In honor of Specially Abled Pets Day we want to talk about our buddy, Harvey!
Harvey is a four year old golden retriever/boarder collie mix that was recently diagnosed with Progressive Renal Atrophy (PRA): a genetic disease that leads to blindness in dogs.
PRA is non-painful. It develops slowly overtime usually starting with nighttime visibility loss.
Symptoms inclide:
Clumsiness
Dialted Pupils
Hesitance to go enter dark rooms
Hesitance to go down stairs
Although there is no cure for PRA, dogs tend to adjust well to their loss of vision because it is gradual.
If your dog has PRA it is best to train them using verbal commands before they lose their vision completely.
Read here for more information on PRA.