Agreed, if it's not one thing, it's 3 others.

dturm wrote:

raindove wrote:

As far as diagnosing it -- generally the white of the eye will get really red...

This is injected sclera. There are other causes- like infection, irritation, corneal scratch, but almost always see it with glaucoma.

Okay, learned a new term today. Thanks, Dr Doug!!
On the bright side of the coin, Robbie's doing much better on the meds. The redness has gone and when I touched his eye lid, the eye is not as rigid as it was last Thursday. He goes back for a recheck on the 24th.
I don't think he is seeing much with that eye... but I'll be happy if we can control the pressure.

raindove wrote:

As far as diagnosing it -- generally the white of the eye will get really red...

This is injected sclera. There are other causes- like infection, irritation, corneal scratch, but almost always see it with glaucoma.

nabi wrote:
sorry to hear about the glaucoma...hopefully the pressures come down swiftly with the meds...

Thank you. His eye looks a LOT better today than it did last Thursday. I'm praying that we can get it under control with the meds.

I think he is the 4th dog of my own who has had this. We've had luck with the meds previously, but I am religious about getting those eye drops and oral meds in them on time.

We've only had this guy about 3 months, but I love him to pieces already. I know some people don't want to take older dogs because they think they won't bond to an older dog like they would with a puppy. That's not the case for me. I am just enjoying every day with him. And I'm glad he is here for our other dog who has never in his life been alone without another dog around.

Last Thursday when we took Robbie to the vet, I left Cowboy home alone, because it was pouring down rain. When we got home Cowboy was all over Robbie, sniffing him and checking him out all over. A lot more than the normal check over when another dog comes home with different smells on them.

I told my husband, it's almost like he was worried that Robbie left for good. I think all four of us are tired of the one way trips.

sorry to hear about the glaucoma...hopefully the pressures come down swiftly with the meds...

dturm wrote:



Minor increases in pressure can easily be missed, but even without vision loss, changes in the appearance of the eye and comparisons between the eyes can give a clue. I've found that a high percentage to dogs with glaucoma also have injected sclera.


Doug, DVM

Okay, Dr. Doug -- you have my cog wheels spinning.... watch out! :B

What are you talking about in your reference to injected sclera? Is that a condition of the eye that can be a cause of the glaucoma, or are you referring to the eye injection that is done if the medications don't control the pressure?

I know with Sage, she had an old age cataract. Apparently the cataract shifted -- and at the point that the glaucoma was diagnosed, it was one of those, "What came first" scenarios. The vet said the glaucoma could have caused the shift in the lens due to increased pressure, or the glaucoma could have been caused by the shifted lens blocking the ducts.

Our vet has a tonometer pen to read the pressures. When we first started going to him 16 years ago, none of the vets in our county had anything to read pressures. A number of years back, our vet got the instrument, which made me a happy camper. My breed is one of the top dogs on the list for glaucoma.

As far as diagnosing it -- generally the white of the eye will get really red, the eye can show some bulging, when you turn the lights in the room off and shine a light in the eye, the pupil doesn't react right. You can also see a cloudiness in the eye when you shine the light in a darkened room.

I was standing off to the side when he shined the light and I could see the cloudiness. My heart sank as soon as I saw it.

CA POPPY wrote:
I'd be curious, how did the vet diagnose the glaucoma? I've never seen one of our vets do anything but a cursory exam of a dog's eyes, except once when there was a foreign body in an eye. I have glaucoma myself and it was diagnosed by a pressure reading during a routine exam. Do vets do pressure readings if the dog isn't displaying symptoms of vision problems? I'll bet it is commonly missed until the pet is walking into walls. And yes, when diagnosed, a strict drops regimen is crucial.

We do measure pressure. Until several years ago, measuring pressure required a scale like device to be pressed on the cornea (not real easy to do on an uncooperative dog or cat). Newer devices require a series of three taps on the cornea and it gives a digital reading.

Minor increases in pressure can easily be missed, but even without vision loss, changes in the appearance of the eye and comparisons between the eyes can give a clue. I've found that a high percentage to dogs with glaucoma also have injected sclera.

If your vet sees a change in the eyeball's appearance, a pressure reading is indicated as part of a complete workup.

Pops, acute glaucoma can happen overnight (read real rapidly). This is a condition NOT to be messed with. It is an emergency situation and only rapid treatment (often times by an ophthalmologist) is required to prevent total vision loss.

Doug, DVM

I'd be curious, how did the vet diagnose the glaucoma? I've never seen one of our vets do anything but a cursory exam of a dog's eyes, except once when there was a foreign body in an eye. I have glaucoma myself and it was diagnosed by a pressure reading during a routine exam. Do vets do pressure readings if the dog isn't displaying symptoms of vision problems? I'll bet it is commonly missed until the pet is walking into walls. And yes, when diagnosed, a strict drops regimen is crucial.

I've had several dogs before with glaucoma. There is primary and secondary. I believe the risk of it developing in the second eye is higher if it's primary. Lower risk of both eyes with secondary glaucoma.

I'm no expert, but I think the secondary can occur if the lens shifts due to trauma or other reasons.

Glaucoma can come on quickly - eyes are nothing to fool with, as a dog can go blind from glaucoma in a matter of hours, if the pressure spikes fast.

Like I said, I've had dogs with it before, so I know what to keep a watch for. I've been wondering if I missed something -- with everything going on here with the two sick dogs that we lost.... I don't know.

On the plus column, it looks like the meds are helping.

Yup, all we can do is push through stuff, when it happens. Sorry about the glaucoma.


Poops, I mean Pops!


PS DOC, can the glaucoma develop in a few weeks? ... or did the Vet miss it, on the last visit?