Losing vision

Can a vet really (accurately) test for this sort of thing, and how? We have thought Auggie might have some impaired vision in his left eye and perhaps that is part of why he consistently jumps to the far right side of a jump - but given he also has physical limitations, and since Doc didn't say anything about his vision during his annual earlier this year, I figured it was more likely to be the result of structure (and muscle memory/training issues.)

But the past few days, Payton will come running up full blast like he normally does, and if he comes up on Auggie's left side, Auggie will bark and turn to snark at him. My best guess is that he's being surprised because he can't see well out of his left eye...


he's only six. I guess it's a good thing he's retiring. =<

When I took Chulita to an ophthalmologist because I could see that she had a cataract, the vet did a few different tests. She put some blue dye stuff in her eye and turn off the regular lights and used some kind of blue light to see way into her eye. Then she did some other kind of test. She could see the structures way into the eye and determined that surgery on the cataract would restore her vision because sometimes it won't if there is damage to other things behind. Anyhow, she told me she was virtually blind. She may see shadows a little bit, but for all intents and purposes, she's blind in that left eye.

If you wave your hand close to that side on Augie, up and down, can you tell if he notices? I wouldn't do it in such a way as to startle him, but like if he's sitting by you and he knows you're there, then you do it...can you tell? Or if you make like you're going to run into his eye with your hand, does he blink or flinch? If there seems to be no reaction at all, he may be blind in that eye. Do you see a cataract? (a very cloudy look?)

It wouldn't hurt to check with a vet and ask if they have ways to test the vision. I found that the regular vet wasn't equipped to do all the tests needed and didn't seem to knowledgeable about that...so I took her to an veterinary ophthalmologist. I don't think your regular vet exam would include testing for vision or even giving a thought about it unless you specifically asked.

I hope you can find out and maybe there's something to do about it. One never knows. I can't risk doing the surgery on Chulita because her heart murmur is not as mild a thing as I thought. It has progressed to a level 4 or 5. It's just too risky plus she's 12 years old. But for Augie, there might be some simple solution or maybe he's not losing vision at all and it's something else entirely. But I think you'd get peace of mind with an exam by an ophthalmologist.

I absolutely trust canine opthamologists to give me an accurate answer regarding vision in my dog.

We thought Tipper was having vision problems about a year ago. She'd alarm bark at people who stood up across the room (even if she'd seen them sit down), she ran into walls, she ran into the coffee table, she ran into people....etc. I took her to the regular vet who did a full checkup, tested reflexes, looked at her eyes, ran a blood panel. Then we took her to a specialist who did more pokey proddy things and put drops in her eyes and peered in them. I believe what they checked for was any abnormalities in the eye - I don't think there's a way of telling if a dog just has bad/fuzzy vision. I would be really happy to find out otherwise though.

Tipper's eyes are fine. I guess her feet are just faster than her brain. I hope you can get some answers for Auggie - I think the first step would be a full vet check up.

ETA: Actually haven't you had many full check ups for him recently? Maybe see if you can get a referral to a specialist. Or ask around for a recommendation (that's how we found Tipper's).

Collie eye?

It's not CEA.

His last annual was at the beginning of the year and Doc didn't see anything wrong with his vision. That was when we discovered Auggie's heart murmur which he never had before.
I have waved my hand around on that side, made like I'm gonna whack him, both from in front of him and behind, and he WILL blink and flinch that eye so it appears he can see fine. He won't move his head or react much, but he'll flinch that eye. (Apparently I whack my dogs so much in play they don't care to even try to dodge out of the way. =P) Auggie does do a lot of that alarm barking if somebody gets up and moves too, and has for many years, it's incredibly annoying. =P

It's only a very brief startle when Payton comes up on him, and as soon as he realizes it' Payton he stops. And Payton is so good, he doesn't even think about engaging. He's just like derp de derp de derr! So it's not like we have sudden fights erupting because of vision problems, that happened when Kota was getting older and when Happy would surprise him, and Happy would snark back and suddenly dog fight. So thankfully, because my dog's temperaments are so good, this isn't causing any problems right now. But I have noticed it recently.

