# Cataracts



## Wyatt's mommy (Feb 25, 2011)

Not juvenile cataracts, but my Cody developed cataracts due to his diabetes. He went completely blind in a matter of 2 weeks. However he was a good candidate for surgery and they were able to bring his sight back. What does his eye specialist say?


----------



## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

I adopted a 6 1/2 month old Golden with a congenital cataract in his left eye. He had peripheral vision on the edges and you would not guess he was visually impaired. We went for about 6 years with a daily drop of a steroid and annual ophthalmology exams. Around age 6 a cataract formed in his other "good" eye. It was fast growing and soon impacted his vision. His other cataract started progressing as well. At that point our ophthalmologist recommended double cataract surgery. We did that but he had some complications with the eye with the congenital cataract and was not able to implant an artificial lens. We also had some post surgical problems for almost a year. He can see, but his depth perception is horrible- a possible side effect for this surgery. He can no longer track tennis balls and we must keep a collar on him to prevent him from running into things. Despite that he's got some vision now so the surgery was worth it. 

Your ophthalmologist should be able to advise you when he/she feels cataract removal surgery is recommended, based on the eye examinations.


----------



## SheetsSM (Jan 17, 2008)

My 2-3 yr old foster was diagnosed with juvenile cataracts during a CERF exam I was having on my crew as a preventative measure. The ophthalmologist said it was affecting less than 5% of his vision in his eye and was just something that she recommended to be checked every 6 months--no doom & gloom prognosis.

I would let your breeder know about the diagnosis. Did the dogss in your pup's pedigree have annual CERF exams?


----------



## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

The ophthalmologist that I go to, tells me that in general, the juvenile cataracts do not impact vision. She also says that up,here, they are very common.


----------



## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

I would get him to a specialist and have them looked at....

Our golden who had juvenile cataracts (Charmy) never lost his vision. The cataracts were VISIBLE at 2 years, but they never worsened than that. We never did any eye drops for him.


----------



## whoop (Apr 22, 2013)

the Eye Doctor, says most likely they will progress, but there is a chance they will stay static. they gave me an estimate for surgery,the way he acts with running jumping and retrievieving he can obviously see. they want to see him again in august to see if they progress


----------



## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

Things seem to have changed since I was in school, but cataracts were only operated on when they were mature...


----------



## whoop (Apr 22, 2013)

I have left a message with my breeder, she does not do the eye certs only the hips.


----------



## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

Generally, juvenile cataracts don't progress BUT that is based on dogs with parents who do not have juvies, whose eyes are checked regularly and who have a pedigree with clear eyes. If one or both parents have juvenile cataracts, they could definitely be worse in the offspring.

That said, you may want to get a second opinion in a few months. There are good canine opthamologists and bad ones. For years here, breeders would not go the university for eye checks because of one of the eye doctors on staff who saw cataracts and dire predictions which were not borne out after second and third opinions.


----------



## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

whoop said:


> the Eye Doctor, says most likely they will progress, but there is a chance they will stay static. they gave me an estimate for surgery,the way he acts with running jumping and retrievieving he can obviously see. they want to see him again in august to see if they progress


that is what our ophthalmologist told us at first as well and we had 6 years with no changes at all. We initially did 6 month re-checks, then annually, then back to 6 month re-checks when the second cataract was discovered until the surgery. We are back on a 6 month recheck now as well. You want your Golden's eyes checked at least annually for pigmentary uveitis and other eye diseases that affect Goldens. The daily drops will become easier to accomplish with time. I don't think anything about dosing my boy now, though I still have problems putting drops in my own eyes!


----------



## whoop (Apr 22, 2013)

Thank you, my breeder has both parents, although niether have shown any signs of cataracts that do not have the certification, the breeder seems very reputiable and has never had any cataract issues with here dogs or any of the litters.


----------



## SheetsSM (Jan 17, 2008)

whoop said:


> Thank you, my breeder has both parents, although niether have shown any signs of cataracts that do not have the certification, the breeder seems very reputiable and has never had any cataract issues with here dogs or any of the litters.


