What are dog side effects of SARD?

Answer 1

Our Miniature Schnauzer, female, developed SARD at four years of age. Following a trip to our vet, we we took Mika to an Animal Ophthalmology Surgeon in Williamson, MI. we learned the following. The doctor was wonderful and gave us many ideas on how to train Mika and ourselves for her life as a blind pet. Most helpful was a wonderful book we obtained at his office: ' Living With Blind Dogs', by Caroline D. Levin, RN. This is an insert from her very informative and valuable book: Following the sudden onset of blindness, the retinal cells will thin out until the greenish glow becomes visible. They go through two phases, resistance phase (adrenal overdrive) and adrenal exhaustion. Minimize or eliminate excessive vaccines and pesticide use. change their diet to homemade, grain-free meals and add the supplement phosphatidylserine. When in adrenal exhaustion, (the adrenal glands can no longer produce sufficient cortisol), hormone replacement therapy may be required. Signs/Symptoms: the onset of blindness, including hunger, thirst, incontinence, weight gain, insomnia, seizures, confusion, muscle weakness (rear leg weakness, incontinence, or cardiac problems), panting, pacing, calcium deposits, hearing loss and lethargy. This book gives a blind pet owner advice on training your pet and how to make the pets and the owners life as normal as possible with ingenious suggestions and ideas that have worked with other blind pets and their owners. We made use of the ideas for training and working with Mika and have been more than pleased with Mika's advancements. She has suffered most of the above described signs. such as; hunger, thirst, weight gain, seizures, confusion and rear leg weakness, also occassional panting. I hope this helps answer your question. If possible, I advise you to get a copy of Caroline D. Levin's book. Mika is now seven years old and most people would never guess that Mika is blind. She has them all fooled. She is happy, engergenic, and just a bit over weight!

Answer 2

Sudden acquired retinal degeneration (SARD) can cause dogs to experience sudden vision loss, dilated pupils, increased thirst and appetite, weight gain, and increased urination. Some dogs may also show behavior changes such as increased vocalization or aimless wandering due to their vision impairment.