I desperately need any help or advice anyone can provide me. We recently adopted an 11-month-old GSD, Niki, who needed surgery for removal of a dermoid growth in his left eye. We had the surgery on a Tuesday, healing was progressing well, and then on Saturday, he smashed into my husband's leg while they were on a leash walk. We took him to our regular vet immediately, but she could tell us very little; I got a back-up prescription of amoxitabs to deal with any possible infection, and we kept him dosed with those and his pain meds and eyedrops until we could get him to the specialist on Monday.

The specialist examined the eye and said that Niki had suffered a blow-out fracture which at the moment of impact blinded the left eye. The specialist tried to assure us that this was a freak accident, that he had only seen it one other time in 17 years, while he was still in vet school; a man had come to pick up his dog from a minor orthopedic procedure, the dog ran down the hall toward him and slid into his knee--immediate blow-out fracture and blindness. He said this is a common injury in horses, and usually only happens in dogs when someone is practicing a golf swing in the backyard and the dog gets in the way.

But we are devastated. We can't believe that this happened on our watch. We have had many dogs over the past twenty years and none suffered any accidents of any type at all--ever.

After replaying the accident over and over again, my husband and I know that it was the combination of Niki's leash reactivity (which we had been working on with measured success), his compromised vision, and the hard plastic cone that he hit against my husband's leg. We are so afraid that since these conditions still are in place, he could damage his good eye in the same way. Of course, everyone I talk to, the vet included, thinks I am being paranoid; they say it was a freak accident, it won't happen again. But Niki has to wear the collar for another ten days to give his eye the chance to remodel/reform so that it does not have to be removed. He seems to have some light/shadow vision in that eye, so this seems the best option.

It is vital to keep Niki calm in the house and on walks--and I think he needs his walks because he can't play with toys and the cone collar makes it impossible to chew bones. I tried to give him a soft knotted rope to chew on but he began slinging it around, so that didn't work. I also tried dosing him with xanax, but he seems to be one of the few dogs in which there is an excitability response, rather than a tranquilizing response. When I got home from work he was bouncing off the walls. Valium would likely induce the same response, and my vet says that any other drugs are just too damaging to the liver and heart.

We bought a DAP diffuser (Dog Appeasing Pheromone), which Nik noticed immediately. After twelve hours of DAP dispensing into the air, my husband said Nik was much calmer on his walk this morning. We're getting the spray today to put on a neckerchief for Niki's walks.

So, my first concern is this: Should we continue to walk Niki, or is the risk of a repeat freak accident too high? Does anyone have experience/suggestions for dealing with a dog wearing a protective cone collar for an extended period of time? Nik has been wearing his now for 10 days and has at least 7 more days to go. This is asking a lot of a vital young dog.

My other concerns are how to make life safe and happy for a one-eyed dog. Please, please, please, help me with any ideas, websites, etc.

I can't tell you how anguished we are. We wanted to provide and safe, healthy, happy, and loving home for a rescued GSD, and Niki is now blind in one eye after being with us barely a month. I don't know if we can ever forgive ourselves.

--Catherine

Catherine
You did NOTHING to feel guilty about. What happened was an ACCIDENT. It is ot like you planned the blow out
or wanted it to happen. Just enjoy your dog and dont let him know that you feel sorry for him or you might run into the problem that we had a few years back with one of ours. When Shawn knew that we were watching he still had a BAD limp but when we watched from the house he was completely cured, no limp at all. Then hunting season came along, the POOR guy followed the other dogs in the field slowly limping all the way Till the first bird went down about 30 yards from him, Shawn took off at a dead run straight to the bird, brought it back with his head held high and prancing all of the way as only a healthy Setter can prance. That was the last of the limp. Your one eyed dog will get along just like normal the only difference you may notice is that he will have to turn his head to see what the blind eye would see. Again, You did NOTHING to feel guilty about.

Unfortunately, it takes dogs and cats bumping into things quite a few times until they readjust to only having one eye to see out of. Then they will still bump into things, but much less often.

I'm sure the cone on his head doesn't help. Did the doctor specificly tell you it has to stay on for walks? Usually if you are walking and his attention is not on rubbing at his eye they would allow you to take the collar off for a little while. I would check with your opthomologist and see if that might be an option just for walk time. Then you would not have to worry quite as much that it would happen again.

I completely understand about being paranoid. I am the same way with all of my pets, right down to the guinea pigs!

Catherine,

This may be a long-shot, but I suggest that you contact Leader Dogs for the Blind in Rochester, MI. My husband and I have been associated with them for years after we received my husband's guide dog from them (9 years ago). They have excellent vets (they say that they are the top vets in the country). Our personal contact is Keith MacGregor. Their phone number is 248-651-9011. Keith's direct extension is #1198. You can tell him that I gave you his extension. He may be able to guide you in the right direction, or you can just call the number, tell them your situation, and ask to speak to the vet.

