BassetHoundHank

Hello! I am new to this forum board. Please excuse me if I post something in the wrong topic.

So my pup, Hank, is nearing 13 weeks old, I purchased him at nearly 7 weeks... ( I know, very young to purchase him. I bought him from a man off Craiglist who lives in the same town as me..)

4 days after living at the house with me, his left I was covered by a white film so I took him to the vet the next day and he thought it was just some sort of irritation.. about a week after, his right began looking the same as the left. after a few visits with different vets and after a lot of different medications, we were finally referred to an opthamologist.. He determined it is primary glaucoma. Other than his eyes, he is a completely happy and healthy pup with tons of energy!
Both eyes are bupthalmic and the Doctor told us his Haab/s striae are scattered in his corneas and both his eyes are cloudy. There's a lot of information, really.. I let the man who bought him from know what has been going on and that he should tell the other buyers about my pup, just incase something may happen to their precious bassets.. I don't know if he has or not, but we have been able to keep some what in contact.
Anyways, the doctor has perscribed poor Hank with Glycerin and he's taking two different eye drops currently. I've ran out of his other medications..

I've looked through other threads and haven't seen very much about pups with glaucoma, but I was really wondering, has anyone else experienced their pups developing glaucoma at such a young age?

If so, can you share your experience with it? How did you cope?
How has anyone with a young or old basset learned to cope with their baby(s) having glaucoma?

Scully

I am so sorry that your pup has glaucoma, and at such a young age. I have no experience with it, but do know of someone who has a basset with glaucoma. Her name is Cat, and her website is: BassetHoundTown.com. She has a basset girl named Emma who developed glaucoma at a young age. Cat probably has quite a bit of info from her experience with it.

This is the specific link to the sub-blog about Emma: http://www.bassethoundtown.com/blog/...y/blind-basset

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BassetHoundHank

Thank you for the links, I find her blog very interesting so far. It all makes me feel kind of sad, but I know that their eyesight isn't too much a loss (as for dog themselves) and they can adjust more easily if it goes at a young age...

Boomer's Mom

I've never heard of a such a young pup developing glaucoma. I have no experience with it, either, but I do hope you don't give up on Hank. He sure is a cute little guy!

Mikey T

not sure that is the case.

The biggest concern going forward is pain. Often times the eye need to be removed. Hank is certainly the youngest basset I have hear of woth a gluacoma diagnoses. If you want to find out how stand up the breeder is have them contact univerity of IOWA Glaucoma Cell Biology Laboratoryfor submitting DNA samples or univerisity of Missouri Project Coordinator Liz Hansen at HansenL@missouri.edu or by calling 573-884-3712. see; Useful Research Families


I have not had a dog with glaucoma but did have a beagle lose its eyesight to SARDS which means the dogs go blind very quickly over a few days. This dog adapted quite well. even to new homes and living arangements it just could never figure out that my sisters cat like to drink out of her pool. When "bandit" was on the hunt she would end up in the pool until it was fenced off. She used a dog door with stairs no problem. She aguired what she needed to know about new living arrangement by following a circular path through the house and not deveating from that route. the worse thing you could do was try and help her navigate. it only confused and upset her.

Soundtrack

I haven't had to deal with glaucoma, but based on discussions I've had with owners of dogs with the problem it is better to simply remove the eyes right away rather than try to save them. Everyone I've discussed this with said they never realized how much pain their dogs were in until the eyes were removed and their attitudes improved markedly.

I also have never heard of it in such a young puppy.

I did have a dog who went blind later in life (nearly 12 years of age) and she adpated remarkably well.

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BassetHoundHank

I'll have to look up more about this whenever possible. I hope they could use whatever "samples" I could provide for them to help this disease for dogs..
I'm glad your beagle could atleast adjust and still manage to have some fun with the cat.

Hmm.. If that were the best option, I would do it. He's so young still, so I'm more than sure his eyes will need to be taken out at some point since they are already so bad.. But looking up more about eye removal and seeing how expensive it can be, I don't think I can afford even one eye to be removed, let alone BOTH eyes.. Maybe if there were a place that is more affordable..

What caused your dog to become blind?

Soundtrack

She started with dry eye, plus some infections, both eyes eventually ulcerated and ruptured. The opthamologist preferred to treat them medically, I wished later we had simply taken them out at the beginning - by the time that he recommended it she was diagnosed with a cardiac tumor and surgery was out of the question.

Check around with vets in your area - apparently eye removal is an operation that any vet should be able to do, it doesn't require a specialist. The vet that was going to do it for me would have charged half the price of the opthamologist. Rural vets tend to be less expensive than city vets, and vets in affluent areas tend to charge a lot more. Big hospitals will tend to charge more than small clinics.

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Vina-Ch Soundtrack Grand Illusion
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Hermione - Soundtrack Spellbound
Eowyn - Soundtrack Rain Dance

BassetHoundHank

Do you know how much you would have paid for the removal of your pet's eyes from the person that was going to do it? If so, may I ask how much it would have been for you?

Thank you for your information. I'm sorry about your poor dog.
I will definitely check around my local vets to compare prices, as long as it can be affordable. My sister is pushing me to euthanize him because she's worried about my expenses and the thought of me having a blind dog, but I know I can't do that to Hank.
Y'all be ready for some pictures of Hank if the surgery takes place! He's still gonna be a cutie.

Wworm

Hank, I was thinking of you when i saw this...
see the Queen Mother in the middle of the clip. I dunno for sure, but it sounds like from everyone here you can a good long life. besides, it's not like losin your noses or something... now THAT would be a tragedy.

YouTube - ‪RalphThePuppy's Channel‬‏

(there are some great costumes here... i like the tux one, i think i'll wear that if i get married someday. i also like the lobster and bumblebee...)

i am excited because i'm going to something like this this weekend...!
enjoy, Hank.
--your pal, Worm