Elfin

... a toss up between: 1. Josephine Public explaining the breeds to her kids. eg. As the Havanese did out and back: "now that's a nice Maltese Shih Tzu" 2. Young bogan guy asking what my staghound was crossed with, and if he could breed it with his piggin' bitch 3. Joe Public telling Mrs Public that the Collie puppy won Best in Show 4. Being told my Deerhound has "that horrible disease where her brain is too big for her head. I saw it on the telly", because my pup scratched her ear I had a BALL! :rofl:

If it were my dog, I would want it to have had a complete temporary tarsorrhaphy (to be left in for 2 weeks, and to be undone in stages) and be on systemic cortico-steroids. The chance of vision retuning depends upon the amount of damage done to the optic nerve. The eye may also be permanently "turned" due to the extraocular muscles being stretched. I would also consider having a canthal closure (permanently making the eyelid opening slightly smaller) to reduce the chance of it happening again. A friend's dog prolapsed a globe, we replaced it within an hour, it was back in the ring in 3 weeks, with full vision! Unfortunately, this is not always the case. All the best with your little one. EFS

Apparently there are about 80 people attending... any DOLers?

Hey, worried Mum... just breathe! I am not an owner of a dog that has had cataract surgery, but I am heavily involved with the procedure. (ie, we do about 6 cataract surgeries a week). I am in Melbourne so obviously have no gain whatsoever in your dog's surgery. Please tell me exactly what your concerns are, and I will answer from a dog-mum's perspective.

Greys are not listed on either Schedule here in Australia. I am unsure if they are on a Schedule in the US. I had a look in an American text book that is the "Bible" of hereditary ocular disease, and was not very helpful. I can photocopy the pages on Greys and post them to you... An ACES certificate will still provide a written confirmation that the dog is free of ocular disease, hereditary or otherwise. If you have anymore questions, you can call me at work tomorrow. I will PM you the phone number.

:D It's funny now, every time I answer a post about eyes, I find myself thinking "will Elfin approve?" Always, Ellz, always.... Now, you start on Monday. You do the 10 til 6 shift with me. It shall be fun.

Honestly Ellz, you can start on Monday if you want!!! ACES is the Australian equivalent of CERF; a structured and detailed eye exam with a certificate issued. We do not regularly see Greyhounds for ACES certification, so I am not sure off the top of my head what "Schedule" they are on (ie. what ophthalmic diseases have been proven or are suspected to be hereditary in that breed). I will check tomorrow and let you know. ACES certification costs $55 and takes about 20 minutes. ETA: www.animaleyecare.com.au/aec/eyescheme.html

Unfortunately, I have no personal experience with it, so I could not say. Sorry!

Gee, I go away for 5 minutes, and miss meeting the infamous Barkly!! I assume you will be back in a few weeks for a recheck?

If I was purchasing the puppy, I would want the parents (at least) to have clear ACES certification. But I am paranoid and have trust issues....

Sounds promising... Fingers crossed for your boy.

GSDs don't tend to get many eye issues, aside from pannus and dermoids, neither of which present like your dog. If it is just watery tears and not mucky, it may be an environmental allergy (most likely as it is in both eyes), blocked or "lazy" tear ducts, extra eyelashes (very unlikely) or ectopic cillia (very unlikely). My guess is environmental. Try bathing 3-4 times daily in cool Calendula Tea. Good Luck! :cool:

Nah, just make a "normal" cuppa and let it cool. Calendula is very gentle on the eyes. It is much better than salt-water. You would be surprised at how many corneal injuries we treat because people use salt-water with too much salt... and it actually BURNS the cornea. If someone really wants to use saline, buy it ready-made from the chemist. Otherwise Calendula Tea is cheap and AWESOME!

They are both golden retrievers. Btw should she wash the bedding in something specific? Very unlikely, but with Golden Retrievers, we think extra eyelashes, punctal atresia. (Neither of which fit with what you are describing...) I think it sounds environmental, though. I dunno if washing the bedding in something different will make any difference, but I use Earth Choice cos it is cheap and has no harsh chemicals. :D

Hi Erny! "Breed is the key to Ophthalmology" could become a very heated debate... but here goes... We can make about 3/4 of our diagnoses by asking what breed the dog is... I KNOW this is a generalisation, but unfortunately, it works. (Dons flames suit... :D )... *takes deep breath*... If it is a JRT, Foxie, Mini Foxie or a cross of any of these, it probably has has lens luxation. If it is a Boxer, it probably has an indolent ulcer. If it is a pug or other brachycephallic breed, it probably has oversized eyelid openings, exposure keratitis etc. If it is a schnauzer or WHWT, it probably has dry eye. If is is a lab x, poodle x, ACD x etc, it probably has PRA. Etc. etc... PLEASE NOTE: THESE ARE NOT ALL REPRESENTATIVES OF THE BREED THAT HAVE THESE PROBLEMS. THESE ARE THE DOGS THAT PRESENT TO US WITH EYE PROBLEMS, NOT THE AVERAGE JRT etc. IN THE STREET. And we very rarely see pure bred pedigreed dogs with problems. Flame away...

Charles Kuntz is a Specialist Small Animal Surgeon. And a genius. And perhaps a god.... http://www.southpaws.com.au All the best with your dog. :D Edited cos I can't sthpelll.

See a specialist... where are you in Victoria? Charles Kuntz if you are in the East or South East. Simon Kudnig if you are in the North. Wing Tip Wong or Guy Yates if you are in the West. I would trust any of these guys with my own life.

If I remember correctly... the DMSO is the agent that carries the active drug (cortisone) into the body. I think DMSO has mild anti-inflammatory properties as well. If you put DMSO on the palm of your hand, them smoosh some banana on it, you can TASTE the banana. Cool, but of no use to the OP..... sorry :D I know it works well on shin-sore 2 year old racehorses... but it swabs positive.... (sorry again...)

Do you know if a Schirmer Tear Test was done? Tear production/quality may not be adequate. What breed is the dog? (The key to ophthalmology is the breed! :D ) Try bathing with cool Calendula Tea, works really well for bog-standard conjunctivitis. You can get it from a health-food store. If you can't get it, chamomile tea also works well. ETA:Just re-read original post, and it says there are two dogs. More likely to be environmental (ie. allergic) than tearing issue. Try the tea.

puggy puggy and Pug Rescue Sydney, Cyclosporin is excellent for reducing pigment, isn't it?

Being pug x maltese, he probably has oversized eyelid openings, so the tear film is inadequate to protect the cornea. He would be producing enough tears, they are just not "thick" enough as they have so much area to cover. (Hard to explain without diagrams and extravagant hand movements!) Corner closure (where the eyelid openings are made slightly smaller) would may solve his problem and prevent you having to use daily medications.

No probs!! Glad it is not serious... he sounds like a good boy.

Come on, ellz, move to Melbourne... I'd love to! We'd make an AWESOME (if somewhat frightening) team I think!

Come on, ellz, move to Melbourne...

Sounds good... try cold tea instead of saline. When you said it was red around the pupil I was worried about uveitis.