I think anyone who has a true love for animals understands what you are going through. When I had to put down my 10-month old GSD (Eva Marie) this month I could not sleep or sit down to a meal for a week. My mind played over and over again our time together and I blamed myself for her illness. My GSD was diagnosed with a neurological disorder and though I know she was ill months before she "snapped" and attacked someone in my home, I ignored the signs. I still ask myself, "If I had acted on the signs could I have done something to save my puppy?" My friends and the vet tell me that I did all I could do, but because we love our animals as much as we love our (human) children we blame ourselves when something bad happens to them.

When Niki had her accident, this is exactly what is was--an accident and, like my pup, we cannot blame ourselves. However, unlike Eva, Niki is a healthy dog who will need to learn to adjust to using one eye. People do it all the time and we are not nearly as noble as the great GSD! It is for this reason, that Niki will not need or want you to feel sorry for her. What she needs is for you to be strong and supportive so that she will make the effort to adapt to living with a disability. What you need to do now is realize that Niki can still have a full and happy life. She will learn to adapt, GSDs are near the top on the canine list for intelligence and they are a proud animal with an undying spirit to perform. What may seem like a major challenge now is, in reality, quite minor in the scheme of things and, in time, Niki will amaze you as to how well she will be able to cope with one good eye.

I had another GSD, Mandy, who lived years with hip displesia (sp?). She never whimpered or complained, this would not have been in her nature. I am certain that Niki is much the same. Nikki will let you know when she needs you, but until then it is up to her to learn how to cope. In the meantime, contact Leader Dogs for Blind and I am sure that they will be able to offer you some excellent advice.

Best to all of you,
Donna Riley

Thank you, Doc, for your Shawn story and reassurance. It was exactly what I needed. My husband and I had a heart-to-heart last night, and he told me how he will always remember the sounds of Niki's heartrending wails of pain after smashing his eye.... And while we were talking, Nik was happily at my side chewing on a bone filled with peanut butter and grapenuts, not remembering a thing about what happened to his eye, pausing with the bone now and then to look at my husband and then at me, tongue out, with his goofy puppy grin.

And Nik is being such a good good dog, especially given the fact that he has limited walks, no filled kongs while I'm gone, and the cone around his neck most of the time. If I were him I'd be climbing the walls all day, howling, and would've chewed up all the furniture and eaten the cats.

Thanks again. --Catherine

Thanks for your advice. I'm a still a little nervous about Niki on walks without the cone--sticks poking out from a hedge, etc., so it seems like to cone or not to cone on the walks is a coin toss. Right now, we're walking with the cone on very early in the morning when it's more peaceful. I do take the cone off when I get home in the early afternoon, so Nik can chew bones, but put it back on in the early evening when I'm getting ready to sleep.

When the cone is off Niki is leaving the damaged eye alone, so I am reassured that it is remodeling as it should. And he seems really to have adjusted his vision. I try to keep him relatively moderate in his activity right now, but he leaps the four steps up and down at the backdoor and really doesn't seem to have a vision problem.

We're seeing the regular vet on Saturday for an evaluation. There's really nothing further the specialist can do, and the regular vet is closer and more affordable.

I know that the guilt and anguish my husband and I feel is ours alone; Niki doesn't act as if anything untoward has happened.

--Catherine

Donna, I really appreciate your input. I've signed up at a website where vet techs answer questions, so maybe I can also get some help there.

I too have had to have two young GSDs euthanized over the years. The first was for a degenerative spinal disease, the second for what would seem remarkably like the description you give of Eva Marie's condition. It is devastating to go through such experiences. Further, in April we lost our nearly 11-year-old female GSD to degenerative myelopathy after lovingly nursing her for 7 months; then, not three weeks later, we found that our 7-year-old male GSD had a massive inoperable lung mass.

With Nik's accident (and other personal tragedies since the first of the year--which I won't go into) we almost feel as if we have a target painted on our life. It will take some time for emotional healing to take place for my husband and me, but for Niki-- Well, he must be a good Buddhist GSD, because he seems to be living completely in the moment, recovering well and not much noticing the change in his vision.

You are absolutely right about the intelligence of the GSD. I know that on the lists I've seen, the border collie is considered more intelligent, but what I cherish about the GSD temperament is the lovely mix of intelligence and emotional attachment. Just last evening my husband and I were marveling at how incredibly good Niki is being, given that he has not been allowed his beloved tennis or soccer balls, his kongs, or his second walk of the day. I don't know how he occupies himself while I'm at work (no evidence of any anxious or bored behavior), but when we are home with him, Nik is content to be right with us, chewing his bone, periodically pausing to look at us to make sure all is well. When he does want to indulge his rowdy young dog self, he responds right away when I tell him to lie down and relax, lying smack up against me, with his jaws gently enfolding my hand.

Really, the only problem Niki has is his leash reactivity, and we're working with that. It will be interesting to see what kind of adjustment there might be for Nik once we get him in an obedience class to deal further with that problem, now that he has vision in only one eye.

I'll keep you updated. Thank you again. --Catherine

Catherine,

I check this site every few days, so I am eager to hear about Niki's progress. I wish you well. Judging from the your email it already sounds like you are doing so much better. It sounds as if Niki is doing quite fine as well--he is, no doubt, living up to his noble breed.

Hang in there. I'll be thinking of you.

Donna