The advent of the dark ages
My baby is slowly going blind.
Yesterday we went to the vet with her to have her eyes checked, because they had been red and inflamed for a while. I was worried she might have an allergy or something.
Turned out I was wrong. An allergy would have been fine, actually.
Apparently, what she does have is called chronic superficial keratitis, also called Pannus.
This condition requires medication for the rest of her life to keep her from going completely blind. This is just great, really. Because this medication is a steroid solution, which has to be applied with the help of a pipette directly into her eyes. Into. Her. Eyes. Absolutely friggin’ fantastic.
Ever tried to put something – anything – into the eyes of a 70 pound german shepherd that emphatically states to JUST STAY AWAY FROM HER FACE? Well, I did. Twice now, and believe me, it’s not a funny sight. At least not when you are thinking about the consequences of her refusal to cooperate.
It’s an absolute nightmare. And I have to do that twice a day now for the rest of her life. Just great. I can already see she is gonna love me to bits after a few days of that.
The vet said with enough training she would eventually get used to letting me do it (the dog, that is, not the vet). Which just goes to show that this woman doesn’t know my dog too well. Or at all, really. My baby is one of the most stubborn, obstinate bitches ever. She must have got that from me, actually. After 2 tries she has already learned to try to get away from me as soon as she sees me coming with the damn pipette. Call me a pessimist, but I really don’t see her changing that attitude anytime soon.
Of course, once she’s blind, I will probably be able to sneak up on her and administer the meds. Only then it won’t do any good anymore.
So, I better start preparing for life with a blind dog already.
You know, usually I prefer to have a dog over having kids, but just this once I wish I could explain to Jenny that all I wanna do is help her and tell her to just hold still for one ruttin’ moment. It would make everything so much easier.
Poop puppy
Does it hurt her? If not maybe she will get used to it, and you can always try the associate it with a big treat right after trick, though that doesn’t always work.
No, apparently the keratitis itself doesn’t hurt. The meds are a solution on oil basis, so I figure they shouldn’t burn or some such either. But the oily film on her eyes can’t be all that pleasant. She is always trying to rub it off right away.
I am trying to work with treats, but the thing is that she’d rather forego a treat than do what I want her to. ;o)
But I will stay persistent and sooner or later she might just give in. That’ll be right around the time pigs start to fly, probably.
oh dear
Yes, that about covers it. :-/