Caring For A One-Eyed Dog – All You Need To Know

Last Updated on July 15, 2021 by Marco

Worried about how caring for a one-eyed dog works? Canines can live full lives even with one eye. Here’s all you need to know about it.

Dog blindness in one eye, whether it be through surgery or prolonged loss of eyesight, can be a tricky proposition. But, you have to understand that when you speak about caring for a one-eyed dog, the dynamics of caregiving change considerably. You may find it incredulous to believe, but dogs with vision in only one eye can live very happy as well as fulfilling lives.

And, yes, there will be some significant changes that will have to occur as a natural consequence of your fur baby’s loss of sight in one eye. But, with patience, perseverance, and a whole lot of love, you and your faithful companion can adapt to the new circumstances.

So, without further ado, let’s delve into the matter of caring for a one-eyed canine.

Signs Of Eye Problems In Dogs

There are two ways that dogs lose their eyesight, in both eyes or one. Your dog may go blind over a gradual period of time or become blind in one eye or both eyes suddenly. Now, loss of eyesight in dogs is a long topic, but you will find some common ocular diseases that result in loss of vision in dogs.

• Foreign Body Injury
• Glaucoma
• Diabetic Cataract
• Developmental Anomalies/Congenital Deformities
• Lens Luxations
• Retinal Detachment
• Neoplastic Tumors
• Eyelid Loss
• Cancer

Now, most pet parents can pick up on the signs of eye problems early on. After all, your best bud is always staring into your eyes with its ‘puppy eyes.’ And, the best thing that can happen to your dog if your dog is going through the loss of eyesight is for the detection to happen early. 

Read more about: Why Does My Dog Blink With One Eye; The Secrets Behind Dog Winking

The sooner the eye problem is diagnosed, the sooner the treatment can be done. However, there are many times that your dog loses eyesight over a more extended period than just becoming a dog with one eye.

Surgery Vs. Sight Loss

Ocular surgeries take place when your dog suffers from ocular tumors or has a foreign body injury. When your dog loses eyesight suddenly, it will take longer to get acclimated to being a dog with one eye. On the other hand, dogs that lose sight over several years somehow find it easier to deal with the change that is taking place in their lives. Either way, caring for a one-eyed dog needs training on your part as well as your dog’s. 

Helping A Dog Blind In One Eye Adapt To Life

It seems that, in general, your dog feels the loss of its eye but deals with the loss far better than its human. You see, dogs that suffer from loss of eyesight in one eye tend to be relieved after enucleation surgery. In most cases of vision loss, there is associated pain. And there is a sense of unbalance. 

But, after the enucleation, with the pain gone, your dog may feel it has a new lease on life. And, it has had time to deal with the sense of seeing with one eye. Hence, you witness many canines cope with the entire affair with far less fuss than their owners.

However, as a pet guardian, there are many things you can do to make the transition even easier for your four-legged friend. 

• Caring For A One-Eyed Dog With Love & Patience

You see, your dog has suffered from loss of depth perception. The field of view that your dog can now see is significantly reduced. Hence, your dog will now have a blindside on the side where it has lost vision.

Furthermore, depth perception is the ability of the brain to decipher the distance between things when both eyes are functioning. With the loss of one eye, your dog will not be able to estimate the distance between things correctly and occasionally run into things as well as lose its balance.

There is no way to deal with the transition except that you give your dog time to recover. Your dog will need your love, support, and patience as it will re-learn to see with one eye. And, there are dog training schools that help to deal with being a one-eyed dog or blindness.

• Never Blind Side Your One-Eyed Dog

Your dog has lost its vision on one side, and it will feel vulnerable on that side as it will not be able to see anyone or thing approaching from its blind side. After an enucleation surgery, your dog will need to take time to get a sense of its bearings again. Until that happens, make sure never to startle your dog from its blind side.

A calm and relaxed environment with more routines will help your dog recover sooner. And, you will have to make extra effort to speak softly to your dog before you approach it from its blind side or make attempts not to approach it from its blind side at all.

• Let It Walk On Its Comfortable Side

So, many pet parents with one-eyed dogs claimed that their dog’s walking behavior changed after losing vision in one eye. The dogs would walk, keeping their humans on their blindside and hold the line of sight open to the other side. Many animal experts believe that such behavior is the direct result of your dog’s trust and bond with you. 

The more the dog loves and trusts you to protect it, the more likely it will have you walk on its blind side. You see, your dog has learned that it cannot see from one eye and that it trusts you to protect it so it can easily hand over its reins of safety to you.

Caring For Your One-Eyed Dog – The Upshot

Caring for a one-eyed dog or a blind one may add to your responsibility, but it will also add to the love and connection between you and your faithful companion. It may take you and your pet some time to get comfortable in your new life.

But, you have to realize that your dog will rely on you to help it though it’s a difficult phase in its life. So, be strong and be patient, and you will see that a bit of love will help your dog go a long way into loving its new life.

If you’re already the caretaker of a special one-eyed canine, please feel free to share your experiences and useful tips in the comments section below. Remember sharing is caring.