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It is important to keep your pet’s eyes clean and face well-groomed for eye health. Overgrown hair not only obstructs an owner’s view of the pet’s eyes (you may miss an eye problem if you cannnot see the eyes) but also carries bacteria and dirt, increasing the risk of infection. Overgrown hair also can be irritating to the eyes when direct contact is made. Crusts on the eyelids can harden and scratch the eyes.

There are a number of veterinary products that are made to clean pet’s eyes safely. A few that I like include:

-Optixcare Wipes by Aventix. These are packaged towelettes pre-moistened with a safe and gentle formulation of chamomile and hyaluron  https://www.aventix-international.com/optixcare-eye-cleaner-wipes

-I-Lid and Lash by I-Med: This product comes in wipes or a pump bottle and contains hyaluron and glycerin  https://imedpharma.com/product/i-lid-n-lash-sell-sheet/

-A clean, warm, wet washcloth or cotton pad can be applied to the eye for 5—15 minutes, 2—4 times daily.  The warmth will soothe and relax muscles and bring healthy blood supply to the area.  This will help to soften dried mucous and crusts and will allow you to slowly remove debris from the area.

To keep your pet’s eyes clean, work slowly and allow the crusts and debris to moisten and soften, to allow for ease of removal. You may apply light pressure to the bone around the eye but never press on the eyeball itself. Do not touch the eyeball with the cloths or wipes. Work around the eye.

Furry pets and pets with short noses (such as the Shih Tzu) need regular grooming. Keeping the hair (the ruffle) clipped short on the bridge of the nose is important as this hair often contacts the eyes if left long.

Keeping your pet’s eyes clean will not only make them look better, but will also keep their eyes healthier.

Care of a visually impaired pet may at first seem over-whelming, but with a little information and with a little time, most find that they and their pets accommodate well. Keep in mind that pets have an acuity of senses other than vision that we do not have and may not appreciate (ie: smell, taste, hearing). They use these acute senses to accommodate to visual loss.
If your pet has experienced a sudden loss of vision, there will be initial confusion, but given time (3-8 weeks), most pets will memorize their surroundings and use other cues for localization. It will be helpful to keep their surroundings constant. Pets that lose vision slowly adjust more easily, doing so with the gradual visual change.
A visually impaired pet can have a very good quality life and is happy pet with your loving help and reassurance.

Below are some helpful guidelines from Animal Eye Doctors for care:
1) Be supportive while your pet memorizes the surroundings. Your pet will learn as they navigate. Make their navigation safe by removing or barricading dangerous obstacles such as stairs and pools. Keep your pet (dog) in a fenced area when outdoors (no open roadsides, no unfenced pools, etc). A pet cat would do best kept indoors.
2) Some pets will benefit from the use of a hoop on a harness (see handout) that will act as a “bumper” when they are learning to navigate.
3) Utilize their other senses (smell, touch, hearing). Use scents such as perfume or scented oil to identify different areas. Use different textured rugs, runners, or flooring. A soft playing radio or TV in certain areas can also help them with locale.
4) Consider the use of the “Safety Turtle”, if you have a pool. This monitor attaches to a collar or harness and if wet, an alarm will sound from a monitor.
5) Approach your pet slowly while speaking, to avoid startling your pet.
6) Encourage play with toys that make noise or toys with a scent (toys in which you can place a treat that the pet can smell). One of my patients born visually impaired was able to catch a ball in mid-air by listening.
7) Use a harness to provide more support while walking your pet, rather than a neck collar. A sign on the harness to indicate that your pet is blind will alert other people to not startle your pet. Walk a routine path to allow your pet to memorize the way.
8) Use verbal cues. Pets will memorize words. For example: stop, start, up, down, curb, etc. One of my clients taught his pet over 100 words and directional cues.
9) Pets with low vision may do better with lights on or the use of night lights at night.
10) Some pets will follow your other pets for guidance. Keep in mind, however, that the visual pet may become aggressive with a visually impaired pet, or your visually impaired pet may be more defensive with other pets.

Contact Animal Eye Doctors for helpful advice in care of a visually impaired pet.

Also, check out the websites: Blindtails.com and BlindDogsSupport.com

Animal Eye Doctors is an established provider of pet eye care in the Fort Myers/ Naples, Florida area since 2007. What is an animal eye clinic? How is this different from a general veterinary practice?

To begin with, board-certified or board-eligible veterinarians make up veterinary ophthalmic specialty practices. Board-certified doctors are diplomates of a specialty organization. In the North America, this organization is the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists. You may see the letters DACVO after the name of a boarded doctor. This stands for “Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists”.

To become a board-certified member of the ACVO, a veterinarian must complete a 3-year or longer residency training program in veterinary ophthalmology at a university or accredited private practice.  After training, the applicant takes a multi-day test that consists of written and surgical components. A veterinarian is recognized as a “Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists®” (or board certified) with successful completion of the examination. Only board-certified persons may call themselves a “veterinary specialist”, a “specialist in veterinary ophthalmology” or a “veterinary ophthalmologist”.

Why consider a veterinary ophthalmologist and an animal eye clinic? A general practice veterinarian may handle many eye problems. However, patients may benefit from the skills and experience of a specialist. In these cases, a general veterinarian can make a referral to a veterinary ophthalmologist.

Clients may also contact an ophthalmologist directly if they wish. Referrals are not required as they are in human medicine.

The following might be situations to consider consultation with a veterinary ophthalmologist:

• Your pet’s eye condition has not responded to the recommended therapy.

• Your pet’s vision seems to be deteriorating despite treatment efforts.

• A corneal ulcer has not responded to treatment.

• Cataracts causing visual impairment.

• Breeders who want to ensure their animals have no inherited ocular disease

For more information on animal eye clinics and doctors, you may check out the ACVO website.