I'm trying not to think too hard about this but it seems like stuff is happening awful early for Auggie... heart murmur already... losing vision now? I hate this so much. I guess I should try to find a good ophthalmologist around here to take him too. =/

My Malinois is terrible at judging jumps. I took her to a CERF clinic and asked the doctor if she was crosseyed. He used the scopy thing to look at her eyes and said she was not. They have a limited ability to test some things. I'd be more inclined to have an animal communicator ask her.

I was going to say that maybe he just doesn't dig having Peyton run up like that along side him, but then I remembered about the jumping over to the far right side of a jump. Hmmmm...that is perplexing. Maybe he sees, but not clearly? That might be why he blinks when you move your hand by his eye. Maybe out of that side, it's blurry or something. I wonder why they don't have glasses for dogs. They must sometimes have myopia or hyperopia. With horses, they say that they don't see clearly up close and that's why things spook them up close...they're not that clear. So, they jump back to get things more focused. I am not sure if that's true or not. But maybe he's hyperopic... or farsighted in that one eye.

Sierra has CEA and cataracts, her vision is pretty limited, I love our ophthalmologist we go and see her every year

A GP probably no, an ophthalmologist most likely yes. If you really want to check it out, ask for a referral.

Waste of money to go see a regular vet for a suspected eye issue. You don't need a referral to see an ophthalmologist/CERF doc.
CERF clinics (often hosted by breed clubs that allow non breed and mixes) are the cheapest.
http://www.vmdb.org/upcomingCERFclinics.html
http://www.vmdb.org/clinic.html

There is a CERF clinic listed ^^^^ for every 3rd Thursdays in Wheeling, hopefully that is close to you.

If you get an appointment, you have to arrive at least 1/2 hr early. They have to put drops in the dog's eyes to dilate, which takes a min of 15 minutes. I would also recommend that you take a blanket to cover his crate for after the exam. Sunlight should be avoided for a few hours until the eyes go back to normal after the dilation. I also avoid having my dogs outside or near windows while we wait for the dilation before the exam.

Good luck

I have no suggestions, but lots of ((((((((((VIBES))))))))))!!!

Wheeling is pretty close to me, but I'm pretty sure that makes it pretty far for Beanie and Auggie. :-/

Yeah Wheeling is up by Chitown

The Dog Training Club of Champaign-Urbana has sponsored annual CERF clinics in the past and I don't see that they have done one this year so you could call and ask if they have one planned any time soon?

I mean CERF/VMDB is apparently based in Urbana, IL...you'd think you'd be able to find a testing clinic in the area pretty easily...you'd think??? :/

Another place you can look is for big dog shows in the area...fairly often the host club or a breed club will sponsor a CERF clinic during the show...

Yeah, unfortunately Wheeling is about three hours north. I would make the drive (and take a day off work) if I had to but I'm sure I could find somebody closer. There's bound to be somebody at the university.

I might chat with them when we are there for Auggie's retirement runs in September and see if they are doing anything. There's a lot of stuff they normally do and I don't see listed (like a fall ob/rally trial), so could be they've just been slow about updating their site.

And yeah, I know, LOL. I've actually BEEN to their main office a few years ago for an interview hahaha. That was really weird to discover. It's near a Mexican restaurant my family used to eat at once a month when we drove my mom to her chiropractor. XD
They have CERF clinics at Louisville and I thought about taking him over there just for the heck of it this year, but they fill up pretty quickly, and now that Auggie is jumping 8" I was actually running him first thing in the morning instead of able to go over there and snag a spot first thing... and of course we aren't going back next year.

I'll ask Auggie's breeder about it at some point later, bigger things on her mind right now to bother her about it. If there's a good doc at the university she'll know.

I sent a note to a couple members I know to ask if they were having the clinic at some point this year or if they knew of any so will let you know if they get back to me. Wish I was going to be there to see his retirement runs! Darn move!

no advice, but ((((hugs))))))