# Eye issues.. age or PRA?



## VomBlack (May 23, 2009)

Once a year I take advantage of the ACVO free service dog eye exams in May where we get to visit a board certified specialist for a full exam. Last year the vet had diagnosed Atypical Pannus/plasmoma of the third eyelid. Nothing extreme, and we do Cyclosporine drops to keep it managed.

This past fall I started to notice some changes in behavior when I would walk Odin at night, almost as if he was having a harder time seeing in the dark. Didn't think too much of it at first but after a few episodes I got a little suspicious. 

About 2 months ago I started to notice eye changes. His eyes glow a lot more noticeably in dimmer light, sometimes his pupils seem dilated. I had one of his general vets take a look last month and she didn't think it was anything too unusual for his age (he's 7). 

We'll be going for the full eye exam again in May and I'll run my concerns by the specialist then but I thought I'd share some photos.. I find as he gets older I get much more paranoid about his overall health.


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

I've had a dog with PRA (not a GSD). She was a rescue and I knew when I adopted her that her mother was blind from PRA (puppy mill dog), and that there would be a good chance that she would have PRA too. Yep. When she was 3, I had her eyes tested, and he said that her night vision was already affected. Her eyes did glow green like a cat (hyperreflectivity).

If I was to venture a guess, I wouldn't think it was PRA. Is it at all common in GSDs?


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

I once had a GSD foster dog with PRA. He was a young bicolor male. The shelter and initial vet exam noticed no abnormality. I noticed the weird green glow in his eyes, and kept second guessing myself as to whether there was something off about his eyes. Then I noticed his personality was different at night -- more agitated, less certain of himself and his surroundings, spookier. The night he missed the dog door and bumped the edge of it made it all click into place for me. I took him to a vet ophthalmologist that week, and after a full exam, she diagnosed the PRA.

She said it's not always genetic. Sometimes it's acquired (ivermectin overdose can cause it).


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## VomBlack (May 23, 2009)

Magwart said:


> I once had a GSD foster dog with PRA. He was a young bicolor male. The shelter and initial vet exam noticed no abnormality. I noticed the weird green glow in his eyes, and kept second guessing myself as to whether there was something off about his eyes. Then I noticed his personality was different at night -- more agitated, less certain of himself and his surroundings, spookier. The night he missed the dog door and bumped the edge of it made it all click into place for me. I took him to a vet ophthalmologist that week, and after a full exam, she diagnosed the PRA.
> 
> She said it's not always genetic. Sometimes it's acquired (ivermectin overdose can cause it).


I know GSDs are not the typical breed for it..but everything I've been noticing lately has been making me question it. The sudden exaggerated green glow just seems strange, I'm seeing it at light levels I didn't see before, and overall the eyes just look.. different.


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

The green glow is pretty distinctive, for sure.


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

I remember that Zelda's pupils were huge, too.


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

Here's a photo of Zelda, where you can see her eyes, and the green glow. This is very early on. She was about 4 years old here, and was diagnosed when she was about 3 and a half.


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