The board certified ophthalmologists at Animal Eye Doctors pet eye clinic in Southwest Florida provide OFA certification eye exams.

OFA Eye Certification examinations are screening exams performed by board-certified veterinary ophthalmologists. The OFA Companion Animal Eye Registry (CAER) provides breeders with information regarding canine eye diseases so that they may make informed breeding decisions in an effort to produce healthier dogs.

The Eye Certification exam consists of indirect ophthalmoscopy and slit lamp biomicroscopy. It is not a comprehensive ocular health examination, but rather an eye screening exam. Before the  exam, the eyes are dilated with eye drops. Following the examination, the board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist will complete the OFA Companion Animal Eye Registry (CAER) form and indicate any specific disease(s) found.

The exam will generate one of three results: Pass and eligible for certification, Breeder Option but eligible for certification, and No and not eligible for certification.

Two categories of advice regarding breeding have been established by the Genetics Committee of the ACVO:

• NO: Substantial evidence exists to support the heritability of this entity AND/OR the entity represents a potential compromise of vision or ocular function.
• BREEDER OPTION: The eye condition is suspected to be inherited. However, it does not represent potential compromise of vision or other ocular function. Although the dog will pass it will have additional documentation on its OFA Eye Certification number with a category listing the problem.

If the breeding advice is NO, even a minor clinical form of the entity would make the animal unsuitable for breeding. When the advice is BREEDER OPTION, caution is advised.

10 inherited eye conditions will trigger a “No” breeding recommendation. Generally, individuals with one or more of these conditions will not be eligible for OFA certification:

1. Keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS)
2. Cataract Breeding is not recommended for any animal demonstrating partial or complete opacity of the lens or its capsule unless the examiner has also checked the space for significance of above cataract unknown or unless specified otherwise for the particular breed.
3. Lens luxation or subluxation
4. Glaucoma
5. Persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous (PHPV)
6. Retinal detachment
7. Retinal dysplasia geographic or detached forms
8. Optic nerve coloboma
9. Optic nerve hypoplasia
10. Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA)

The OFA exam may be supplemented by genetic testing for specific ocular diseases if available.

More information concerning OFA Companion Animal Eye Registry (CAER) can be found at the OFA website . You may also contact Animal Eye Doctors, a premiere pet eye clinic in Southwest Florida at 239-948-3937.

Help! My pet has lost vision! Information from Animal Eye Doctors serving Fort Myers and Naples to help you and your pet.

Visual impairment may be caused by conditions affecting different parts of the eye.

Cornea:

The cornea is the “windshield” of the eye. Conditions that disrupt corneal tissue can affect clarity and therefore, vision. Scar tissue from previous injury can obscure vision. Pannus, common to German Shepherds, is a disease in which fibrovascular tissue covers the cornea. Short nosed pets with prominent eyes, such as Pugs, Pekingese, and Shih Tzus, can develop pigmentation of the cornea as a response to inadequate eyelid protection. Corneal edema, or fluid in the corneal tissue, will give the cornea a cloudy appearance, like a foggy windshield. Whenever these conditions occur, a decline in vision occurs.

Lens:

The lens of the eye is a clear round structure inside the eye used to focus. A cataract is an opacity inside the lens. Small cataracts may have minimal affect on vision, though large cataracts can cause vision loss. Genetic cataracts can occur in young dogs. Diabetes mellitus may cause full cataracts, also causing complete vision loss.

Retina:

The retina functions as the film in a camera. Inflammation or detachment of the retina will decrease vision because retinal function declines. Genetic retinal diseases such as Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA) occur in many breeds and can cause loss of rod/cone function (retinal cells), eventually causing a slow loss of vision. Another retinal disease, called Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome, causes a more rapid loss of vision in middle aged to older dogs. High blood pressure in aged cats can cause retinal bleeding and detachment.

Optic Nerve and Brain:

The optic nerve connects the eye to the brain (like an electrical cord). Autoimmune conditions, infections, tumors, or injury can damage the optic nerve and cause a disruption of transmission of images from the eye to the brain. Glaucoma, a condition of increased intraocular pressure, can cause vision loss by damaging the optic nerve. Additionally, cerebral injury, inflammation, or infection can affect the visual center of the brain and result in vision loss.

My pet has lost vision! If your pet shows visual impairment, please call for an appointment with the veterinary ophthalmologists at Animal Eye Doctors serving Fort Myers, Estero, Naples, and  Southwest Florida to evaluate your pet. A number of conditions causing vision loss can be treatable and lost vision may be regained.

When should one seek advice from a pet ophthalmologist? What are the warning signs of a pet eye emergency? 

Eye problems in pets are serious and should never be ignored. Unfortunately, many pet parents are not aware of the warning signs of pet eye emergencies. At Animal Eye Doctors, we always advise bringing your pet in at the first sign of a problem involving their eyes or vision. In addition, however, there are several warning signs that require an immediate exam from a pet ophthalmologist in Fort Myers/ Naples. Keep reading to learn more about some symptoms you should never ignore. Continue reading →

There may be a time that you need the services of a dog ophthalmologist in southwest Florida. Just like people, dogs can suffer from a wide range of eye-related problems. From eye injuries and infections to glaucoma, cataracts and corneal ulcers, there are many issues that could damage your companions vision and even have a negative impact on their overall health and well-being. It’s important to seek prompt veterinary care as soon as you notice any potential problems involving your pet’s eyes or eyelids. Eye problems are often emergencies, and the sooner you address them, the more likely that your vet will be able to prevent long-term damage. If your pet is in need of a dog ophthalmologist in Southwest Florida, we can help. At Animal Eye Doctors, we offer a complete range of eye-related services for pets throughout the Estero, Fort Myers, and Naples area.

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