Awe bless little Lucy and your lil guy. I suppose it is just so different seeing a dog like that that it's a bit of a shock at first. I thought it was healing though and have to admit didn't read all the posts. I don't see the point in having the eyes in if they may present a hazard, so best for the dog that they are removed!

__________________

Flynn - Kali - Britches - Bruce - T-Bo - Marty



"For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack"

I would just ask the vet what percentage of blind dogs get infections/injuries compared to number that have had them removed, and make a decision on that. No anaesthetic is with out its risks as I am sure you know.Even without that information something is telling me I would go for surgery. At the end of the day you have to be happy with the decision you make, and the fact you have taken on a blind dog shows how much you care, and what ever you decide will be the right one because you have his best interests at heart

We are also having his back teeth checked carefully while out as well as a biopsy from a swelling in the gum so it's not the only thing.

__________________

Benny is going in on the 21st to have the operation to remove his eyes. I'm already getting nervous. Any last minute questions people can think of?

__________________

I cant think of anymore no. Im sure you have covered all you can. But of couse natural to be nervous.

Good luck on Tuesday Benny boy. Will be thinking of you and looking forward to a speedy recovery

__________________

The New Look Willow's Place Website
http://willowsplace.weebly.com/

Awe bless him, he will be just as handsome. Showed one of my daughters a pic of yours recently and she immediately picked Benny out and said how gorgeous he is, she didn't know he was blind. When she did she just swooned all the more and said she'd have him at the drop of a hat, eyes or not.

Wishing your brave boy all the luck in the world with his op and hope he sails through the recovery too. Lots of (((hugs))) from here to both of you.

ETA - don't worry about the anaesthetic, they are so safe these days, especially Propofol which is quick to leave the system. Flynn's ops were 2 1/2 hours each time and he was fine.

__________________

Flynn - Kali - Britches - Bruce - T-Bo - Marty



"For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack"

I recall talking with someone a few months ago, he had a theory about black dogs being targeted by other dogs; his thoughts were that because a black dog's eyes are not seen from a distance against the black fur that other dogs reacted badly to this and resulted in a poor social encounter.

Might some false "eye" in the form of a darker coloured mark on the eye lid aid other dogs to see your dog as less abnormal. From a human point of view a bizarre thing to consider, I am thinking about from a dog's point of view.


I have a mostly black dog that seems to socialise well, but he does have an expressive tail.

As the dog can not see he will not respond to on coming dogs when out and about, so might it be wise to train a wag tail command "who's this?" to alert him to incoming dogs, two dogs approaching each other will communicate by tails prior to close contact when it's all about bum sniffing. An early wag might help these social encounters.

On the obesity walking on-lead is an obvious exercise, is an indoor treadmill an option?

From everything I've read socializing is not normally a problem. I'm still shocked at how well a blind dog copes with everything. We commented amongst ourselves only earlier today how the dogs were all playing together in the garden and you could hardly tell Benny was blind the way he was running all over the place but stopping to avoid the flower bed (no flowers but a step). He normally senses dogs coming close even without seeing them when walking and tail goes appropriately. Main thing we have to be careful of is his banging into stationary objects and he has a tendency to try to rush into the path of cyclists.

Since originally posting the weight is slowly coming off. We've moved him onto raw which, after the initial holding a chicken back the first day, he copes with really well. He demolished a turkey neck today without problem for the first time. Between diet and standard exercise I don't think it will be too much of a problem and will simply adjust diet quantities as necessary.

Thanks for your thoughts though and the best wishes.

__________________

A good friend of mine has just been through this, her Shih Tzu had both eyes removed and she is now happy and wonderful.

If you want i can pass her details on if you would like to chat with her xxxx

Our old bearded collie had one of her eyes removed, she actually went in for surgery on a detached retina but it wasn't successsful so the vet removed her eye and stitched the eyelid shut. She was almost blind in the remaining eye due to cataracts but we believed she still had some dark/light recognition so didn't opt for having her remaining eye removed.

With regards to other dogs reactions and eye contact, I don't think that this would be a problem - what about all the long haired dogs that you can't see their eyes anyway?

There is a little Bichon up our street who has it's eyes removed too, I've never spoken to the owner so I don't know the story but it seems like a very happy and capable little dog when out for walks.

__________________