Barnard Castle agility dog has vision restored by Cumbria vet

Jive, a prize-winning Border Collie from Barnard Castle has his focus back on the big events again after sight-saving care at a leading veterinary practice in Cumbria.

Six-year-old Jive is a talented agility dog who’s been invited to trials for Team GB ahead of next year’s European Open and World Agility Championships.

But despite his training and talents, his abilities were jeopardised over the last two years, as he has been battling a serious eye condition which threatened to leave him blind. 

Jive is an award winning agility dog. (Image: Veterinary Vision)

Jive's owner, Diane Graves, said: "I first realised Jive had a problem when we were agility training one sunny afternoon in August 2020.

"We were working on a blind tunnel entry, where the dog has to pick up the tunnel entry from an angle that is not in their direct eye line.

"Jive is normally brilliant at these but kept running past so I looked into his eyes and could see the left eye was bloodshot and seemed to have a mark on the lens." 

Diane became worried that Jive's condition would spell the end for his competitive career, but specialists at Ventenaty Vision, located in Cumbria, were able to diagnose and treat him. 

Jive was seen by Richard McCallum, an advanced practitioner in veterinary ophthalmology, who was able to diagnose Jive with chronic superficial keratitis (CSK), which is also known as Pannus. This is a disorder where the body’s own immune system mistakenly attacks the corneal tissue causing inflammation, and can leave dogs permanently blind. 

Richard explained: "Our examinations showed that the symptoms were consistent with a diagnosis of Chronic Superficial Keratitis (CSK), also known as Pannus.  This is where the body’s own immune system mistakenly attacks the corneal tissue causing inflammation.

"Over time transparent healthy corneal tissue becomes progressively opaque and if left untreated some dogs can lose vision completely.

"At this point, Jive was already showing natural talent at canine agility classes, so the prospect of any condition that could have caused him to lose his vision would have been very upsetting.

"It would have dramatically reduced Jive’s quality of life; negatively impacting his ability to navigate in everyday life and would have prevented him from taking part in dog agility, which he clearly loves and at which he excels.

"We immediately prescribed medication in a bid to control the inflammation and clear the corneal pigmentation and scarring."

Thankfully, this prompt intervention worked, and Jive's prognosis looks good. At the pooched last checkup, both eyes were found to be visual, comfortable, and free from any signs of active inflammation.