At some point, many dog owners may wonder, "Is my dog blind?" A blind dog is a frightening possibility and many dog owners are left wondering about the symptoms of blindness in a dog and how a veterinarian will test a dog for blindness.
When a dog is blind in one eye, or if a dog goes blind gradually, the symptoms of blindness are not always obvious. In fact, many dog owners don't realize their dog is blind until their veterinarian informs them of this fact during a routine yearly physical.
Loss of Vision – Telltale Behaviors in a Blind Dog
For a pet owner who knows what to look for, there are some distinct behaviors associated with dog blindness. It's important to remember that a dog who goes blind gradually may not display obvious symptoms of blindness since the dog has sufficient time to adapt to the vision loss.
- Fear in New Locations – At home, a blind dog will be familiar with his surroundings and there may be few, if any indications that the dog is blind. But when the dog is removed from his home, the dog may exhibit fear or uncertainty.
- Bumping into Objects – For a dog who is blind in one eye, it's not uncommon for the dog to bump into objects on the blind side. It's similar to a driver who damages the passenger side of his car because he didn't realize the car's width. The dog may also walk abnormally close to the wall on the blind side.
- Hesitancy to Jump – A dog who is blind in one eye will have a lack of depth perception. This can result in a dog who refuses to jump off the couch, for instance.
- Discomfort When Away from Other Dogs – A blind dog who lives with other dogs will rely on his companions to compensate for his loss of sight. For instance, a blind dog may follow another dog while outside in the yard. When separated from his companions, a blind dog may appear markedly less comfortable and more awkward and cautious in his movements.
Notably, a blind dog can be so well-accustomed and familiar with his home that some behaviors typically associated with canine blindness may not be present. So observing the dog in a less familiar location can often be more telling.
A blind dog's other senses — smell and hearing, primarily — largely compensate for his lack of sight. This can make it less than obvious when a dog is blind. Due to the dog's acute sense of smell and hearing, a blind dog may turn his head or blink at just the right moment, leading the owner to believe that the dog has vision.
Blindness Symptoms and Tests to Determine if a Dog is Blind
Only a veterinarian can effectively determine if a dog is blind. If a dog owner suspects his/her dog is blind, it's important for the dog owner to keep a log of notes, recording any suspected symptoms of blindness or any behaviors that are commonly seen in blind dogs. This log can be shared with the veterinarian and it can greatly assist in the diagnosis process.
In addition to examining the dog's eyes, the veterinarian may observe the following symptoms in a blind dog and some of these vision tests for pets may be performed to determine if a dog is blind.
- Examination of the Dog's Eye Dilation – In a normal dog, eyes will constrict when exposed to light or dilate when exposed to darkness. In addition, if just one eye is exposed to light, both eyes will constrict. The veterinarian will expose the dog's eyes to a light and darkness to see if they react by constricting or dilating. The vet will also test each eye separately. If one eye is exposed to light, the other should react as well. In a dog with one blind eye, the vet will shine a light into the blind eye, but the opposite eye will not react because the blind eye is not "seeing" the light, so the eyes don't have any reason to constrict.
- Cotton Ball Test – The vet may drop a cotton ball at the very edge of the dog's visual field. If the dog sees the cotton ball, he should react.
- The Blink Test for Blindness – A blind dog will not blink appropriately in response to sudden movement or when an object comes close to the eye. The eyes are tested separately, with one eye covered while the other is tested. This blink test must be performed very carefully in order to avoid creating air flows that will be picked up by the dog's whiskers, thereby triggering a blink response.
Examination by a veterinarian and/or veterinary ophthalmologist is key to diagnosing blindness in a dog due to the acute nature of the dog's other senses. The latter two dog vision tests are not entirely reliable because the other senses can compensate so effectively.
Symptoms of Dog Eye Problems
If a dog appears to go blind suddenly, this should be considered a medical emergency and the dog should be brought to the veterinarian immediately. Signs of a serious eye problem in a dog include:
- Swelling around the eye;
- Swelling of the dog's eyeball;
- The dog's eyeball appears to have popped out of the socket (protrusion);
- The dog's eye suddenly appears cloudy, and;
- Scratches or ulcers form suddenly on the surface of the eye (the cornea).
Fortunately, dogs can live a very high quality of life even when fully blind; it just takes some special care like training the dog to use voice commands or creating a blind dog's harness with a hoop that extends around the dog's head, thereby serving a function similar to a blind human's walking stick.
Readers may also enjoy Does My Dog Have an Eye Infection?, along with Eye Injuries in Dogs, Cats and Other Pets and Cherry Eye in the Dog.
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