When your dog loses her sight
Subtle ways to figure out your dog needs visual help before it’s too late
I sat in the back of my fourth grade class and wouldn’t answer anything. It was peculiar for someone like me, who regularly answered questions. I always turned in my homework on time and was voted “Most Educated Student” during my eighth grade education. But there was that time at the beginning of fourth grade where I stopped talking, ignored my teacher and just started focusing on the homework in front of me so I never had to take it home. The teacher would ask me a question, and I’d shrug and say I didn’t know the answer. The truth is I couldn’t see the chalkboard. I have no idea why I didn’t just admit it.
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When I got my first pair of glasses — after my teacher grew suspicious and told my mother — and walked into a classroom after they were ordered, I was absolutely shocked. I saw writing all over the board and my eyes widened. I wondered whether this was new writing or had it been here the day before. I started raising my hand again and answering questions easily — and still refusing to do homework at home. (Buying me a bookbag was a waste of money in high school most of the time, too. The chattier the teacher, the more time I had to do all homework in class.)
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But if I could just tell my parents, “I cannot see the board” and chose not to, I can only imagine how frustrating it must be for a dog who simply cannot tell his owner, “Something is going on with my vision. Can you help?” And just like I opted out of answering questions and just shrugged off talking to my teachers, it is too easy to assume your dog is being lazy or is unimpressed. But maybe the issue is (s)he just cannot see what’s going on.
Recommended Read: “My heavy-hearted love for senior dogs ~ You can teach an old dog new tricks — when it depends on survival”
Vision loss in dogs doesn’t always happen at once. Dog owners may notice subtle things like the dog not knowing a dish is full unless it sniffs for the smell of food or hears the dish being placed onto the floor. It could be that the dog doesn’t seem to run toward birds, squirrels or other things that it used to attack as a puppy.