Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house? or someone who knows doggy eyes?

[marcoalza]

I have a 2 and half year old Saluki dog. Rosie.

She is the most adorable companion but has a problem with her left eye. We have taken her to a vet who says she has a cataract which we can either leave and she will eventually go blind in that eye or we can have it operated on.
The operation comprises of removeing the cataract and fitting a lense which will then restore her eyesight to 20/20
Her Right Eye is fine.

I think her eye started to go wrong when she was young.

My questions are:

If she has had it from young, I assume she is not suffering, knows no different and we should leave it alone.
Should we have the op done so that she can have 20/20.

I'm not sure whether it bothers her although a while ago she would knock here nose on a chair leg for example if she turned to the left.
She seems to have stopped doing that now.
She can see a cat from 150 yards and will go straight for it, without crashing into the wall!

What should I do?
I just don't want her to suffer either now or by having an unneccesary op.

(you can see her dodgy headlamp in the first photo)

 

[nlain]

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

I am not a vet but my wife just recently had cataract surgery on both eyes, she did not complain of pain just that everything was getting grey and smokey and getting dimmer by the day, she has worn glasses most of her life, now, 1 month after the surgery she occasionally wears reading glasses and can see everything clearly again. That is probably what your pup has in one eye, that is why the left turns cause some problems, can not see on that side.

 

[Steve Marsh]

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

Can they do an eye test on dogs like they can on us?

 

[Jeep Man]

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

Can they do an eye test on dogs like they can on us?

I want to reply to this question with a smartass answer but with respect to Marcoalza, I will refrain.

 

[Fireman431]

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

I am not a vet but my wife just recently had cataract surgery on both eyes, she did not complain of pain just that everything was getting grey and smokey and getting dimmer by the day, she has worn glasses most of her life, now, 1 month after the surgery she occasionally wears reading glasses and can see everything clearly again. That is probably what your pup has in one eye, that is why the left turns cause some problems, can not see on that side.

True..but when nlain brought his wife home, he made her wear that giant neck cone, too. That was just mean....

 

[marcoalza]

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

Can they do an eye test on dogs like they can on us?

errr, are you for real?

Go for it Jeep Man!!

 

[woodsyfeller]

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

Id say its a quality of life issue, if the dog isnt in pain and she is happy Id leave it be.

 

[rivermouse]

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

Cataracts often go along with diabetes . Your vet can check the sugar level in the dog to be sure . As far as pain there is none but the dog will have an increasing problem seeing up close. Another indication is the dogs behavior like walking close to you at night. As long as it just affects one eye I would not do anything now,

 

[Jeep Man]

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

Can they do an eye test on dogs like they can on us?

OK, as most people know, dogs have a hard time reciting the letters on the chart.

 

[marcoalza]

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

Id say its a quality of life issue, if the dog isnt in pain and she is happy Id leave it be.

As long as it just affects one eye I would not do anything now,

That's how I'm thinking and I don't really want her to go throught the whole lampshade on the head thing let alone the op.

Trouble is my wife wants her to have 20/20 as she is so young.

 

[Fireman431]

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

Just to make it more interesting, if the dog does have cataracts...rearrange the furniture about every 3 months.

 

[nlain]

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

True..but when nlain brought his wife home, he made her wear that giant neck cone, too. That was just mean....

Trust me Fireman, if I had tried that I would not be here now. Do not listen to anything this guy says unless he is talking about Absolute and lemonade, He does know what he is talking about there but not anything else.

 

[nlain]

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

Now, for the pup, if it was in my family we would have the eye fixed. I do agree that it is not in pain but at the same time the baby is confused by the lack of vision on one side, yes if will adjust in time and live life naturally.

 

[drrpm]

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

If the dog can only see out of 1 eye it no longer has stereo vision and will have difficulty with depth perception. The reason predatory animals have both eyes in front is for the stereo vision effect. Since its a young dog and and the surgery is pretty minor I'd get the cataract removed.

 

[wajajaja02]

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

Contact your veterinary school for referral to a veterinary ophthalmologist, I use to take my dogs to one routinely for certification when i was breeding golden retrievers. they do routinely treat cataracts and several other diseases. this sound like it is a hereditary one, and and it should be tracked now, and the dog neutered for sure. it is manageable depending on personal financing.
I have a cateract that we are watching, it was spotted two years ago, I dont see it yet, so you have to judge if your dog is affected by it yet also, if your deploy to the far east on DOD, you may be eligible for care with military veterinary services

 

[j.4knee]

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

Now, for the pup, if it was in my family we would have the eye fixed. I do agree that it is not in pain but at the same time the baby is confused by the lack of vision on one side, yes if will adjust in time and live life naturally.

+1 on the surgical correction. it will affect the pup. It will adjust but it is a quality of life issue.

 

[Beefer]

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

+2

I may not be understanding completely, but if blindness in that eye is an eventual outcome that you can prevent, why wouldn't you? I bet the short time she'll have to wear the lampshade won't traumatize her, and I would also bet that when her sight is improved, her demeanor and overall happiness will greatly improve.

I say go for it without question. It's part of being a good pet owner.

 

[Fishing Dude too]

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

OK, as most people know, dogs have a hard time reciting the letters on the chart.

They use cats, rabbits, and birds, respose depends on how many barks. 1 for birds, 2 for rabbits, and frothing at mouth for cats. lol

 

[marcoalza]

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

Just to make it more interesting, if the dog does have cataracts...rearrange the furniture about every 3 months.

That's just nasty...

 

[marcoalza]

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

Re: Is there a Veterinary Ophthalmologist in the house?

Can they do an eye test on dogs like they can on us?

Thanks for your valuable input Steve

True..but when nlain brought his wife home, he made her wear that giant neck cone, too. That was just mean....

That's just nasty

Id say its a quality of life issue, if the dog isnt in pain and she is happy Id leave it be.

I'm starting to think the same.

Trust me Fireman, if I had tried that I would not be here now. Do not listen to anything this guy says unless he is talking about Absolute and lemonade, He does know what he is talking about there but not anything else.

Now I understand

Now, for the pup, if it was in my family we would have the eye fixed. I do agree that it is not in pain but at the same time the baby is confused by the lack of vision on one side, yes if will adjust in time and live life naturally.

mmmmmmm

If the dog can only see out of 1 eye it no longer has stereo vision and will have difficulty with depth perception. The reason predatory animals have both eyes in front is for the stereo vision effect. Since its a young dog and and the surgery is pretty minor I'd get the cataract removed.

mmmmmm x2

+1 on the surgical correction. it will affect the pup. It will adjust but it is a quality of life issue.

I think I'm going to get her sorted.

+2

I may not be understanding completely, but if blindness in that eye is an eventual outcome that you can prevent, why wouldn't you? I bet the short time she'll have to wear the lampshade won't traumatize her, and I would also bet that when her sight is improved, her demeanor and overall happiness will greatly improve.

I say go for it without question. It's part of being a good pet owner.

Now I think I'm a bad pet owner

Thanks for all your input guys.
I think you're right and I'm leaning towards the op. She is still very young and can have many more years terrorising the neighbourhood cats from 200 yards with perfect eyesight.

Cheers Guys.