It's amazing what isn't there when you don't look for it. You might find a way to slip your breeder a copy of the Golden Retriever Club of America Code of Ethics which recommends breeders at a minimum complete the 4 core certifications on the dogs they breed: hips, elbows, cardiologist cleared heart & annual eye exams performed by an ophthalmologist--all of which anyone should be able to review online via offa.org.


----------



## Wyatt's mommy (Feb 25, 2011)

whoop said:


> the Eye Doctor, says most likely they will progress, but there is a chance they will stay static. they gave me an estimate for surgery,the way he acts with running jumping and retrievieving he can obviously see. they want to see him again in august to see if they progress


Sounds like they are staying on top of it. Keep using the drops and hopefully he will prove the specialist wrong


----------



## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

whoop said:


> Thank you, my breeder has both parents, although niether have shown any signs of cataracts that do not have the certification, the breeder seems very reputiable and has never had any cataract issues with here dogs or any of the litters.


While we adopted our boy from a rescue, he came with his AKC papers and I contacted his breeder to discuss the cataracts and ask whether this was in the parents or other puppies (this was 2004 before I knew about clearances). He said basically the same thing your breeder did. Too bad because he only did hip and elbow clearances and guess what? This dog has heart and eye issues.  He also has digestive enzyme deficiencies. Those clearances are important and are done for very good reasons. It's too late for your puppy, so best to plan ahead. If you haven't done so already, I'd be looking into purchasing pet insurance for your puppy. It won't cover the cataracts or the surgery since they are pre-existing, but will cover future medical issues. Cataract surgery costs about $3500+ these days, so you could save the money for veterinary costs insurance will reimburse for a potential surgery should your pup need it.


----------



## Bentman2 (Sep 30, 2013)

*Juvies*

We had Bentley checked with the vet opthamologist here on Feb 10, 2014 and he has Juvenile Cataracts too. She indicated that they were small and would only be an issue if he looked into bright lights. She did not think they would be a problem for him. I have sent in my application to Cerf but not gotten it back yet. I will continue to have his eyes checked each year. I too am disappointed but things could be worse and I thank God for that. :wave:


----------



## MyMaggieGirl (Nov 12, 2008)

I hate to put down a "reputable" breeder but why wouldn't she have the parents' eyes CERF'd?


----------



## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

I have always heard true juvenile cataracts will not impair vision. 
It's an issue w/Goldens, is hereditary, and unlike the non-triangular punctate cataracts doesn't develop out of the blue. A dog can get juvenile cataracts as old as 6 YO- or so said the ophthalmologist I get my dogs' eyes done by- Dr Jacobs. GA. I always ask him how many cases he's seeing of juvies, and of PU, and of iris cysts, I am curious if the issues are getting fewer or greater in our area of the country. He's nice enough to usually give me a thought or three when he's telling me what he's seeing lately. 
I guess the main thing I get from your posts is that your breeder needs to know that she's producing a genetic problem and her dogs are carrying that problem. It could be a costly problem depending on if it gets worse or not. It could stop w/your puppy, but if she keeps breeding her dogs without clearances and yearly exams, it could cost a lot of people a lot of money downline, and that's not a right livelihood!


----------



## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

Your breeder should be doing hip and elbow certs, along with hearts and eyes (eyes annually). I would think that now that she has produced an inherited condition, she will begin to do the health clearances that she should have been doing all along. The problem with issues like elbow dysplasia, heart problems and cataracts, is they are not always going to be seen at a visit to the regular vet. This is why hip and elbow rads are sent in to OFA to be rated, and why hearts and eyes are done by specialists who have the equipment and the training to do this.

Hopefully Harley will never know he has juvies  I have a friend with a field dog who had juvies and she said that she only noticed it when she was doing marks into the sun. Bad for her but the pet home she placed the dog into likely never noticed.


----------



## SheetsSM (Jan 17, 2008)

I'm curious as to who the OP's breeder was in light another Minnesota breeder recently discussed here that is only doing hips and doesn't agree w/ the GRCA CoE.


----------



## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

I didn't realise this was such an old post. OP has not been on the Forum since August. Oh well...............


----------

