r/Shihtzu • u/ShihtzuMum39 Shih-Tzu Enthusiast • 1d ago
Tzu Questions Does anyone else have a shihtzu who has a disability? How are they doing?
This is Barney, aged 12 years old. He’s had a lot of eye problems and has eventually had to have both removed. Best thing I ever did for him, he’s pain free and loving life. So proud of how he’s coped 🫶🏻🥰🐶
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u/BrilliantMany6599 1d ago
Had a male that had one eye removed, one dry eye that stayed, and a fairly serious heart murmur. Made it to about 16.5! Our female developed cataracts later in life, but she made it past 18! It’s awesome Barney is happy and pain free!!!! We always kept the pathway from the food & water bowls to their beds wide open, and they rewarded us with many years together.
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u/ShihtzuMum39 Shih-Tzu Enthusiast 1d ago
Those ages are incredible! I hope my boys are happy and have a good quality of life for that long 🫶🏻😍
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u/Comfortable_Sail9711 1d ago
YAYY Barney!!! My shih tzu Dobby only has one eye and is thriving 🩷
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u/Shamanology Shih-Tzu Enthusiast 1d ago
Barney you are so handsome and such a tough cookie, we love you lots 💕💕💕
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u/noltron33 1d ago
My family’s Shih tzu just had an eye removed a month ago. We were all really upset and anxious, but now that it’s been removed and it’s healing up, it’s amazing how quickly things have returned to normal. He’s as cute as always and seems like his old self. He was in a lot of pain (doctor said it must’ve felt like a constant severe migraine) and wasn’t really moving or interacting at all. They really are such resilient little dogs! Glad to see Barney doing well!
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u/ShihtzuMum39 Shih-Tzu Enthusiast 1d ago
They are so incredible aren’t they? Our vet said the same about the migraine, it was incredible how much relief he seemed to feel straight away. So glad your shihtzu is doing well too 🥰
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u/ExampleOutrageous263 1d ago
Mine is 18, blind, deaf, and diabetic but somehow still kicking 😭 istg he's immortal
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u/JDLCali Shih-Tzu Enthusiast 1d ago
My 2 babies. The one on the right (Franklin) has dwarfism and he doesn’t let it stop him from keeping up with his brother (Beans)! P.S. He is average size everywhere except his legs (very, very short) and soft palate (surgery soon). He jumps and runs with no fear, though. And eats like a champ!
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u/Temnosiniy bibi and zion 🐶🐶 1d ago
Barney is so handsome! Love seeing disabled pups living good lives 💕
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u/316kp316 Yoggy’s human 1d ago
We adopted Yoggy a year and a half ago. He was in a very bad condition when he was rescued. Vet said he’d not been able to close his eyes for probably two years as his tangled hair kept him from shutting them. They tried very hard to save his eyes but could not.
Despite the abuse he went through, he’s a very gentle and loving soul. Sleeps most of the time. Adapted to our place pretty quickly.
Some things that helped were: Placing the food, water and bed in one position and not moving them. Always set them down in the same place of you picked them up - e.g. on their bed so they can re-orient themselves They can differentiate between textures so different rugs or mats in doorways, etc. help them figure out where they are. Some people use essential oils - different ones for each room.
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u/Temnosiniy bibi and zion 🐶🐶 1d ago
My Bibi is a rescue too! We got him just in time to save his eyes but one of the surgeries left him partially blind in the left eye. Yoggi sounds just like him, very chill guy enjoys his beauty rest. Thank you for adopting him! Nothing better than loving and being loved by those little guys. *
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u/Unable-Development47 Beast 1d ago
This is Beast in his younger days. Now he is 13 years old and partially blind and deaf. Love him just the same.
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u/ShihtzuMum39 Shih-Tzu Enthusiast 1d ago
Thank you all! I’m obviously biased but I’m just so proud of him 🥰
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u/Brave-Spring2091 Shih-Tzu Enthusiast 1d ago
Our Sofie was a MalShi and she developed diabetes at 13.5. She was a trooper about the twice daily shots, but it was hard for her to be restricted with treats and only being able to have meals every 12 hours. She loved eating and treats. She lost a lot of her sight around age 15 due to the diabetes, and she did pretty well. Then about 6 months later she went completely blind and that was a lot harder for her. The diabetes also was taking its toll on her little body and she went to the bridge a year ago today. She was 15.5 so she did live a long and happy life.
