Faith has eye issues supposedly common in Shelties

Sharon7

Sharon7

Moderator
So, Faith started squinting her right eye a few months ago. Took her in, no ulcers, no scratches or abrasions, a bit red and her third eyelid was up. Treated for an infection with antibiotic and steroid, 10 days. No improvement. Back to vet, recheck, eye pressure is normal. Different, broad spectrum antibiotic. Still no improvement. Finally got into see my own vet in the practice (not that the others aren't great also, but she is SUPER smart).

Faith started getting these blue/gray spots on her eyes at age 5. They are a combination of lipids (like cholesterol) and minerals (like calcium). They didn't impair her vision and comfort. Well she is now 10 and the spots have grown. They are an immune system thing. My vet saw blood vessels growing into her corneas and also thought the thickening of the deposits were becoming irritating. She recommended a vet ophthalmologist about an hour and twenty minute drive away. Took 2 1/2 months to get an appointment.

So the new doc saw her today and to my surprise told me what Faith has is common in Shelties. I've never had this in my dogs, and no-one I know has either, including folks here on the Forums. So I was taken aback.

So now we're on drops and ointments, three different ones, three times daily, oy. Need to wait 5 minutes between each application as well. SIGH. We have a recheck appt in 2 months and hoping that if all looks better we can go back to twice a day.

If left untreated it can result in corneal ulcers.

So wanted to pass this information on to our group. At least the rest of her eye is normal, no cataracts, retina is fine etc. She can see fine, so I'm grateful for that.
 
I recall Riley had an eye problem but only in one eye. It wasn’t the Collie eye …I don’t recall the name as it was actually diagnosed prior to him being with me. He was on Voltarin eye drops daily. The only good thing was it wasn’t an animal specific medication he was on so I was able to buy the drops at Costco. My last Cocker Spaniel had dry eyes and it was an animal specific drop she was on and quite expensive as I had to buy from the vet.
I’m glad they were able to diagnose and get Faith treatment although it’s disheartening when you find they have an ongoing health issue.
 
Well, it will be life-long treatment unfortunately. Luckily, with the help of treats, she is reasonable about letting me do it although I don't think our petsitter will be able to as she will turn her head and clamp her eye shut when she's had enough. You only need a tiny drop of the ointments, and they are quite expensive, so anyone struggling to get it in will waste quite a bit. But we're not leaving again until September for any trips.

The vet said it is NOT in collies, but she sees on average a Sheltie a week with this same problem. Must be genetic. Her eyes are very dry - the oil component of her tears is almost nothing. Which is weird because she's never had any drainage from her eyes or has ever rubbed at them. Often dogs with dry eye get really goopy, mucusy discharge from their eyes.
 
I've never heard of this one, Sharon. I'm so sorry you're experiencing it with Faith, and how fortunate that you found a good ophthomic vet. It's too bad about the constant medication but they do get used to it. Checkers has had various eye issues that require ointment or drops over the years and is so used to it now that I can bend down to the floor and treat her while she stands there.

It's very fortunate if Faith's vision isn't affected. Checkers has a white film over her cornea in one eye and a bit in the other eye that does affect her vision and she doesn't see well any more. She knows the house but there are times I can see she's trying to see something. Her vet recommended something called Miro 28 (a human eye drop) which helped a bit but not much.

I hope Faith's treatment helps and you're able to keep it from getting worse. Good for you catching it early!
 
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