[funkyfish]

Can you let the breeder know? He may be unaware of the genetic status of the parents.

[sabrina]

Got in touch with the breeder and he said he would take Rascal back but of coarse thats not something we would even think of doing. As far as he knows puppies he bred in the past have been fine but I pointed out that not many people would realise there dog had a problem if it was just slight. Having been with dogs for years and worked as a trainer I knew something was not quite right but my OH kept saying he was fine. Farmer is going to get in touch with the other 2 people who bought the puppies to see how they are or so he says.

[doganjo]

Lucky Rascal to have a famiily that cares about him and will help him live a long and happy life.

I suppose this is what Annie's always banging on about - prebreeding health checks

Indeed it is! Wish the light would dawn on everyone else!

[sabrina]

Hi Annie, here was me thinking I had asked all the right question before we bought him, took him to the vet for a full check up an still get caught out. What I do not understand, if this eye condition is so rife in the collie why did my vet not double check his eyes with the care that he did on Monday. As we saw both dog and bitch who were indeed full of life and running around showing off there was nothing to give us any thought that something was wrong. Both these dog do sheepdog compitions and have a whole list of prizes which the farmer was delighted to tell us all about. The one thing that does stand out was when he was around 9/ 10 wks old I had him and the others in the straw park for a bit of fun. He sat down and rufused to follow myself and Tanya and Jake. I went almost the whole lenght of the park calling him all the time and still he just sat. In the end I walked back and got him. Now I know he could not see me. As people have said he has never know any other way and is doing well enough being such a clever lad.

[funkyfish]

He sounds like a good breeder! Had some one in at work (am a vet nurse) with a dog with awfull hips (cross bred small dog), no the first litter from the parents either. Owner told the breeder who was not at all interested!

Very lucky boy to have such an understanding family :0)

[doganjo]

A good breeder would do know the problem exists in the breed and do the tests for CEA before breeding, regardless of how good the dogs were at working.  A blind collie can't work!

I am so sorry this has happened to you, Sabrina, but your vet would only check the pups for hereditary defects if eh thought they wouldn't have been tested for.  vets, like Joe Public, assume that breeding is done by knowledgeable people.  Unfortunately they are wrong much of the time.

He will be loved, that is what matters, and his other senses will make up for a lot of his loss of vision.  I'm sure you will still have a lot of fun with him.

[sabrina]

We had visitors last night and Rascal did his usual and tried to hide under my chair. I expained his problem and John who is a dog person got down and sat on the floor never saying anything to Rascal but talking away to us. did not take long before he was climbing all over John tail going like mad. We are going on holiday with the dogs and will need to be careful that he does not get stressed out in a strange place.

[doganjo]

Watch him carefully if he's off lead as he won't know where he is - a flexi might be a good idea.

[sabrina]

Was just saying the very thing to my OH.

[doganjo]

Another idea to give him a bit more freedom is a line for a whirly (I use a yellow plastic one to train youngsters, and you can cut it to any length you want - the flexis aren't long) - make a loop at one end for holding it and tie a collar clip to the other end.  If he gets tangled anywhere one of you can keep him there and the other go to his end and pull it through as it slides easily

[sabrina]

While picking up droppings this morning Rascal was running about as if he had no worries. he loves to chase Jake which started me thinking, if he did get worse and could see very little would it be possible to somehow harness both dogs together and teach Jake to be his eyes.

[Moleskins]

You've been watching too much Paralympics. 


My brother has a Cocker which is pretty much blind and has always been.
Vet says it's juvenile cataracts and they could be removed but the 'shock' of being able to see would perhaps be too much.
I have my own views on the rights and wrongs of taking on (as he did, not yourself) a blind dog but they do seem to learn to cope.
As someone once said to me, think it was a vet friend I had at the time, animals have no concept of being disabled they just get on with it.

[doganjo]

I think I'd have been inclined to operate on a young dog - getting over the shock of being able to see would be far outweighed by the animal having sight. But yes, I would also agree that animals do just 'get on with it'. 

[Sylvia]

While picking up droppings this morning Rascal was running about as if he had no worries. he loves to chase Jake which started me thinking, if he did get worse and could see very little would it be possible to somehow harness both dogs together and teach Jake to be his eyes.

Years ago my sister had a deaf Airerdale. We would couple her to my friendly Standard Poodle so she could have a gallop. It did take a bit of time for them to work it out completely but in the end they were fine. Nell the poodle was excellent at recall and Kate the Airedale soon learned to follow her every move.

[colliewoman]

I have a white collie with a very little bit of black on him. I have had him since he was six weeks old. I had put my name down for a puppy when they had some in at the local animal santuary. He has one blue eye and a very small blue eye. He sees very little, but knows his way around by feeling things with his feet and smell. He can adapt very quickly to new changes in his environment.  Out and about he walks on a lead, maybe not in a straight line as that is harder for him to do and in the local forest, he can find his own way home without a lead. He is now close to 12 and that is how his life has been all the time. He knows no better so it is not an issue for him and he is probably one of the best dogs we have had.

This is what happens when collies get bred for candy colours
I will willingly put money on the fact that your dog is a 'lethal white' produced from breeding 2 merles together. It can produce some horrible deformities, blindness and deafness too.
~One lil pup I knew had pink eyes and rectangular pupils




Regarding blind dogs and dogs losing their sight over time, try this trick...
Tie a set of bells to your walking boots. When my old lab lost his sight I did this and he would trot away near me happy as larry He followed the sound for as long as I was walking, and if the bells stopped jingling then he stopped walking