Healthy Dog Eyes: How to Protect Your Pet’s Vision
Might healthy dog eyes also be windows to your dog’s health? They say the eyes are the windows to the soul, but might they also be the windows to your dog’s health?
Because dogs can’t tell you exactly how they’re feeling, it’s up to dog owners to deduce hints from the information their pets provide. If you have the feeling something is off with your dog, the first place you should look is in their eyes.
You may have heard it before: dogs have a mediocre vision, and what they do see is only in black-and-white. According to common opinion, a dog’s sensory superpowers are scent and hearing, not sight. But that’s a myopic way of looking at dogs’ eyes.
While dogs don’t have the same visual acuity some hawk-eyed creatures do, their eyes are actually evolutionary marvels. Dogs’ eyes have aided in the evolution of these animals into the beloved companions and diligent workers that we know today.
They contribute in spotting something in the peripheral, giving the whale eye in an unsure circumstance, staring affectionately at their owner while blasting oxytocin, or using their best begging puppy dog eyes to get food.
Here’s a long look at everything you need to know about the healthy dog’s eyes and vision.
Table of Contents
- How Similar Are Human and Canine Eyes?
- Best Supplements for Eye Health
- Which Are the Essential Vitamins for Healthy Dog Eyes?
- Which Are the Most Common Dog Eye Problems?
- Best Foods for Eye Health
- What Can I Do to Keep My Dog’s Eyes Healthy?
- The Takeaway
- Nutrition Strength Eye Health Supplement for Dogs
Check out our Nutrition Strength Eye Health Supplement for Dogs here.
How Similar Are Human and Canine Eyes?
Unlike the often striking differences between human and animal eyes, a dog’s eyes are amazingly similar to ours, from pupil shape and iris colors ranging from ice blue to black to the apparent capacity to express emotion with a simple brow raise. And there’s a reason for that.
The structures of human and canine eyes are remarkably similar. Our eyes work similarly to a camera, taking in light and transforming it into readable pictures. We both have round black pupils that take in light surrounded by pigmented irises that regulate the amount of light entering the eye (this is why, depending on how bright or dark it is, your pupils dilate).
The pupil and iris then transport the light via the lens to the retina. That is the tissue that lines the inside of the eye. It processes and converts it into a picture that the brain perceives.
Best Supplements for Eye Health
Herbs, nutraceuticals and eye supplements for dogs can positively affect their vision. Several articles have lately appeared, exposing these possibilities and generating alarm among ophthalmologists.
Lutein
Lutein is an antioxidant that is the key to improving visual function and retinal response in dogs. It’s present in spinach and other leafy green vegetables. If your veterinarian recommends more lutein than your dog will get from its food, you can give a lutein-containing nutritional supplement.
Fish Oil
Fish oil is a great supplement for many health problems, including skin, heart, and joint discomfort. It has proven to reduce inflammation.
When it comes to your dog’s eyes, DHA (Docosahexaenoic Acid) — a fatty acid found naturally in the retina — can assist them as well. Salmon, krill, or cod liver oil are all great options. You can buy fish oil capsules or put oil directly on your dog’s meals if he needs an extra boost. Keep their fish oil refrigerated at all times.
Bilberry
This vibrant fruit, also called European Blueberry, is rich in antioxidants. It’s a frequent treatment for canine eye disorders. It has also shown promise as a treatment for some types of tumors. If you’re thinking of giving your dog bilberry supplements, go to your doctor first to make sure he’s a good candidate.
Which Are the Essential Vitamins for Healthy Dog Eyes?
Eye vitamins for dogs are essential nutrients that support their vision. Three of them are particularly important. These are vitamins A, C and E. Their fundamental importance has been proven over the years. That makes them a mandatory part of the menu of our four-legged friends.
Vitamin A / Beta-Carotene
Healthy eyesight depends on adequate vitamin A levels. Consider feeding your dog meals high in vitamin A and beta-carotene to keep his eyes keen enough to detect the tempting treat across the kitchen.
That includes foods like carrots, pumpkin, and sweet potatoes. If you want to provide your pup with some extra veggies, they’re a great treat. Consider gently steaming carrots as some puppies prefer cooked carrots to raw ones.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C seems to be almost a must-have for supporting the general health of our four-legged buddies. Among its many benefits, this vitamin has antioxidant properties improving eye health in dogs under oxidative stress. That said, every pet eyesight supplement worth its weight in belly rubs should have this phenomenal vitamin.
Vitamin E
One of your dog’s defenses against oxidative damage is vitamin E. Fat metabolism is also dependent on this fat-soluble vitamin. Deficiencies can lead to eyesight and muscle degradation. They can also cause reproductive difficulties.
Which Are the Most Common Dog Eye Problems?
Being a responsible pet owner includes taking care of your dog’s eyes. Many factors can cause dog eye problems, just as there are with people’s eyes, ranging from getting dirt or dust in them to more severe disorders. It’s vital to check your dog’s eyes regularly to ensure everything is in working condition.
Things that indicate there is a problem include:
- Squinting or closed eyes
- Tearing or discharge around the eye
- Cloudiness of any part of the eye
- Redness
- Rubbing or pawing the eyes
If any of the aforementioned symptoms are present, chronic, or reoccurring, you should contact your veterinarian right once. You might try cutting the hair around your dog’s face and eyes if your dog is a shaggy or long-haired breed. While many conditions affect the eyes, here are a few more common conditions.
