Grooming
Keep a Close Eye on Your Dog’s Eyes
The Sun Chronicle, October 5, 2009
I always enjoy learning new things, and I can honestly say that even after 35 professional years with dogs, there isn’t a day that goes by when I don’t gain some new knowledge about my four-legged friends. While attending a recent lecture about managing dog eye injuries, I learned some new and interesting things about the dog’s eye.
The eye of the dog is different from humans in a few ways. The first is that unlike humans, dogs don’t have a shelf-like bone in the lower part of the eye socket to protect the eyeball. This means that sometimes when a dog chews on sticks or other sharp objects, there is a chance that a splinter could penetrate from the back of the mouth up into the space behind the eye. Foreign matter behind the eye can lead to an infection or inflammation that causes the eye swell or protrude. This condition can be detected early by simply looking down at your dog’s eyes from the top of the head and noticing any imbalance in the position of the eyes in relation to the skull.
Another way that the dog’s eye differs from people is in the dog’s ability to retract the eye into the orbit. When a dog squints it is actually using an eyeball muscle that pulls they eye further into the head and out of harm’s way. A sunken eye is normally an indication of pain. Dry eyes, scratches on the eye or having something in the eye can cause discomfort that leads to retraction. Any narrowing of the eye should be immediately addressed by visual examination and followed by a gentle flushing with human grade saline solution. If squinting persists, you should take your dog to see the vet within 24 hours for proper diagnosis and treatment that may ultimately save your dog’s vision.
It is vitally important that owners make a casual examination of their dogs’ eyes daily to check for health. Healthy eyes should be clear, moist and bright. Dogs that squint, behave like they can’t see or have one or more protruding eyes should make an immediate visit to the vet. Unfortunately, owners too often ignore symptoms of chronic eye conditions, thinking they are not serious because they don’t look like an emergency. Nothing could be further from the truth, as untreated symptoms can easily become eyenormous problems that are painful to both the dog and the wallet.
Personally, I cannot help but look deeply into the eyes of my dogs daily. Aside from forever wondering what kind of intelligence lies behind those mysterious dark globes, I know how important healthy eyes are for a dog’s overall well being. After all, whom else could I depend on to serve as my personal team of seeing-eye dogs if I were to lose a contact lens?