure was 75.
- Don’t rush to remove an eye until the dog shows no sign of vision for days or is in extreme pain.
- I have cancelled Buffy’s eye surgery twice already. I didn’t want her to be in pain, so I scheduled the surgery—only to have her recover some of her vision.
- Unless your pet is in severe pain, wait it out a bit. Pressure spikes occur, and your pet may feel better within a few hours.
- A halo may or may not help your dog navigate their world when blind.
Buffy wearing Muffin’s Halo - I purchased a halo for Buffy, but it seems that the halo limits her and she gets stuck under chairs and stands still when she gets into a corner. I’ve decided not to use it since Buffy is just walking slowly and touching things with her nose, so she hasn’t hurt herself. But I may use it if she hurts herself.
Buffy is a very sight-oriented dog. She loves to play ball and look out the window. With very limited sight, we have figured out how to play ball by throwing it into a corner. Placing a dab of vanilla on her ball did not seem to help her find it since she is not scent oriented. Now that Buffy is blind, she is very confused and can’t find her ball, even if it is a few feet away from her. We’ll have to figure something out.
Right now, I am debating about removing her remaining eye (enucleation). I don’t want Buffy to be in pain, but I also want to give her a chance to recover some of her vision. My vet said to give her one more day to see if she is still squinting. As of this evening, she is not squinting and has enjoyed a long walk with me—but she is still bumping into the walls.
Once she loses all of her vision and there seems no hope of recovery, then I will have her eye removed to reduce pain that she will still get from pressure spikes.
I had thought her surgery would be tomorrow, but she seems better now. Maybe we can wait until next week. But these issues with pressure spikes are happening with more frequency. So likely, Buffy will not have any eyes by the time we attend the BlogPaws conference in a few weeks.
Do you know of any dogs that have glaucoma? How about a blind dog?
This post contains an Amazon affiliate link for a halo. If you click on the link and make a purchase, I will earn a small commission.
That is sad but I’m sure she will bounce back,xx Speedy
I’m so sorry, Sandy. I imagine this is so difficult for you. You’ve shared some excellent info to help other pet parents who may be facing the same situation, so you are creating some good out of a tough thing. Dogs seem to be more adaptable than we are when facing change, so with time I’m hopeful for you both that Buffy will adjust well. I wish you both the best.
Thank you for your comments. It may be easier for Buffy to adjust to not having an eye that she can’t see with than for me to have a dog with no eyes.
This is so heartbreaking but you sound like you are prepared for whatever happens with Buffy’s remaining eye, which is a blessing. I will pray that she recovers some of her sight and surgery won’t be necessary. I remember watching you try to help her play ball in your kitchen and seeing how happy she was, despite her limitation in sight. Such a sweet, happy girl. ❤️
Buffy’s surgery is scheduled for April 2nd. We actually played a bit of ball today with her being totally blind. It is possible if I toss the ball in the same spot and not very far away.
I’m sorry Buffy has to go through this, especially since she depends on her sight so much. YOu’re a good dog mom…
Thank you.
Wow! This has to be hard on both of you. I know you are doing everything you can for Buffy. I’ve never had a pet with vision problems, so I can’t contribute any experiences. My thoughts are with you.
Buffy is the first dog that I ever had problems with their sight. Every dog seems to have their own unique set of problems.
I’m so sorry to hear about Buffy. She’s definitely to have a dog mom like you that loves her so much.
I’m sorry to hear of Buffy’s eye condition. I had no idea how much a pet owner would need to monitor glaucoma. Our dog has cataracts, for which we give him eye drops.
Cataracts are quite common in senior dogs and Buffy was starting to get them. I had no idea about glaucoma until she had it.
Oh I am SO terribly sorry this is happening. Heartbreaking really and what a decision to have to make. Let us all know.
My human parents have glaucoma- awful. I know several blind dogs like Smiley and Arthur that seemed to get by pretty well but they learned to use scent young- she may adapt well. I am sure you will make the best decisions- hope all goes OK. Sending hugs.
Thank you. Buffy feels better today but still is blind. If she still cannot see by next week, then we’ll have to have the surgery done.
Poor baby. The worst thing about glaucoma is how painful it is. At least, I guess, she’s adjusting to the vision loss gradually; I imagine it’s much worse for a dog with acute cataracts from diabetes when they see one day and don’t the next.
I didn’t know that about cataracts. I thought it was a slow process. With glaucoma, they can lose their eyesight in as little as three hours with elevated pressures. Fortunately, her sight has returned a few times even after having elevated pressure for a lot longer than three hours.
Sandy, I am so sorry to hear about Buffy and you are wonderful for educating us all about living with this issue. I had a GSD who had an unexplained pressure spike, emergency surgery, but did retain some sight in the eye. I felt so bad because he had been rubbing his eye a few times but we were in the height of pollen season in NC with everything covered in yellow. I took him the next day and my doctor sent us immediately as an emergency. My shepherd never had another eye issue. I had gotten him as a two year old stray from a rescue and he had had a rough start. One vet said he thought he had some issues from a head injury at some point, including the eye emergency. I know you will do the right things for Buffy, and please keep educating us.
Thank you for relating your story. I wonder what your GSD had with his eye. My vet told me that any issue with the eye should be treated as an emergency.
I’m so sorry to hear ’bout Buffy’s eye problems but you’re obviously helpin’ her through this, the best that you can. Thank you for sharin’ your story. It might help other peeps and their dogs who are goin’ through this too. purrs
I’m so sorry, what a tough time. I understand that thin line you are walking of being worried about your pup in pain and being worried about them losing their sight completely. I haven’t worked with blind dogs, but I’m wondering if there’s some training you can do with her to help her be more comfortable once the inevitable comes. 🙁 My heart goes out to you both!
I have read a bit about using scents to mark the stairs and their toys. I only tried it once and it didn’t seem to help her. I should try it again. Buffy pretty well knows our house and so is not too afraid of the stairs. I have also figured out how to play with her with a squeaky toy. I just need to use a bigger toy and have it land close to her – then she can find it.
How is her hearing? I’ve read about another owner who uses bells for the dog to follow the sound. Maybe a ball with a bell in it would satisfy her love to play ball. My first dog had eye issues, she didn’t go blind, but I also had a schedule for all of her drops. It helped so much keeping her doses straight. Good luck with her, she’s lovely!
Thank you for the compliment! I have not tried a ball with a bell since those are hard rubber and she loves the kong squeaky balls. I may try one soon.
This is a post that will be so important to another worried dog owner. Your hard earned experience with Buffy gives you a lot of knowledge I suspect you might not have wanted to learn but you are taking it one day at a time and sharing to help others..
Buddy, you have n awesome Mom. Good luck for the future.
Thank you for your kind comments!