Cataracts: How to Spot Them in Your Dog

A lot of things happen to your dog’s body as they get older. They need more sleep and have less energy. They can also develop a list of conditions, like arthritis and cataracts. If you have an older relative then you might have heard of cataracts before. For those of you who haven’t, we’ll discuss what they are in dogs and how to spot them.

Cataracts? What’s that?

Cataracts are an ocular disease in dogs typically caused by aging but can occur through injury. It affects the tissue fibers in the lens of the eye, making them denser and leading to eye difficulties. They’re usually hereditary, but some dogs are born with it or develop in old age. It can also be caused by dog diabetes, deficiencies, or other bodily trauma. 

Do They Hurt?

Not usually. Cataracts typically lead to blindness, which doesn’t cause pain until your dog bumps into the door. However, you should still watch for cataracts as they can lead to other issues, like luxation, glaucoma, or uveitis. 

When a cataract luxates, it escapes from the tissue strands and travels around the eye, which can cause a lot of internal damage, like glaucoma. Glaucoma occurs when the luxated lens blocks the eye’s natural drainage system and causes inflammation. The results are intense pain and actual blindness.

How Do I Spot Them?

Cataracts are a cloudy film over the eye lens and can be either white or blueish-gray. To spot them, you have to look into their eyes. That being said, cloudiness in the eyes doesn’t always mean cataracts. Sometimes, it can mean nuclear sclerosis, which occurs in both eyes as they age over the age of 6. This condition is much less risky but can be difficult to distinguish by the untrained eye. It’s best to schedule an appointment with your vet if you do spot any cloudiness. Doing so can get you a preliminary assessment of the condition, which can help during future visits.