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Hello to all the members

My mother has a Border Collie named Skye because of her beautiful blue eyes. Sadly she is getting on in years, she is now 11 years old.Her recent behavior is quite strange and most out of character. She refuses to go out of the house most of the time,she has bitten the postman. She has arthritus in one of her back legs, and also her eyes are getting quite cloudy looking but her eyesight seems to be as good as ever just now.

Is the strange behaviour occurring just because she is geeting on in years? If anyone can help any suggestions would be much appreciated. The vet suggested we give Skye St.John's Wort, but we have only just started giving it to her so we have not had time to see any effectsit is making as yet.

 

Thanks in anticipation

 

Chellee

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Are you sure that her eyesight is still good. If she is getting cataracts (and that would be the cloudiness you see) her vision would very likely be impaired. Visually impaired dogs can become more defensive, especially in the beginning when they have to adjust to a new way of looking at the world. That would also explain her reluctance to go outdoors, she may not be feeling as secure about her surroundings as she used to.

 

She might also have aches and pains that you're not aware of. You could look into some anti-inflammatory type med or a Glucosaminme/Chondroitin supplement.

 

11 is not that old, especially for a mid-size dog. The first thing I would do is get a complete physical and have chem panel done to make sure that everything is ok on the inside. If her attitude change really is old age related then you can ask about some anipryl, which is pretty good for older dogs.

 

You also just need to consider that she's getting on and may just want the world to slow down for her a bit and there's nothing really wrong with that.

 

Good luck

Maria

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I agree with Maria's post, except to say that it's normal for a dog Skye's age to have cloudy, greyish eyes. It's a condition of the older dog called nuclear sclerosis, and doesn't usually affect vision very much. If your dog seems to have good vision, I would say it's more likely than not that the cloudiness is nuclear sclerosis rather than cataracts, BUT it wouldn't hurt to have her eyes examined because a dog can have both nuclear sclerosis and cataracts, and a decreasing ability to see clearly can definitely produce the kind of behavioural changes you're observing. So could severe arthritis which makes it painful to move. I would have her thyroid levels tested as well. Good luck.

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