How to manage senior dog who has gone blind and deaf with possible neuro problem.

[Milocalwinnings]

Any experiences with senior dogs who have gone blind and deaf?
My 12 year old dog Bo lost his hearing and then very quickly went blind. Within a matter of days he went from seemingly able to see to walking into things. He also has sinking if one eye, the vet suspects a neurological problem and/or possibly Horners syndrome.
He has had two small strokes previously and has possible seizure episodes though they haven’t been able to be confirmed by a vet.

He is with my parents while I am stationed in Korea and it kills me that I’m not there to evaluate his quality of life. My mom thinks it is generally good, and he gets around ok but occasionally walks into things. My mom said he sometimes appears lost even though he is in a familiar area. When I think of him I think of a 90 year old dementia patient.

So how do we manage this? Do those of you with senior dogs like this type of condition feel they still maintain a good quality of life? If this were your dog what would you do? Money is not an issue, I just want him comfortable. Ideally I want him around when I come home in February but I realize that may not happen and I am prepared to say goodbye via FaceTime if necessary

[Sswor]

I lost my senior dog 3 years ago due to severe mobility problems. In the end he lost use of all 4 limbs and that’s when it was obviously time but for months prior I was on the fence. He could see and hear just fine but had such difficulty getting around.

In your situation, I would say if he enjoys his meals and interaction with his humans let him carry on. These two things indicate he is enjoying life. I think once an animal looses interest in eating and interaction then it has lost interest in life as well, or in other words, the animal is simply existing and quality of life is no longer there, it is time.

I think animals cope with blindness and deafness better then people. He can still smell and thats an important sense to dogs, possibly more important then sight. To be able to smell his world, as well as to be able to mobile through his world of his own accord, even if he bumps into things once in awhile, probably brings him great pleasure, so I’d not feel guilty letting this dog continue on.

Perhaps you will be able to see him again in February after all. Good luck to your elderly gentleman and good days to him too, and you!

[tweeter]

We just lost our senior pug 2 weeks ago, she was 15 1/2, blind and deaf, with some mobility problems thrown in.

It was amazing how she managed to find her way around after her sight went. Every now and then she’d bump into something, but usually it was something dark, or the room was kinda dark. I think she could somewhat see “light”.

Being deaf didn’t seem to bother her much at all. Before her sight went, I swear she knew hand signals, especially when we’d motion for her to “come on”. Her bad hips gave her more problems than anything else, walking on non-carpeted areas was hard for her, her little legs would slip and slide on her sometimes.

Up until 2 days before we lost her, she ate well, loved being carried and snuggling. Then she didn’t want to eat and didn’t want to move. The Monday we let her go, she was seizing and posturing,the vet felt she had a brain tumor, so we lovingly sent her to the Bridge.

But before that weekend, if you didn’t know she couldn’t see or hear, you’d never have known.

[Sswor]

Mobility is such a life booster–if you have ever been disabled temporarily by injury you know how demoralizing it is, so don’t discount the blessing of being in control of your own limbs.

Not to minimize your senior’s loss of sight and hearing, but if it helps put it into perspective, I’m glad.

I’d say, don’t worry too much about the nuerologic symptoms unless they interfere with mobility and/or reoccurring seizures.

[shayaalliard]

Our Sabrina was completely blind and mostly deaf the last 3-4 years of her life. She had glaucoma and we had the eye destroyed to relieve the pain. The other eye had essentially no vision due to heavy cataracts. She never had any real trouble, as long as I didn’t move furniture around. She ate and snuggled and walked around and hung out with the other pets until the day she died.

One morning she didn’t want to get up out of bed. She seemed comfortable so we just watched her. She drifted in and out of sleep all day and that evening passed beyond all knowing between breaths.

[MsM]

My Aussie did not handle blindness well. He also had some neuro issues as he tended to go left. I worked with him for a while and tried to get him to acclimate. Ultimately he continued to walk into things and then get upset, He tended toward anxiety anyway and this just seemed to be more than he could manage. I had him PTS at 13 yo.
My little cocker mix went blind or mostly blind more slowly and she adapted well. It helped too that she was more easily picked up and put places (and used to it). Her blindness was not a cause of her being finally PTS (multiple organ failure)
So I would say it is very individual to the dog. If the dog is often disoriented and distressed it might be kinder to let him go even if he is eating etc. But if he is managing and not upset with his limitations, and if your parents have the time and ability to provide enough help, then he may be able to live contentedly. For your dog, the “seeming disoriented” part would be the most worrisome to me as far as QOL.

[IndysMom]

Our springer is blind and deaf. She has good days and bad days. Some days she seems to be okay and other days she seems very anxious. She gets around okay. She’s very stubborn about going where SHE wants to go and not letting me lead. The only real problem we’ve had is that if you startle her out of sleep-she’ll snap. We just deal with it. I don’t have kids and we don’t get too many visitors. If you dogs health is otherwise pretty good, it’s likely that you’ll see her in February.
Thanks for your service. Be safe in Korea.

[Halt_Near_X]

The disorientation would be the red flag for me. I’ve known a few dogs who went senile and I don’t think it’s a good QOL.

However–if he went blind rapidly, his disorientation may be related to that. It’s a big change, and he needs to learn to adapt to his new limitations/learn how to rely on his other senses more. It wouldn’t be surprising if he was disoriented sometimes right now, but if that’s what’s going on, he should become more confident/improve fairly quickly as he adapts.

Can your parents take some video of good moments and moments when he seems disoriented, and do the same thing in a few weeks? This would help you see exactly how he’s doing and give you a way to see how he does with time–if any disorientation is longer/shorter, if he seems more/less anxious, etc.