Owning A Dog With Impaired Vision

[Primedogs]

I am currently considering getting a pup that only has one eye. The fear for us as we currently own a dog is that we don't want either dog to suffer because of any incedents caused by the dog being startled becuase of his blind side. While it currently runs around with the breeders other dogs with no fuss I am worried that it might change as it grows older so I was wondering if anybody had a pup that had vision problems from a young age, if so did you find that they started easily when they grew older, is it fair to have them around other dogs or as they had that vision from such a young age they just lived with it like any other dog,

[waffle]

I have a dog with one eye. But it only happened recently so can't give you much advice. Although when i asked the vet ophthalmologist how he would be affected they said that not much would change and since he is young he probably will live a very normal life. he doesn't get startled by anything on his blind side i think it may be because he relies a lot on his smell and hearing in addition to seeing.

[NZVizsla]

how old? breed? current living situation?

[Cockerlover]

I Have @2dogs with only one eye !!!The first pup was accidently picked up by mum@ birth & her eye was pierced ,this went unoticed until the eyes opened, It was so bad after many attempts to *fix* it ,i had he eye removed @a very early age ,she from the moment she started to get around ,used to hang on to the ear of another of my bitches & still to this day (now aged 9)does this ,she lives a perfectly normal life ,the only differnce is ,her other sences are far stronger !!She likes to hava chat & will warn me of smoke & strange smells .I was also very conserned that it may effect her temprement, re someone going up to her ,on her blind side ,but it certainly didnt .

Her mother,now aged almost 16, has lost the sight in her good eye & had her other eye removed a few years ago due to a accident .

Both cope extremly well .

I personally see no problems, if this pup u talk of has been running with oher dogs ,if this loss accured @ an early age it will know no differnt & ajust to only having one eye

one eyed dogs imo are very special!!

[CaseyKay]

My middle girl KC, a border collie, was blind in one eye from when she was a small puppy. She is now 8 years old. She does startle quite easily and she has never been good with dogs she doesn't know approaching as she can lose sight of them easily. I also have to be careful if I take her out where there are lots of dogs because they can easily run into her and she won't notice until it is too late. When we got her we had an 18 months old BC as well. She became quite reliant on the older dog. Dogs that get to know her seem to figure out there is a problem and they are careful with her, it is very interesting to see. On walks she likes to keep me on her good side (she doesn't tend to go far from me) and so I have to watch out that she doesn't walk into stuff!

[Primedogs]

thanks for the replys so far, just wanted some other situations as the only dog I'd met with one eye was in the dog park and I'm not sure if it was the location that made her nervous or the fact that she lost her eye in a dog fight at an older age she jumped and snapped at any dog she didn't notice approaching her blind side,

how old? breed? current living situation?

He is around an 8 week old sheltie, he is currently living with the breeders though we will be driving up on sunday to meet him, if we decided on getting him he would be living with an 18 month old labrador

[~Anne~]

I can't see how only having one eye will affect him. If he is otherwsie normal and a confident little dog he'll be fine. I have had a coupe of blind rescues in and 2 with an eye missing and you would never have known they were vision impaired.

[mita]

One of the happiest dogs I know has one eye. He's Zou Chai, a tibetan spaniel boy. His human 'dad' has a health problem & says that his Zou has done more for his well-being than any doctor. Zou is loved by everyone who meets him because of his happy, loving personality. He's also great at his breed's 'tibbie singing'. His human 'mum' wrote a poem about him:

The Zou

One eye with which to see us

So very big and brown,

You put the other two-eyed dogs

To shame, around the town

A smile as big as Europe

Splits your face from side to side

Every time we look at you,

You fill our hearts with pride.

There's no one else can hold a tune

Quite as well as you.

With each new song of greeting.

Our love for you just grew.

We watch you play with others,

You're obviously having fun.

But when you're tired of all of that

You let them know you're done.

You know how much we love you

No doubt. For sure it's true,

But never forget dear Zou Chai,

The whole world loves you, too!

Edited August 31, 2010 by mita

[Cockerlover]

A beautiful tribute to a one eyed dog ,thanx for sharing ,though it bought a tear to my eye .

[Guest Ams]

I have had several shar pei with vision issues and have rehomed them with other sighted dogs with no problems. One was blind in one eye and had very limited vision in the other. She would spend the first few days in a new home in constant motion doing circles so she could map the property and after that behaved just like a normal dog.

I have another puppy in care at the moment who is almost totally blind and she is the happiest little thing I have ever met. She doesn't care if she gets bowled over by other dogs and just picks herself up and gets on with things. The first week she was here she kept "apologising"to the other dogs when she ran into them but after that they seemed to realise she didn't mean it and there have been no further issues.

[Miss BeRidgierent]

My sister has a cattle dog whos eyes got electrocuted by an electric fence and had to have both eyes taken out. The dog now has prosthetic eyes (first is QLD I believe) And you swear she wouldn't be totally blind. She still runs and chases the ball and can catch the ball. She chases the chooks off the deck, she can walk through the house without bumping into anything. Mind you, you have to wearying when moving furniture around you have to show them that a piece of furniture is where is never used to be. People actually say to my sister 'Shes not totally blind is she" and her reaction is yes she is she has no eyes they took her eye balls out and replaced them with fake ones.

However, this pup has one perfectly good eye so I wouldn't be too concerned.

Edited September 1, 2010 by Miss BeRidgierent

[mita]

More Zou. Having one eye is just one long wink to him. He never stops 'smiling'.

[Primedogs]

Zou is adorable in his little hat and what a great tribute to him.

Thanks for the replys they have really great hearing about all the other dogs and helped make the decision so much easier