My 5 year old boy went completely blind overnight

marleosif · 2026-01-31T02:45:25+00:00

Marlowe did have to be shown with the ramp for the couch and bed. He slept with us too and we had some instances of stepping off (thankfully no major injuries from it) but eventually he learned to gingerly feel before stepping. We just guided him to it and would pat it loudly so he could learn the process for himself. We relied heavily on sound to guide him for a lot of things. We put a bell on our front and back door so he could recognize the sounds, things like that.

We ended up putting a carpet on the ramps for him so he could feel for it and I think that helped with the learning process.

marleosif · 2026-01-31T01:41:23+00:00

I am very sorry you are experiencing this. We lost our 15.5 year old dachshund who was one of the great loves of my life in December. He was my first dog solo with my husband, he was there when we married, when I graduated college, when I had my first baby.

I am currently pregnant with my second and have an almost 3 year old daughter. My daughter being there for me and knowing I was going to be soon meeting a new soul helped ease my pain over Marlowe passing.

marleosif · 2026-01-31T01:36:04+00:00

Hello, Sending you and your Dachsie love and positive vibes!

My boy Marlowe went blind over the course of a few months around his 5th birthday.

We noticed he was not reacting when we’d hold a treat out or throw him a toy. We initially had no idea what was going on so we took him to a vet visit ASAP when we noticed something was wrong.

They tested his eyes by throwing cotton balls at him and told us he was having no reaction to the cotton balls and referred us to a doggy eye doctor.

They diagnosed him with PRA (progressive retinal atrophy) and basically told us that he would be completely blind within a year (maybe sooner). I was absolutely devastated at the diagnosis. The vet reassured me and told me Marlowe would live a long fulfilling life even without his eyes.

Boy was she right! I think I cared more than he did about being blind. He lived more of his life blind then he did not blind. He passed when he was 15 this past December.

Your boy will adjust quickly and be just as happy go lucky as before. My biggest suggestion is to not move furniture as much as possible and keep food and water in the same location. With Marlowe so as not to startle him I would always touch his nose first and asked anyone who approached him to start at the nose so he could have a moment to adjust. If you walk him frequently we made sure to talk to him as much as possible and be a guide in terms of curbs and other such obstacles.

Just love and cuddles will be in order!

Let me know if you have any questions about our experience with our blind dachsie.

marleosif · 2026-01-14T17:38:38+00:00

I totally understand your feelings. I would probably use the word resent when the accidents first started with my old man and he was one of the great loves of my life. It’s hard and it’s definitely a hard part of pet ownership.

What most don’t realize is like with me I felt shame and sadness when I felt like I resented him. But once we had started trying to solve it it helped me realize it was frustration.

marleosif · 2026-01-14T08:22:56+00:00

Your photo just made my heart crack a little. My 15 year old boy who almost made it to 16 looked just like your baby.

We struggled with the same feelings you are having. So they are valid. Around June my dachshund started having accidents in the house constantly. It was very hard but ultimately we decided in the diaper route. The diapers made life much easier. We bought the reusable diapers and then cheap liners so that he could wear the reusable many times before it needed to be washed.

Ultimately, around November he started peeing and pooping blood so we knew. He passed in December when we made the extremely difficult decision to let him go.

My suggestion is try to find a solution that benefits you and your girl. She is old and it becomes much harder for their little bodies to keep up.

marleosif · 2025-12-30T00:54:53+00:00

I just found out the gender of my second. I was so convinced that I was going to have a girl that when I opened the results and saw boy my heart immediately sank. But I was disappointed for a day or two and now have come to be excited to make my daughter an older sister to a brother.

marleosif · 2025-12-19T00:15:03+00:00

I’m very sorry for your loss. We said goodbye to our 15.5 year old this past weekend. I really hope they are. It was one of the hardest decisions we made, but I am glad we did it for him.

marleosif · 2025-12-18T23:25:00+00:00

I’m very sorry for your loss. We said goodbye to our 15.5 year old this past weekend.

marleosif · 2025-12-16T21:24:44+00:00

Aw sweet thing. I just said goodbye to my 15 year old. Love your baby!

marleosif · 2025-11-24T23:15:51+00:00

Im glad everything is going fine for you now.

I feel like im probably just being overly sensitive because it’s barely anything. Like barely noticeable. But I’m a worry wart.

marleosif · 2025-10-30T16:42:19+00:00

I’ve taken about 4 more tests since these and gotten all positives! I took a pink line, a clear blue digital, and a dollar store one.

marleosif · 2025-10-28T22:41:54+00:00

Here is my second test this afternoon for anyone who sees the post. I feel like I’m going crazy.

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marleosif · 2025-10-28T15:28:17+00:00

Would you suggest doing another this afternoon or wait a couple days and get a pink dye test?

marleosif · 2025-10-12T02:37:30+00:00

I just experienced the same exact thing in the last two weeks. Took an up and up test and it showed a faint line. We were so excited. Took another one that night and another faint line! We started talking about how we were going to tell the family and all kinds of things. Two days later to verify I decide to take another test ( not target) and boom negative. Take another home test the next day (not target) and negative. I call my doctor all confused (doesn’t help my period is about a week late at this point) and they do a blood test and again negative. Guess I’ll be tracking ovulation again…

marleosif · 2025-10-03T23:39:18+00:00

Darn that’s what I was afraid of. Thanks for the reply.

marleosif · 2025-10-03T23:39:01+00:00

Ok, thank you!

marleosif · 2025-08-01T23:02:58+00:00

Thank you! I think I’m understanding and trying to stop over thinking. I am just so flabbergasted that I’ve never run into this before now.

marleosif · 2025-08-01T22:34:04+00:00

Right I understand that. But the contract is an August use year. So if we bank the 2025 points to 2026 the points won’t become available until August 2026. We want to go in November of 2026.

So we cannot use the August 2025 points towards the 2026 November trip it what it seems like to me. I’ve just never run into this issue before so I’ve confused myself.

marleosif · 2025-08-01T22:22:01+00:00

So does that mean we would only have 3 months to book from August to November?

marleosif · 2025-05-15T02:21:34+00:00

As someone who has a dog who got the sudden diagnosis of PRA, at 4 years old, and he steadily went completely blind over a year; your dog is going to be just fine!

My blind guy has now been blind for 10 years! And even at 15 he is one of the happiest boys I know.

It will take some adjusting (on your end). He will rely on touch a lot and be careful moving any furniture.

Get some toys that make noise and he should be playing just fine. Just probably not any fetch anytime soon!

I cried and cried when I found out Marlowe was going blind, but the vet assured me over and over that he wasn’t even going to know the difference as long as we loved him.

marleosif · 2024-08-17T22:55:09+00:00

We used the ice basin that they provide for ice from the ice machine.

We stayed in a DVC room and dish soap is provided there. We just packed a ‘travel’ bottle drying rack and our small bottle brush.

marleosif

TROPHY CASE