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u/Kirbogon Shih-Tzu Enthusiast 1d ago
I had my sisters Shih Tzu dropped on me. Bruno was blind and deaf but luckily my other sister's shih Tzu Molly was living with me too.
Although Bruno was rather chill once he got a hang of his surroundings it helped that Molly was there as his Nurse and seeing eye dog lol. After a couple of months he always followed her so he didn't get lost. He was a good happy boy who was confused but got to eat great and enjoy the senses he had left.
I did end up getting a double leash to keep them together during walks tho. But later in his life I could trust them to go potty outside together and return to the door.
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u/ihateeverythingandu Shih-Tzu Enthusiast 1d ago
I haven't had a dog with any sort of actual disability beyond Mitzy's eternal laziness but I love all the doggies in here and their will to beat any adversity. I love them all.
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u/RenZomb13 Shih-Tzu Newbie 1d ago
My baby had his eye removed a few years ago and has since gone blind in the other eye. He’s 15 and has dementia now as well. His back legs don’t work well, he’s deaf and missing most of his teeth.
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u/catalogue15 1d ago
My 14 year old is blind in one eye, has little sight in her other eye, and has no teeth. She is doing FINE! What a sweetheart. She was a breeder dog in a puppy mill for ten years and now she’s free. I love her so much.
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u/Sandturtlefly Shih-Tzu Enthusiast 1d ago
My Tzu’s deaf and his brother is a tripod. Both doing great!
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u/PlentyPatience1331 Shih-Tzu Enthusiast 1d ago
So glad Barneys doing well,amazing how they cope when they are loved and feel safe❤️
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u/whicky1978 Shih-Tzu Enthusiast 1d ago
How does he get around? Is he able to find his food? He’s so sweet 🥹
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u/ShihtzuMum39 Shih-Tzu Enthusiast 22h ago
So we keep furniture in the same place which really helps. We’ve taught him the command ‘up up’ for steps which he handles well. Barney has always had a bright orange plastic bowl (looking back, he probably preferred it as he could see it when partially sighted) so he knows the sounds of it really well. He’s one of six dogs in the house so he just follows the pack at teatime! Barney absolutely loves fetch. He obviously can’t chase the ball now but if you roll it to him he will knock it about and use his nose the follow it.
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u/whicky1978 Shih-Tzu Enthusiast 22h ago
Awwww, are you able to take him for walks? My tzu loves to go for a run
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u/ShihtzuMum39 Shih-Tzu Enthusiast 7h ago
Absolutely. We use the same ‘up up’ command for pavements and he prefers to stay on his lead for reassurance but otherwise he happily walks along wagging his tail ❤️
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u/JuturnaLettingGo Shih-Tzu Enthusiast 1d ago
My Lola had to have both eyes removed, she adapted really well, I miss her these days 😞. Glad to see Barney is adapted and loving life too!
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u/Nearby-Damage5199 Shih-Tzu Enthusiast 1d ago
I had three Tzus in 2015. Two elderly ones were adopted a week apart and then a puppy a few months later. All three had some sort of disability. Only the puppy (now almost 10) is left.
Eldest one had glaucoma, skin allergies and Cushings and was eventually deaf. He almost made it to 14 and the move to Hawai’i. He just stopped eating one day. He of the three could navigate a tri story house. The middle one also had Cushings, hip issues and at the very end one of her lens dropped and she was in pain. Vet didn’t think she’d survive the surgery. She was the first to go. They estimated she was @ 12. In her former life she was used to breed. Youngest one was from a puppy mill (unbeknownst to us) the sweetest, sassiest lil thing. She is an IVDD survivor when she turned 3. Was paralyzed for a year. She’s still here, had issues with bladder stones which seems to be abated for now. Otherwise healthy (mostly PT) and very very social. We adopted a young Pom two years ago and now she has a crazy lil sister to hang with.
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u/HeatOnly1093 Shih-Tzu Newbie 1d ago
I have 3 shih-tzus . My youngest has such dry eyes that she gets 2 very expensive meds for it and my oldest gets seizures so he's on meds for it and pain . My middle is on anxiety meds. They all are doing well.
