Eye health for dogs as well as any animal is especially important. Eye health requires taking care of the eyesight of your dog but also preventing eye health problems caused by diseases or injuries.
Eye Injuries
Eye injuries can diminish or rob your dog of eyesight. Prevention of eye injuries is the best defense in keeping your dog’s eyesight. Keep all potentially dangerous items and situations away from your dog. For example, be sure that the fence has no sharp or protruding edges such as splinters or broken panels for wooden fences or protruding wires on a chain link fence. If a dog tries to look through any holes in the fence and there is an object protruding from it, he can injure his eyes. Also be sure that there are no liquids that he can “investigate” that may spill on him and burn his eyes. Keep his yard, doghouse and area free from any potential hazards.
Keep all poisons, such as insecticides or pesticides, oil, gasoline or any other potentially dangerous liquids secure. Ingestion of any of these poisons can affect your dog’s health, well-being and even his eyesight.
Sometimes even dirt or an insect can injure the eye since a dog will scratch or rub his eye to alleviate the irritation caused by the foreign object. Keep watch for any signs of scratching, redness or swelling around the eye. If necessary, contact a veterinarian immediately.
Diseases Can Affect Eyesight
There are certain diseases that can affect a dog’s eyesight or vision. For example, diabetes, if not treated properly, can rob your dog of his eyesight, either partially or fully. Whenever a dog has been diagnosed for any disease, it is extremely important that the owner follows the directions and advice of his veterinarian to prevent any further progress of any disease or medical condition.
Certain medications can have an adverse effect on a dog’s health including his eyesight so it is important to monitor any dog and his behavior whenever medications are used. This is especially important during the initial period of medication use, as well as long-term. Sometimes a dog will develop an adverse reaction or allergy even after long-term use with any medication.
An eye cold can even affect a dog’s eyesight especially if he continually rubs or scratches it in an attempt to alleviate the itching. Cold compresses will alleviate some of the swelling and itching. Eye drops may be necessary; however, only with a vet's advice.
Age Can Affect Eyesight
As a dog ages, his eyesight will diminish. It is very important to secure a safe zone for him to stay. Make sure there are no hazards within in this zone that he can hurt himself on. This includes sharp and/or protruding objects, liquids, pools, furniture, etc. He may not see any dangers until it is too late to react, such as falling into a pool or falling off of a step. Be sure there are only soft objects within this zone in case he does fall onto one of the objects within this zone.