Dog Has Dry Eye

[maciec]

Does anyone else's dog have dry eye? Our 4 year old Samoyed has developed it in both eyes over the past 2 months. Our vet put her on Optimmune and artificial tears and it doesn't really seem to be making any impact. We were thinking about taking her to a dog eye doctor.

Does anyone have any experience with taking their dogs to an animal eye doctor or with doggie dry eye?

Thanks!

 

[damo]

We certainly do! Our dog had absolutely no luck with optimmune to the point that she got scarring. Finally our vet said she had read something new and she put her on Tacrolimus ointment. Well, what an amazing difference. Not only are her eyes producing tears now but after a year, the scarring is reversed.

Tacrolimus is not cheap but really it worked wonderfully for our dog who without it would be blind in both eyes.

 

[LindaG4458]

Our 13 year old cocker was just put on NeoPolyDex drops along with the Optimmune ointment. He gets the ointment morning and evening and one drop midday. The vet also recommended using tears throughout the day when we think of it. It has made a world of difference in his eye.

We did take another cocker to a veterinary ophthalmologist. He didn't tell us anything we didn't already know and was a pompous jerk. Hopefully you would see a different one.

 

[Pakey]

Our dog goes to an opthamologist for dry eye. His cannot be cured as it was not treated early enough in his life (he's a rescue) so he takes 4 drops a day (two of two different types of medication spaced 30 minutes apart) plus the liquid tears.

Our opthamologist rotates the type of medication every few months and one does work better than the other (I forgot which) but he said that because it's lifelong, we need to rotate the meds.

I strongly recommend taking the dog to an opthamologist. While I love our regular vet, he does not have the equipment that an opthamoligst does. Our dog gets a thorough eye exam every visit plus certain tests to determine the levels of natural tear prodution in both eyes. It's expensive but we are trying our best to save his eye (he's only 4).

 

[maciec]

I really want to be proactive about this. I think that I am going to go ahead and make her an appointment. I think that instead of getting better, it's actually getting a little worse. The last thing that I want to happen is for her to go blind from damage.

Thanks for the input! I appreciate it.

 

[Monty The Westie]

My dog is a 14 year old Westie called Monty who has been suffering with dry eyes for over 5 years.

I was constantly cleaning them & he would usually wake with his eyes completely stuck together which was ver distressing for him & us. He just plodded along on his walks & didn't seem to enjoy himself at all, he even kept bumping into things around the house. It broke our hearts to see him so miserable. Even the cat was able to get te better of him which had never happened before

I tried most of the available products including a very expensive Otimmune gel from the vet which was £43 for a small tube but that didn't last long & really didn't seem to make any difference.

We were almost at the point of giving up ever finding anything which helped but I then found a lubricating dry eye gel, which is also used for people with dry eyes, called LUMECARE Long Lasting Tear Gel & cost less than £4. Since using this his eyes are the best they have been in years, although I'm not sure his actual vision is restored he does seems like his happy playful self again & is not rubbing his eyes or wiping his face on the carpets. We are sooooo happy & so is Monty

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We saw a veterinary opthamologist for one of my dogs when he was found ~ age 6 or 7 to have an eye disease which leads to blindness called pannus. I have no regrets. He lived to age 13 1/2. We managed to preserve some of his sight (very little, but at least he could see somewhat, probably mostly shadows) with being proactive and treating him with steroid ointment twice a day for years. Good luck with your dog.

 

[maciec]

My dog is a 14 year old Westie called Monty who has been suffering with dry eyes for over 5 years.

I was constantly cleaning them & he would usually wake with his eyes completely stuck together which was ver distressing for him & us. He just plodded along on his walks & didn't seem to enjoy himself at all, he even kept bumping into things around the house. It broke our hearts to see him so miserable. Even the cat was able to get te better of him which had never happened before

I tried most of the available products including a very expensive Otimmune gel from the vet which was £43 for a small tube but that didn't last long & really didn't seem to make any difference.

We were almost at the point of giving up ever finding anything which helped but I then found a lubricating dry eye gel, which is also used for people with dry eyes, called LUMECARE Long Lasting Tear Gel & cost less than £4. Since using this his eyes are the best they have been in years, although I'm not sure his actual vision is restored he does seems like his happy playful self again & is not rubbing his eyes or wiping his face on the carpets. We are sooooo happy & so is Monty

Thanks for the tip! Unfortunately, Lumecare is not available in the US.

 

[damo]

Our dog goes to an opthamologist for dry eye. His cannot be cured as it was not treated early enough in his life (he's a rescue) so he takes 4 drops a day (two of two different types of medication spaced 30 minutes apart) plus the liquid tears.

Our opthamologist rotates the type of medication every few months and one does work better than the other (I forgot which) but he said that because it's lifelong, we need to rotate the meds.

I strongly recommend taking the dog to an opthamologist. While I love our regular vet, he does not have the equipment that an opthamoligst does. Our dog gets a thorough eye exam every visit plus certain tests to determine the levels of natural tear prodution in both eyes. It's expensive but we are trying our best to save his eye (he's only 4).

It is expensive. Our dog is also suffering from glaucoma, so not only does the eye vet check the tear level but also checks the pressure. The dog is on Maxitrol, Cosopt, Travatan and Tacralimus as well as oral medication. I would say we spend about $300 to refill these perscriptions and another $300 for the eye vet appointment. The other thing with this poor dog is she had juvenile cataracts that had to be removed at a price of $2500 when she was only a year old!

That is why I always tell people when they get a dog to make sure you can afford the medical care if it is necessary.

Here is a link for the tacrolimus http://www.animal-eye-specialists.com/cyclosporine.htm