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u/a13xis_ Shih-Tzu Newbie 1d ago
My little dude is 16, he has a heart murmur, blind in one eye (due to dry eye, bit can't have it removed), deaf (due to severe infections before I got him when he was 10), a TBI (traumatic brain injury) that caused seizures, lung disease and an enlarged heart. I just love him so much 💕
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u/lisa1925 Shih-Tzu Newbie 21h ago
Joella is a she was born a tripod and dumped. She is now living her best life!
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u/silvermutiny 1d ago
Awwwww…. thank you so much for sharing this. He’s BEAUTIFUL!! My first baby almost lost an eye. These pups: such inspirations. Always enjoying the moment.
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u/matchama Shih-Tzu Enthusiast 1d ago edited 1d ago
Mine has low vision in left eye and no vision in right, hearing is not good either but she has me guiding her, hopefully it gets better; oh and a heart murmur, but she’s recently survived a pitbull attack, very scary for a few days but she survived that incident 2 months ago
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u/Curious-Nectarine-85 Shih-Tzu Enthusiast 1d ago
Barney is cute! Hugs.It’s so heartwarming to see all the comments and am surprised to see a lot of them are facing this. Are the blindness as it aged or is it any other factor that caused it. Hugs to all sweet ones🫂
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u/ShihtzuMum39 Shih-Tzu Enthusiast 22h ago
So in Barney’s case, he had a number of issues from being young, including his retinas not working properly. He had a lot of ulcers and our vets have been brilliant about treating them quickly over the years but eventually he’s lost one eye then the other.
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u/caught_red_wheeled Shih-Tzu Enthusiast 1d ago edited 33m ago
I had a Shih Tzu was bowlegged. It wasn’t bad enough to do surgery, but he couldn’t walk as far as my other dogs. It actually worked out well because I have cerebral palsy which means I use a walker and I also can’t walk very far, so we kept up with each other and he sometimes would ride in my walker bags. Because of my walker, there were ramps everywhere in the house I used to live in, and he realized he could also use them because it wasn’t comfortable for him to use stairs or jump off things. People thought that was hilarious!
The dogs I currently own have some age related issues, mostly cataracts, a bit of arthritis, and hearing loss, but otherwise were born healthy. It’s definitely a difference, and despite being 12 years old, I feel like they have only slowed down a little bit! Most of the time I forget they’re 12 because they don’t act their age!
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u/kurikuri7 Shih-Tzu Enthusiast 22h ago
This is my daugthter. Lost her left eye due to a dog attack but she is thriving, eats a lot, loves cuddles, and literally has no PTSD from the attack. We actually have to keep her away from other puppers because she just keeps barking at them 😅
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u/LinnyDlish Shih-Tzu Enthusiast 10h ago
My Mason doesn’t have a neck. His vertabraes are compressed since birth. I took him to a university doctor and he was seen by neurology and an Orthopedic specialist. He has a little muscle weakness and potty problems. I can only hope more medical issues will not happen but most likely they will present themselves as he ages. Dr told me to not use a collar and take precautions with that and groomers so I do that myself. Worst case scenario something happens and he becomes instantly paralyzed, best case he just lives normal with no neck looking like a little sausage. Posted is a photo of his xray compared to a normal shihtzu. It’s pretty wild
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u/ShihtzuMum39 Shih-Tzu Enthusiast 7h ago
That’s incredible. I hope Mason lives a long and happy life ❤️
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u/Bissynut Shih-Tzu Enthusiast 28m ago
Tinkerbelle lost an eye years ago after our Lhasa Asshole sliced it open (we had it removed), she has Cushings Disease, is mostly deaf and has Old lady liver requiring medication as well as an autoimmune eye disease needing ointment and no teeth. She is absolutely perfect and just the sweetest baby. She is 13 and sleeps a lot now, but gets riled up if snacks are at hand or if she can’t see me.
The Lhasa Asshole Ginger (11 years) is still really a jerk, just now she is almost totally deaf.
Our mini bernedoodle Luna (2yrs) has chronic bronchitis but is always happy and active. Our youngest Shih Tzu Sushi (also 2 yrs) is allergic to everything but she is also a demanding little thug.
We are a haven for special needs dogs.
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u/fakegoldrose Zucchini (15) 1d ago
Have a sweet blind senior boy named zucchini so I know the exact way you feel. They're incredibly smart and make up for the lack of vision with an extra big heart and a snoot that detects all food happenings. He can hear the fridge opening at any area of the apartment and gives kisses endlessly. We love him so much this is him resting on my foot after licking it a bunch haha 😂