Dog Eye Care:
Cataracts In Dogs:
What You Need To Know
Cataracts
to prevent blindness is to surgically remove
Owners of older dogs often notice begin to
the lenses. Dogs are nearsighted anyway –
notice a bluish white fi lm start to develop
they can’t adapt their vision to distances – so
over the eyes of their dog. As dogs age,
the removal of the lens is something they
eye problems - particularly cataracts - are
can live with quite comfortably without much
more common. The condition is a thickening
noticeable difference in eyesight.
of the lenses, which is a function of age. It

can become present in dogs of any age but Cataract Formation
normally happens as the dog enters their Some cataracts are genetic and it is a
senior years and it tends to progress slowly. problem that is more common in certain
breeds. The lens is a refractive structure
True cataracts are a total thickening of the within the eye. In a healthy condition, it is
lenses, so that light cannot come through optically clear. It continuously grows through
the pupil and sight is lost. Certain injuries life, but it does so in such a way that the
and infections can cause cataracts, and the center becomes more compact. A normal
condition is sometimes a sign of diabetes. change with age, then, is a condition called
“lenticular sclerosis”.
There is a disease, juvenile cataracts, in
which cataracts appear at a very young age The condition of lenticular sclerosis should
(as early as 1 year old), fi rst in one eye and not be confused with an actual cataract. It is
then in the other. a senile alteration of lens fi bers resulting in
an absorption of some of the wave lengths in
This is an inherited disease, seen more the visible spectrum. The dog’s vision is not
commonly in Irish Setters, Afghan Hounds changed signifi cantly.
and Old English Sheepdogs. The only way
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