We noticed that our 16 month old lab DeeJay was getting cloudy eyes and took him to the vet who diagnosed cataracts. DeeJay is now in the process of being referred to an opthalmic specialist. Has anyone else had a young dog who had the same problem? Did an operation work? Is there anything we can do in the meantime? We love him to bits and would do anything to help. I'm not quite sure how much it has affected his sight so far. He can chase a ball when it is thrown but finds it difficult to identify it when the ball is stationary and he is standing virtually on top of it. Many thanks for any answers!
Hi @Alessa , I don't have any experience of this myself, but just to say how sorry and what rotten luck for a young dog. Where do you live? There is a specialist eye vet a few miles away from me in Herefordshire.
@selina27 @kateincornwall Thanks so much for replying. I live in Leeds so Hertfordshire is a long way away but we are hoping to find someone good in Yorkshire. Best wishes to you both - and to your dogs!!
@selina27 Thanks so much for your reply. It was much appreciated. We live in Leeds so Herefordshire is a long way to go, so we are hoping there is somewhere nearer. Best wishes and thanks.
@edzbird Many thanks! No-one with experience of the same situation has yet replied so I don't know how rare it is. DeeJay is going to see the consultant on Tuesday. I'll post some updates with his progress. There may be other people with the same problem later on and it might be useful for them to see how it all turns out. It's such a shame. DeeJay has already had some problems which involved weeks of crate rest - he fractured his elbow jumping for a ball when he was 6 months old. Thank heavens for a good, comprehensive insurance policy!! Best wishes to all, Sandra
I said that I would post information about the cataract operation. DJ had his operation 3 days ago and all has gone well as far as we can tell. He spent the first night at the hospital and was collected on the evening of the second day. He doesn't have any sort of collar as he hasn't attempted to rub his eyes with his paw. His eye is a bit swollen but it isn't obvious that it is particularly bothering him. There's a plethora of medication with drops 6 times a day. Any exercise is strictly forbidden at the moment. He isn't allowed out without a harness and lead - even in the garden!! Which must be hard for a v fit dog used to a minimum of 2 hours walks a day. Walk at the moment are limited to a couple of minutes on lead in the garden or just outside the gate. More later .... Sandra
Glad all went okay. Our boy is 6 yo and appears to have normal eyes. But even he can’t see a ball under his nose! I read somewhere that dogs are good at seeing moving objects but not stationary ones. Your boy has probably got a very well-developed sense of smell. I myself am very short-sighted and have a very keen nose!! Let us know how he gets on. In humans cataract ops have a very quick recovery.
Hope the recovery continues smoothly and DJ can back to his 2 hours of walks soon. Sounds like he is being a good boy.
Poor chap. Hope everything goes smoothly for you and him. I must have missed your original post but it' great that you have added an update....will be really helpful for others looking for help in the future. Good luck with the R&R. Have you seen our posts giving advice on how to keep dash occupied while on crate rest?
Thanks for coming back to give an update on DJ. I hope that the recovery goes well. Do stick around and give us further updates.
@Uncle Bob @drjs@5 @selina27 @MF @Karen @edzbird @kateincornwall Thank you all so much for your support! To give an update. The cataract operation seems to have gone really well and it is now over four weeks since it was done. DeeJay had to start to wear a cone a few days after the operation and is still wearing it - not because of his eye, but because he kept licking his leg where the IV line went in and he contracted an infection which has been difficult to treat. (In retrospect, we should have given him more things to chew during this time!) The vet who performed the op is very pleased with DeeJay's progress and says that he has good vision - and DeeJay is now allowed unlimited walks but they must still be with a lead and harness. He's also, at last, allowed out in the garden where he amuses himself by tearing from one end to the other. Next week he's allowed to chase balls and run free on a walk. We all can't wait!!! I'm not sure about swimming and we need to ask but it seems sensible to keep him away from water for the time being. Actually, in some ways the walking on lead has been good as most of his walks had been off-lead previously and during his recovery time there's been an opportunity to practice heel-work albeit with the lead on. We have to continue with the drops and there are more check-ups planned but it all looks good at the moment Technical details for the lens are that it is a fixed focus lens 41pi. (I always thought that lens strength was in dioptres, but I'm obviously wrong). I don't know whether the focal length of the lens is set to give clear distance vision or clear vision close up. I assume somewhere between the two. if anyone reading this post now, or in the future, has a young lab with a similar condition (juvenile cataracts) and would like to know anything further about our experiences they would be most welcome to contact me. Best wishes to all, and thanks so much for all the support, Sandra
Oh I am pleased to read your post, Sandra , what a time you have had, but its all onwards and upwards now , thank you for the update x
Thank you @Alessa for the update, it's wonderful to hear of DJ's progress and I'm so pleased for you all. There's always an upside isn't there!
Excellent news. Its always great to hear the rest of stories, and I really do think it helps others - so thank you!
