# HELP! My dog's left eye looks grayish/cloudy when exposed to light reflection.



## Carlos8394 (Aug 12, 2012)

The problem began on Wednesday or Thursday night. When I took my dogs inside from their potty routine I noticed that my dog's left eye was completely shut. She hardly opened it and pretty much kept it shut until Saturday. 

I assumed that she got better because on Sunday her eye was completely open. That same night I also noticed that the eye looked kind of grayish/cloudy when she was in a shadow. I then carried her to my mom's room where there is a lot of light and my mom said that she looked fine. Today when my mom was bathing her my mom did notice this time that grayish color. The color is that of a blue or purple grape. Just the black part of her eye has that purplish/gray color. 

I will take her to the vet as soon as they open but can anyone tell me what the problem might be? I really wish that I would of taken her to the vet right away when she was shutting her eye but I figured that one of my other dogs had accidently poked her so I gave it a few days. I regret this now and hope and pray that it is not too late and that her eye can be cured. Help me out folks.


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## zhaor (Jul 2, 2009)

The coloring just sounds like a cataract.

I don't know how that can be related to her shutting her eye though. Is it in both eyes or just the one? Also was this new or did you simply just notice now? Cataracts don't exactly form overnight.


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## spotted nikes (Feb 7, 2008)

Corneal Ulcer maybe. Eye issues are an emergency. A corneal ulcer can be very cheaply treated with topical meds, but if untreated can cost thousands.


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## Carlos8394 (Aug 12, 2012)

UPDATE:

I just came home from the vet and the Doc said that it is a cataract. She put some eye drops to numb her eye and then got this tube to measure the pressure of her eyelids or something like that. This test was to determine if the dog has glaucoma. Well the Doc said that she doesn’t have glaucoma, that “she is on the low end of cataract”, but my dog has a little bit of inflammation on her left eye. The vet administered Rimadyl to help w/any pain and inflammation and scheduled a follow up exam two weeks from now to see if the inflammation improves or goes away.

As far as the cataract the vet said that she can give me phone # to a specialist, which she forgot, but there is pretty much nothing that they can on their end. The vet estimates that a surgery to remove cataract can cost about $2k but that’s just her personal estimate. She said that cataract can lead to glaucoma. 

I am of very low income and there is no way that I can afford that surgery right now. I am unemployed. Any suggestions folks on what to do about cataracts? I will hold on from doing surgery for now but if I ever happen to land a good job then I might opt for surgery. 
So to all you people that has dealt with dogs w/cataracts, what would you’ll recommend? Can cataracts become an emergency? Can my dog live a normal life without removing them?

I asked the vet if the cataract emerged on Thursday night when I noticed the dog shutting her eye and she said that my dog probably already had the cataract but then she poked her eye which could have aggravated it or changed the color.


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## spotted nikes (Feb 7, 2008)

Don't stress about trying to do cataract surgery. Cataracts on their own, aren't painful. They will have a loss of sight, but dogs cope well with that. Just don't rearrange furniture. Talk to them before petting/touching so you don't startle them. You can place mats with a different texture than the floor near the door to go out, or by food dishes, and block off steps so they don't fall down them. Block off fire pits or fireplaces, pools etc so they don't hurt themselves.
When walking on a leash, keep leash slightly taut to provide guidance, and use words like Step up, Step down to warn them of things. Start now while she still has some sight, to make it easier for her to learn the words. Guide her around bushes and things so she doesn't scratch her eye on branches.


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## zhaor (Jul 2, 2009)

How old is your dog and what is she? Cataracts normally form from age but some breeds are more prone to them. Cataracts aren't really a big deal. Similar to humans, it will affect their vision slightly but generally they're not gonna go blind or anything. Cataracts don't hinder dogs as much as humans. My dog has fairly obvious cataracts from old age and he still sees squirrels and birds just fine even at night.

Cataracts form naturally in a lot of dogs but they can also be caused by things like diabetes and eye injuries/inflammation. If the vet said she's fine, then she's probably fine. There's no need to worry too much about it. If the cataract ever becomes severe enough that it's noticeably affecting her vision, then you might want to consider surgery but in general cataracts aren't a big deal.


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## hub3 (Jul 10, 2010)

You can ask them about prescription eye drops that you can use daily to keep inflammation down and hopefully slow the process. Very affordable ~$10 a month.


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## Carlos8394 (Aug 12, 2012)

zhaor said:


> How old is your dog and what is she? Cataracts normally form from age but some breeds are more prone to them. Cataracts aren't really a big deal. Similar to humans, it will affect their vision slightly but generally they're not gonna go blind or anything. Cataracts don't hinder dogs as much as humans. My dog has fairly obvious cataracts from old age and he still sees squirrels and birds just fine even at night.
> 
> Cataracts form naturally in a lot of dogs but they can also be caused by things like diabetes and eye injuries/inflammation. If the vet said she's fine, then she's probably fine. There's no need to worry too much about it. If the cataract ever becomes severe enough that it's noticeably affecting her vision, then you might want to consider surgery but in general cataracts aren't a big deal.


My dog is 4 years old. She still has some good years ahead of her so long as God allows it. I need a job period. Hopefully her right eye stays intact. The vet said that since she has cataract on the left high, then the chances of her getting cataract on the other eye are higher.

My dog only has access to my family room and our backyard. I hate to say this but I never really take her out for walks. She gets most of her exercise by playing w/the other dogs in my backyard. I don't know but perhaps I should start taking her for walks right now that she can see.

God forbid but if she ever goes blind then I'm gonna have to convince my mom to cut down her roses because she has quite a few of them (I HATE them) in my backyard.


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## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

FWIW, I've been around a few dogs that were totally blind and I wasn't even aware of it until the owners mentioned it. 

Dogs with disabilities don't mope. They cope and adjust and move on with truly admirable grace and poise. 

They don't know they have disabilities.


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## juliemule (Dec 10, 2011)

You won't have to cut down the roses, dogs adjust well to their environment as long as things aren't moved around (furniture, etc). I currently have a shih Tzu who lost one eye after being kicked by a horse, and her other eye had an ulceration that healed but left pretty bad scarring. She just has to worry about running into the other dogs, and I have to watch where I walk. She does go on walks, I just help her by the lead, and she is offlead in the fields and pasture with no problems.


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