Juvenile Cataracts in Dogs

Like another animal in this world, Dog is not always immune to all disease. One of bad disease which may attack our lovely dog is Juvenile Cataracts. Sad but true, our pet is susceptible to this disease.

What is Juvenile Cataracts?

Juvenile Cataracts is a condition in which our lovely dog unable to see things clearly. It is a disease that commonly occur between 6 month to 6 years of age. Sometimes, Juvenile Cataract present in puppies at birth. It is happen because of the genetic process. Puppies inherit genes from the parents, If the parent had the disease, they may pass it to their kids. Another thing to take a note is, If the parent especially mother was sick, injured or didn’t get enough nutrition while pregnancy, chance are the puppies would born with serious health issues such as Juvenile Cataract.

Classification of Juvenile Cataracts

Based on the cause, Juvenile Cataracts has two basic types:

1. Genetic process, and
2. Serious health problem.

The first type usually present in puppies and the second types commonly occur in dog at the age of six months until six years.

Characteristic of the disease

Whenever we spot something odd with our dog, it is recommended to do basic checkup. As the owner, we should check our pet for any kind of health issue immediately if the dog acting strange. Common characteristics of dog with cataract are they always move slowly, unable to see things clearly and sometimes would bumping into things multiple times.

Checking the Eye to identify the disease

To check any cataract that may present in the eye, we can use any flashlight in low-light condition. Just shining a flashlight at the eye and see any reflection on it. If you were not be able to see the reflection in both eyes, the dog may already have a cataract.

Dog with Juvenile Cataract would have the lens turned white. In normal condition, the lens which is available behind colored part of the iris would remain clear. It is important to keep lens clean as it is used to pass light to the pupil, a black circle in the middle of the iris. If the lens is damaged or not in normal condition, the light would not be able to pass it and our lovely dog would have severe problem in seeing stuffs around them.

How to prevent the Cataracts

To prevent the disease, we just need to keep our dog stay healthy. We should monitor their activity and always make sure there is no activity that will hurt their eyes especially the lens. Whenever we breed a dog, it is recommended to choose only healthy dogs.

Ways to stop Juvenile Cataracts

Some dog owners said the cataracts could be reduced with intense Veterinary Care and make the dog feel comfort with the environment. While it works for some peoples, the best effort actually is Surgery. The surgery would be able to remove any unwanted materials and wound in the lens around pupil.

Juvenile Cataract may cause impair vision and some ocular disorder. However, if the vision impairment is minor, it should not make us worry. A little surgery would bring it back to normal condition. Dog’s vision could be restored easily with surgery. Always consult it with doctor for medical advice and treatment. It is recommended to read about Canine Glaucoma and Entropion as both of them discuss similar topic.