I have a male Black Lab, he is severn years old, he has been bumping into furniture over the past few days. I took him to the local vets for a check up and I was shocked with my reply. The vet said he has a detached retena in his eyes. He is now totally blind in both eyes. My dog is in a healthy condition, a little over weight but healthy. He is still able to walk about the house with my help. He seems a little confused due to his disibillity but he continues to live his life.

I am unsure weather to have him put to sleep or not.

Please can somebody give me some help on this. if you have been in a situation like this or have any opinions please share.

thanks.

Sorry to hear this
No dont have him put to sleep, he will learn to cope eventually
Sadly this is a problem in Labs.

__________________


RIP all my babies.
Monty LabxGSD 1972-1982
Jody Black Lab1982-1999
KizzyLabx Goldie 1983-1994
Larry Yellow Lab 1985-1993
Charlie Black Lab 1986 -1997
Ben Yellow Lab 1985-1999
Pud Choc Lab 1989-2003
Bridgit Black Lab 1991-2004
Floss Yellow Lab1992-2006
Millie Yellow Lab1994-2010
My boy Ted, my first my last my everything.Golden Retriever 1/8/98-28/6/2011

Dogs cope hell of a lot better than we do. They rely a lot on their sense of smell which is thousands of times better than ours and their hearing. If its not long happened he probably just needs time to re adjust. As long as you dont move furniture around he will learn to negotiate. He can still enjoy his walks on a lead. In time I should think you could probably maybe even train him to a whistle with strong smelling treats so he can locate you. There was a bearded collie round here a few years back who had the same thing and once he adjusted you wouldnt even know he was blind if you werent told.

Hope this might be of some help and give you some hope that he can still have a full and happy life.

I met a blind black lab when walking in the Lake District last week - off lead and managing fine. Her owners said her hearing was starting to go as well, so that was going to make life more difficult. Keep things at home the same, and tidy, and he'll learn to adapt using scent, hearing and whiskers. An adult dog companion might help him too.

My sister had a blind toy poodle who went blind at about 5-6 years old.
obviously to start with it is going to be very difficult for your dog, but with care and attention there is no reason why your dog cannot lead a happy life.
The main thing to remember is to keep everything in it's place and never put new objects where your dog might bump into it.
Once adjusted my sisters dog could navigate the house and garden with no problems at all and eventually managed to go walking several miles a day off lead by following my sisters heels by scent alone. she lived to about 13 years old, so spent half her life blind
It does take time and effort, but I'm sure you can both get there in the end.

Im really sorry to hear about your dogs blindness.Youve had some great answers above,and i would say the same too.This is probably more distressing for you than your dog,but hopefully you will both adjust

Hello there, Please do not put your lab to sleep. this is a common problem in this type of breed. Your dog will adapt in time. Think of it like this would your kill a blind man?? I'm sure the answer would be no! If you are a true dog lover you would be thinking of your dog first rather then yourself. I do not want to be rude when saying this but you would be very selfish if you was to have your dog put to sleep for loss of vision. This makes me feel angry and almost wanting to come and rescue your dog before death.

I do hope you can realise that your dog can live to have a normal and happy life. I have had four dogs with in my life that have gone blind and not once did I think about killing them.
I cared for them just like you should do from day one. Make sure you keep your house tidy don't move objects in different places. This will confuse your dog. My last dog lived until 17 years old and he had a detatched retena just like your dog. He was blind in both eyes and he seemed very happy. If I had put him to sleep I would have missed out on 9 years a wonderful time with my dog and most of all a 9 years of true friendship.

The choice is yours but please make it the right choice for the right reasons.

claire x