Ddog 1 has been diagnosed with glaucoma.

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She was at the vet yesterday, for something entirely unrelated, and the vet noticed that one eye was swollen, so referred us to th vet hospital in Glasgow, where the specialist confirmed she has glaucoma - her eye pressure should be between 10 and 20, and the affected eye was 44.

So far, it doesn’t seem to have made her blind in that eye - the specialist said she still has some vision - but the likelihood is that, even with treatment, she will eventually lose the sight in that eye - and worse, if it is, as he thinks, primary glaucoma, she will develop it in the other eye too, and could go completely blind.

We are seeing the other ophthalmic specialist at the vet hospital in a week or so, and she has been put in drops - three lots - two lots twice daily, and the third lot three times a day, and this will be for the rest of her life.

I am devastated for her - she is such a lovely, happy dog (a brown Lab), and feeling a bit overwhelmed myself - dh works away a lot, so her care will fall on me most of the time, and with the schedule for her drops (we have to leave 20 minutes between each different drop, so the three morning and evening ones will take 40 minutes to do) - and I am kicking myself for feeling that way - this is happening to her, so how can I be so selfish?

I'm so sorry. You aren't being selfish though, its your job as her human to think of the practicalities. You have to consider these things.

Thank you.

It's ok to feel overwhelmed. I think I would be feeling the same so don't beat yourself up.

The good news is from what I have read dogs still do very well even with poor/no sight.

We met a dog the other day who was happily sniffing around and had a gentle little play with my dog. It was only when I was chatting to his owner that I realised he was totally blind - he’d had two detached retinas in the space of two months so had gone completely blind very quickly. His owner said the first couple of months were a bit tricky but he soon got used to not having any sight and was happy as larry - they had to be careful not to move the furniture around but apart from that it genuinely wasn’t a problem (although obviously not something anyone would welcome).

It’s a mass shock for you though so not surprising you’re feeling shaken by it for you and a dog for your lovely lab

Hi, our last dog was a Lancashire Heeler with primary lens luxation which caused persistent glaucoma. He had one lot of eye drops twice daily in both eyes. He was diagnosed at four and the lens removed from one eye which left him with no real sight but sight in the other one. He was fine until age 9 when the medication couldn’t control it and his first eye was removed. I was dreading it but when he recovered the difference in him was amazing...I believe for the first time in five years he was feeling no discomfort. Second eye caused less problem until he was 11 and then it too was removed. Little man did the same few familiar walks off lead trotting at our heels, used his nose a lot more and we never moved furniture around in the house and he lived to fourteen. How old is your girl?

She’s 9, so not a young dog.

This is giving me reassurance that she will be able to live a happy life, and this won’t ruin it for her.

MNers are the best!

Well - we saw the specialist ophthalmologist yesterday, and the news was not that good - the pressure in the affected eye has risen, despite all they eye drops, and it is so high now that it has definitely destroyed the sight in that eye, and will be causing her pain, so it needs to be taken out.

There is a slight ray of hope in that this opthamologist thinks it is secondary glaucoma, not primary, so there is a fair chance it might only affect the one eye.

They are going to do blood tests, scans and a chest x-ray, as well as sending the eye for pathology, to see if they can work out what the glaucoma is secondary to - so we are hoping it will be something unique to that eye (he suggested benign melanoma), or something treatable, so that we can maximise her chances of keeping the sight in the unaffected eye.

He did say that they may never know what caused it, and then we would just have to keep a close eye on her, for signs of it happening again.

I am heartbroken that she is losing the eye, but am holding onto the hope that it will be just that eye, and she will get over this, and go on to live a long and happy life.

It certainly seems as if she has adjusted to losing the sight in that eye - she can still see and catch a gravy bone if it is thrown to her - a vital and core skill for a Labrador!

So pleased that you have had a quick diagnosis and outcome. She will do fine with one eye, no pain and I am keeping everything crossed for a good outcome with the other eye. 💐