Night vision

[JudyN]

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Jasper's been a bit unsettled at nights recently. About one night in three, he'll ask to go outside, where he stares down the garden for a while before coming back in. He may well toilet, but I don't think he really needs to.

I can put this down to general ageing, or general just being a pain, but what I have noticed is he seems to be a lot less confident about moving around the house in the dark. When he sleeps downstairs, he'll whine to come into our room around 5.30am, then he'll settle down to sleep, but some days recently I've opened the door to him and he's stood there for some time before coming in.

Can dogs' night vision begin to go when there's no sign of any deterioration during the day? I've tried using a torch, but it doesn't make a difference. I could put dim nightlights through the house, though I don't want one in the bedroom as I can't sleep in dim light - and I don't want the shock to the system of putting on a normal light.

Any thoughts on cause and remedies, please? It would be nice if he didn't wake up and ask to go out in the first place, of course, but I've a feeling he's going to get more, not less, unsettled as he ages.

 

[Rinkydinkydo]

I've seen it in a couple of terriers I've had over the years. Fine during the day,come night time they seem to loose some confidence and become hesitant at going forward. They were fine during their younger years but became more evident as they good older.

 

[JudyN]

Thanks Rinkydinkydo - it's good to know he's not alone.

He's getting funny around bedtime in general - his barking at Mr N when he gets up to come to bed has extended to barking at me. Usually when he's already had 'last wee', but last night when I got up to let him out. It feels different to what he had been doing - not so much a threat directed at us, more a communication, and normally holding up my finger and telling him to wait keeps him glued to his bed till I'm up and moving - at which moment he snaps out of it completely. I do wonder if it's the start of dog dementia, but he's completely normal (for him) during the day. And 11 seems quite young.

Still, he slept through last night apart from one bit of whining when he settled down again after I'd told him to sharrup a few times.

 

[RGC]

JudyN, is Jasper bumping into things particularly in low light?

 

[JudyN]

No, he's not bumping into things (if you don't count bumping into a lamp post because he was craning his neck round to give a dog someway off a death stare). Though he did trip over the draught excluder coming back in through the kitchen door in the middle of the night. He had been particularly worried there as he'd stood on a baking tray we'd put down there for him to lick the day before and it tried to kill him..... we only use that door when he asks to go out at night (as he can't then get down the garden and bark at the monsters), but I'm going to have to keep it clearer.

 

[Tinytom]

My 3 lurchers are all older now and have the same issues ...we have an outside light and we keep a dim light on in the lounge at night for them ....Murphy who is the youngest at 10 is showing signs of dementia some days are ok and some arent ...

 

[JudyN]

I'd better dig out some nightlights, I guess Though maybe if he doesn't like walking through the house in the dark he'll decide just to stay in bed and sleep all night.

 

[paperweight]

Can dogs' night vision begin to go when there's no sign of any deterioration during the day?

this pattern sometimes happens in humans with conditions that affect the photoreceptors in the retina responsible for seeing in low light (the rods). these receptors are also responsible for peripheral vision, but it's fairly common in humans for night blindness to show up before peripheral vision is affected.


unfortunately i don't know much about canine vision or vision conditions, so i don't know if that's helpful at all.

i'm sorry jasper's going through this. i hope adding lights helps.

 

[JudyN]

Thanks paperweight

 

[RGC]

One of our previous whippets developed progressing sight problems from the age of 6/7 and completely blind by the age of 12 - retinal degeneration. Once diagnosed there weren’t as many problems as one would anticipate. We received excellent advice from the Eye Veterinary Clinic in Leominster. Didn’t make any major adjustments to the house just attached a tiny bell to the collar of our other whippet on walks. This may not be the situation with Jasper but I just wanted to share that it wasn’t such a big deal for Blue. He’s the blond one, Poppy’s the brindle - they left a big void when they went to the pet shop in the sky but, as we all know, it goes with the territory.

 

[JudyN]

Blue was gorgeous, RGC.

We had a Yorkie who went blind (and deaf, diabetic, incontinent, toothless, etc. etc.), and she used to manage very well, as long as you didn't leave anything in her normal routes. I imagine it can be harder to adapt to night blindness, as you don't get as much 'practice' as if your eyesight was poor the whole time.

Anyhoo, J has been a bit more settled the last few nights, though he did have me up once last night. When he stopped and was unsure about moving forward, a reassuring hand on his neck or back seemed to do the trick.

 

[Tinytom]

Lets hope the lighter evenings will help Jasper ...

 

[JudyN]

And another 'Is this normal?' question... As dogs age and slow down, and getting to where they really want to go is less of a priority, is it normal for sniffing to become more important? This morning's walk was all along pavements, and was painfully slow because he had to sniff every single blade of grass (and eat quite a few). This afternoon we didn't get far into the park at all, but he wanted to go off piste, into the bushes and overgrown bits, even if they did involve steep slopes which his back legs had to think about. He seemed quite obsessed with it.

 

[Tinytom]

Yep Victor has become obsessed with sniffing as he has got older it has got worst ...sometimes it takes longer on a shorter route but it is more about occupying the brain as they get older more so than their bodies (thats what i have found with my older lurchers ) imagine being able to smell all the different creatures that have walked past ...peed pooped

 

[RGC]

If we walk straight out of the house across town Mabel will be on her leash and spends a lot of time sniffing - probably because other dogs have laid trails. When we drive to the woods or to the river she’ll be unleashed and behaves more like a sighthound. I’m sure that there’s some logic behind it all.

 

[Flobo]

Yep, Jake did and my oldies I walk now, all really love to sniff! They are in the zone, I always imagine them picking up a 101 more bits of information than they did when younger and always rushing to the next scent!... I thought it may be as their other senses get less sharp, the nose becomes even more important.
Towards the end with Jake that was the one thing he still seemed to enjoy, his mobility wasn't great but I felt if he was happy to go from one lamp post to the next and spend more time sniffing than walking, then so be it!
I also used to drive him to different areas so he could just bimble about sniffing, not really going anywhere...
That was until he seemed more confused being in places that, although had been very familiar to him all his life, he seemed not to remember, it was quite noticeable his sense of feeling lost and worried, even though I was right there with him, that was a heartbreaking moment for me, so we stayed local and our street's lamp posts and verges became his daily stimulation and his happy place...

 

[JudyN]

I found it hard not to get impatient with Jasper this morning, partly because Mr N walks with us in the morning and has to get to his desk by a particular time. But then I just got annoyed with myself for being exasperated with Jasper!

Oh, how I miss the long tramps around heathland, getting tired, muddy and occasionally lost. Actually, quite often lost

 

[Tinytom]

I used to get cross sometimes with Victor but the older he has got he can do exactly what he wants...much to the disgust of the jack Russell who wants to be tearing off at 80mph

 

[JudyN]

It must be so hard balancing the needs of a young 'un and an old one!

 

[Tinytom]

It must be so hard balancing the needs of a young 'un and an old one!

Only when Victor is sniffing more than 10 mins in one spot
Victor is 14 ...Tilly is 12 this year ...murphy is 10 and the two jacks are 8 and 6 ....the jacks are in and out of the garden all afternoon which keeps them busy after their walk