What Can Make A Dog Go Blind Overnight? Explained

When we become pet owners, we must be ready to face anything and everything, from diseases to the loss of a pet. But sometimes, some things catch us off guard, surprising us to the core. Something one of that is dogs go blind overnight.

So, we thought answering some frequently asked questions about dogs go blind. Because we all are parents of puppies, it’s better to be aware of every possibility that might be waiting for us in the future.

So, what can make a dog go blind overnight? Is it possible for a dog to lose his eyesight within a few hours? It’s sad, but yes. Cataracts, glaucoma, Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration – SARD, and Retinal Detachment are some possible causes.

Keep reading till the end if you are researching this topic, and we assure you that you won’t be disappointed. It will also benefit you to be educated about what can make a dog go blind overnight.

Can my dog go blind overnight?

It’s scary. Having your furry best friend go blind without prior warnings will scare every dog owner to hell and back.

It’s impossible, isn’t it? No, it’s not. Unfortunately!

Acute blindness in dogs is very much a possibility. But as we said before, if you’re starting a bond with any pet, you must be ready to face any challenge that comes along the way.

So, what makes a dog go blind overnight? Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration, also known as SARD, Retinal Detachment Syndrome, cataracts caused by diabetes, and glaucoma are some of the most common causes that can make a dog go blind overnight or in the span of a few days.

Some of the time, this blindness is just temporary. But, thinking that if you neglect giving medical treatments to your pup, this blindness can become permanent.

Therefore, if you can notice these eye diseases at the first sign, you might also be able to save your furry friend from going completely blind.  

Even though, in rare cases, the dog playing and running around the previous evening may completely lose his vision by the following day.

It may have been developing for weeks, months, or even years. A dog has no possible way of telling his owner that there’s a problem with his eyes. So, noticing this is entirely up to us as his parents.

His sudden behavior changes, such as hesitation in being active, hitting his head on a wall or furniture as if he didn’t see it there, and trying to guide himself through smell and noise, are common ways of noting that. 

If you ever suspect that, have his eyes checked right away.

What can make a dog go blind suddenly overnight? 

Let us tell you in detail about the four diseases we mentioned before; it will help you understand correctly what can make a dog go blind overnight.

• Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration (SARD)

If your furry friend is over 6 or 7 years old, you must worry about this disease. Unfortunately., if your dog goes blind with sards, nobody can reverse that vision loss back.

Even though every dog breed can be its victim, many are small dogs, and it doesn’t occur in cats.

This vision loss develops throughout a period, and if you didn’t notice it in time, you might feel like it happened overnight because this eyesight loss is rapid.

Your doggie might express symptoms such as fear of everything, disorientation, and knocking into objects.

Moreover, to everybody’s disappointment, there’s still no treatment available to cure sudden acquired retinal degenerations.

• Cataracts and glaucoma

In cataracts, the eye lens gets clouded. The most common two causes of cataracts are genetic mutations and diabetes mellitus.

Because you can notice this cloudiness as it appears, you can make haste and get the required medical treatments for your doggo.

Most of the time, the option is to opt for surgery, with a success rate of about 95%. But unfortunately, if you fail to notice it in time, or neglect your furry friend’s treatments, complete blindness in your dog’s eye will be unavoidable.

Glaucoma attacks and damages the optic nerve of the dog’s eye. The most common causes are high eye pressure, eye injury, which leads to trauma-based glaucoma, hereditary predisposition, and age-caused changes.

While cataracts do not usually cause pain, glaucoma does. If your pup has glaucoma, he’ll show symptoms like continuously pawing at his eye, lethargy, squinting, reddened eyes, and reduced appetite.

Glaucoma-induced sight loss has a 50% chance of reversing back. These are the two most common illnesses you will encounter when researching what can make a dog go blind overnight.

• Retinal Detachment Syndrome

If your pup faces high blood pressure, fungal or viral infections in the eyes, or immune-mediated disorders, retinal detachment is not too far away.

In RDS, the eye’s retina will get detached from the back of the eye and can cause partial or complete vision loss.

The doctor will decide the treatment entirely based on the reason causing RDS, and you must seek medical attention as fast as possible.

And now we’re sure that you will be able to identify the symptoms at once now that you know what can make a dog go blind overnight.

Can sudden blindness in dogs be reversed? 

Many eye diseases can be reversed if diagnosed and treated on time, whereas many cannot be undone. Such as sudden acquired retinal degeneration or progressive retinal atrophy, for these have no treatments invented yet.

But doctors can treat conditions such as cataracts with surgeries by replacing the eye lens with an artificial lens.

If you noticed symptoms and started treating your doggie after taking him to a doctor, the diseases which cause dogs to go blind can be eradicated or slowed down.

Either way, the main thing you should do is check your dog’s eyes properly from time to time. Because some illnesses develop rapidly and you might get caught off guard after learning that your dog has lost his sight one day.

Thank you for reading this post. Stay tuned with Jack Russell Owner for more interesting posts. Cheers from Shaggy and Lenny!!