Old Dogs and Vision Issues

[HorizonSeeker]

OK, girls, was wondering if any of you have any experience with this sort of thing or thoughts. As you know my travel buddy is Gus a soon to be 14 yr old smooth fox terrier (yes I know he looks a lot like a Jack Russell but his legs are longer and his chest is not as beefy as the Jack). He has been showing signs of cataracts for some time now which is not unusual for his age I'm sure. But over the last few months he has developed a new habit that I'm curious about. He will often jump back from his food/water dish as if it is moving or some how scaring him. I've tried switching dish colors from white to a dark color but still no go. Sometimes he will take food ro water from them but not often. When I come home he whines even after we've been out walking and I finally notice that his food looks untouch so for the past couple of weeks I've just started sitting in the floor and hand feeding him. And I don't mind doing that the rest of his life. But I'm totally puzzled. Tonight I got an idea about depth perception (dogs do have it I think) and perhaps his is fading with age. In stead of a hand feeding I filled a shallow dish and set it on the floor right beside his regular dish. He ate every bite. Still wouldn't drink from the water side until I filled it to the top. I've noticed when we walk around the campground he loves to go down to the shallow corner of the pond and drink pond water but he will only do it where he can step into the edge of the water. OK, so what do you think? Any ideas? Tomorrow I will try leaving the shallow dish filled and sitting beside his regular dish (he's old so I don't want to move things around on him. Who knows maybe his memory is going too. I know mine is) and I will fill the water half all the way to the top and check it when I come home for lunch 3 hours later. In the meantime I appreciate any feedback. Hey, we're a bunch of smart ladies. We can figure this out.

Thanks
Vickie

[WickedLady]

Maybe he is actually blind or almost.

[HorizonSeeker]

I do believe this his vision is quite limited. I always take him out on a leash when we travel for his own safety regardless of the local rules. The last 2 days here at the campground have been slow maintenance days and since there are no campers here except us work campers who he is comfortable with, I've been letting him be outside with me while I'm painting porches. He tends to stay near me but lays in the sun warming his bones. Some times he walks off a little but never out of sight (scent?) of me. All his other functions are normal and he still hikes excitedly on the trails and loves to ride in the kayak so I guess I'll just keep going like I am. Tonight I fed him from a plastic dish I found that is shallow and he ate every bite. I've switched to a small, shallow water bowl which seems to work for him well. Guess we're just getting old together and adjusting.

[Bethers]

Glad you have found ways to adjust that he's finding acceptable. We all get old and never know what part of us will go - and why it goes the way it does. Tips had so much trouble sitting and bending, that as he aged, I kept moving his bowl further off the floor. Thought once it might end up on the table! Sometimes I held it for him. Wish I had answers for you - but I think you're probably right and it's in how he sees things now - what little he might see.

[JoanE]

When my last dog, Suzie acted like she had vision problems, my vet told me to drop a cotton ball to see if her eyes followed it. Suzie lived to be 16 but near the end she had both vision and hearing issues plus seizures. My current dog, Maggie is very timid. She will eat and drink out of her dishes but sometimes she approaches them like she is ready to bolt away. She'll tentatively reach forward to the dish and suddenly pull back but then go forward again and eat or drink. Other times no problems at all.