My dog hasn't been right for the past couple of months. She hasn't been wanting to go out for her walks and has been lethargic generally. we noticed blood in her poo over the past year but over the last month it has been worse.
Our vet has been pondering about her problems for past couple of months, hasn't been able to pin anything down. he seemed to think it might be pancreas or gut problems. We've been to vet about 5 timed since December.
Last week we noticed her eyes turn red, within a couple of days she was blind. It has been heart breaking to watch her decline. The vet says she has had a bleed into her eyes, maybe caused by stroke?
I presume that this last condition is connected to all the other problems. The vet is at a loss.
She is disorientated and doesn't know where she is. She Is bumping into everything like a lost soul.
She is moaning at times and staring vacantly into the distance, we are giving painkillers directly to eyes as well as orally.
Does anything that I have mentioned connect with anyone?

Oh my goodness, what a heart breaking turn of events.

I know it's a terrible simplification, but it is said that dogs can adapt incredibly well to blindness given lots of time and support. They are far less dependent on their vision than us humans, because they have the gift of that oh so powerful nose. They map their environment through scent and can navigate the same way. All is not lost.

There are three big risks for a blind dog that you need to take into account:
1] They still need their vision to avoid bumping into things. Consider any changes you could make around the home to make it safer for her and help her navigate safely.

2] Similar to the above but outdoors, she would be vulnerable to being poked in the face by bushes and branches etc. It is may be necessary to use a cone/e-collar to stop her coming into any more harm. But that might just stress her out even more right now, so need to rush that. I'd be tempted just to keep her at home where she can feel safe and secure and not reintroduce walks until she's regained a little spirit.

3] Her ability to inter-act with other dogs will be compromised, unless she has any long-time trusted doggy friends, it would be best to keep her out of the way of any others. She won't be able to read their face/eye/body/tail/ear language. There is a blind dog in our local park who is fine until approached by another dog, then it just lashes out with aggression in self-defense. It can no longer see them coming, so gets startled, and can no longer "read" them to understand if they are friendly or not. As a result, it's in constant state of self-defense.

Bless her heart, it's only natural for her to be very disorientated right now. Just as we would be if it happened to us. But never be surprised just how resilient and adaptable dogs can be. Do everything you can to keep her comfortable, safe and give her lots of re-assurance and love. Give her time to adjust.

And if you really want to throw yourself into this, consider hiring a qualified canine behaviourist. They understand dogs better than anyone. They could probably give you all kinds of ideas around training or leaving scent trails to help her adapt and make her life easier. Check the websites for the APBC/COAPE/TCBTS/ICB to find one in your area.

I think your dog may have Protothecosis which is an algal parasite. It affects the intestines first causing blood in the stool. Then it gets into the blood stream where it can cause blindness. In the blood stream it can also attack other internal organs such as the brain. Humans can also get it but it is most common in dogs:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protot...ecosis_in_dogs
http://www.peakveterinaryreferral.co...ness-in-a-dog/

Unfortunately the prognosis is not good. Please keep us informed. Best wishes.

More information on protothecosis
http://www.furrycritter.com/health/d...tothecosis.htm

How awful OP. Hopefully you can get to the root of what is going on and at least make your dog comfortable.
Since the vet doesn't seem to have much idea get yourself onto dog sites and dog forums and ask your vet to investigate any possibilities. Depending on your financial situation you could ask for referral to a specialist.
As for blindness itself this is something dogs can adapt to incredibly well. I know someone with a totally blind collie and most people wouldn't even know. My own girl is partially sighted and very deaf. We have to work around it but she manages very well.
Time for lots of TLC . Fingers crossed you can get to the bottom of it.

If you're on fb, check out "The Touch of Sight", the dog's owner might be able to help.

How is your dog today?

Have you taken your dog to an eye specialist? it sounds as if you need to if not.
Poor dog. You can get something to fit on their collar, think its called a halo, (try googling or youtubing it) which is a soft tube that sticks out so they can't bump into things. My friend had just bought one for her dog and its already making a difference to how she's coping and how happy she seems to be. Someone else I know looked them up and made one for her dog.

How is your dog today?

Have any of our replies been of any use to you at all?

Thank you for your suggestions and good thoughts, really appreciate your help.
We was sent to an eye specialist. The outcome of that is that my dog has very high blood pressure, double the normal range.

Her eyes were bleeding and he doesn't know if her retinas are detached or not(couldn't see through the blood), so can't tell if she will regain sight. I just feel gutted for her.

All the symptoms she had for past two months were from hypertension.
So we have eye drops and three lots pills to give her, to bring blood pressure down and alleviate things.

Poor girl is so sleepy, disorientated and confuse, she seems so down. Her life has closed down completely, am just waiting for some improvement.

The halo sounds good, although I think she might be not quite ready for that, as she seems to get stuck in one place, so lost right now.

Seems that hypertension happens to 10 per cent of dogs and yet is not diagnosed easily. My regular vet seemed worryingly clueless about many signals my dog was showing.

thank you Aarghawasp, will check that out

I saw on TV recently a blind dog I think it was on Paul O'Grady and they had a halo thing for the collar , similar to this

https://uk.search.yahoo.com/search;_...h&fr=yfp-t-405

then there are others

http://www.blinddogs.net/blind_dog_collar_plan.html

http://www.lifewithdogs.tv/2012/10/a...gs-get-around/

Thanks for the update. So serious but not as serious as protothecosis. Double the normal pressure - I wouldn't have thought that could be possible. Hopefully it is now under control and it is just a question of therapy - helping her adapt to blindness. Although maybe she will regain some sight.