Conjunctivitis
The inflammation of the membrane that covers the eye is known as conjunctivitis. A foreign substance (including misaligned eyelashes), germs, viruses, allergies, or a lack of natural tear production are all possible causes. The condition is uncomfortable, producing itchiness and pain. Symptoms include:
- Blinking / squinting or partial eye closure;
- Redness;
- Discharge;
- Watery evacuation;
- Pus-like or mucous discharge — infection or virus
- Dog eye irritation and rubbing.
Treatment depends on the cause. Here is a list with some advice:
- Bathing the eye in a recommended eyewash
- Anti-inflammatories for a brief time (if the reason is an allergy)
- Antibiotic ointment and oral tablets (if the problem is a bacterial infection)
- Artificial tears and anti-immune medications (for dry-eye)
- Surgery is only necessary when there is a problem causing conjunctivitis (e.g. malpositioned eyelashes).
Dog Eye Allergies
Dog eye allergies cause your pet’s eyes to become irritated, inflamed, and watery. Several causes will trigger such an allergic reaction. Usually, once we remove the underlying cause, the problem will resolve itself without complications. Even so, your dog’s allergy screen and treatment plan may need a consultation with the veterinarian.
Eye allergies in dogs cause itchiness and discomfort. You’ll notice them because the dog’s eyes will be watery, excessively teary, puffy, red, and irritated. Discharge from a dog’s eyes should be clear and moisturized, but if instead, you see milky or colored discharge coming from the eye(s), this could be a more serious eye problem.
Dog eye allergies are often linked to direct contact with allergens in your home that the animal is sensitive to inhalation of mold, dander, or pollen. Specific substances in dog food can also cause all the symptoms above. Because there are many probable reasons, you should do an allergy screening test to determine which allergen is causing the problem.
Veterinarians will do both skin and blood tests. The data will assist you in determining the best methods for reducing allergen interaction in your home. Some prescription and over-the-counter drugs, as well as natural therapies, can help your dog feel better.
Dog Eye Infection
Eye infections may strike your dog at any time, and they can be hard to detect. The following are some of the most common signs and symptoms of an eye infection in dogs:
- Eye pinkness or redness: the eye appears pinker or redder than usual.
- Discharge: varies with the type of disease.
- Viruses or allergies are the most common causes of unclear secretion.
- If the secretion is mucoid to mucopurulent, it might indicate dry eye disease (cloudy or yellowish).
- A bacterial infection might cause a purulent or thick yellowish-green “pus”.
- Increased blinking, eyelid spasms, or light sensitivity are all symptoms of squinting.
- Pawing at the eye: This might signify itching or discomfort.
- Eyelid swelling: one or both eyelids appear puffy.
Multiple indications, such as a red, squinty eye, will frequently appear together. Because if germs invade the eye, the immune system will respond with inflammation (discharge, redness, and / or swelling), which can be uncomfortable (causing pawing and squinting).
Dogs with allergies, a corneal ulcer, dry eye, or trauma could look similar to this, so it’s paramount to have your dog undergo a complete ophthalmologic exam if you’re concerned.
There are two leading causes of dog eye infection: viral and bacterial. Bacterial is far more common. Unicellular microscopic living organisms often lead to bacterial eye infections and usually need an opportunity to infect the eye.
Viruses (protein and nucleic acid-based infectious pathogens), damage to the eye, or dry eye illness can all create ideal conditions for bacteria to infiltrate and grow because there is a compromise in the local defenses of the eye.
Eye abnormalities that can predispose your dog to bacterial infections include eyelids that turn inward or outward, eyelash irritation or tumors of the eyelid. A dog’s tear film can also increase susceptibility to bacterial infections and dry eye.
If you get your dog vaccinated regularly, you won’t have to worry about viral diseases. Viral infections in the eye can eventually resemble bacterial infections, but you may also notice other symptoms such as tiredness, nasal discharge, and fever with viral infections.
You can provide supportive care at home to maintain your pet’s comfort level. If your dog already has an infection, home cures like non-medicated sterile saline rinses can help cleanse the eye, but they’re just a temporary fix.
Saline rinses are a good alternative if your dog has a clear discharge and some redness. It’s urgent not to use human eye drops or medications as dogs can have adverse reactions to these human medications.
Best Foods for Eye Health
A healthy diet rich in antioxidants is essential in supporting your dog’s eye function. Unless noted, these foods should be fed raw. To ensure good digestion, carefully purée the fruits and vegetables:
- Blueberries — Carotenoids, phytonutrients, and flavonoids;
- Carrots — Vitamin A and beta-carotene;
- Kale — Lutein and zeaxanthin antioxidants;
- Broccoli — Beta-carotene;
- Sweet Potatoes — Beta-carotene and anthocyanins;
- Sardines and salmon are high in omega-3 fatty acids, particularly DHA (before serving, deep-freeze raw salmon).
Including these antioxidants in your dog’s commercial meal will help them maintain good eye health. They will assist in reducing the adverse effects of free radicals produced by oxidation. Stress, metabolic activities, and a bad diet can all cause free radicals to harm cells and tissues, just as they can in humans.
Free radicals are dangerous to eye tissues, but they can also harm your dog’s immune system. A diet high in antioxidants, beginning at a young age, will go a long way toward maintaining their general health as they get older.
What Can I Do to Keep My Dog’s Eyes Healthy?
Close monitoring for irregularities and frequent medical treatment are the most critical stages in caring for your dog’s gorgeous peepers. While certain eye diseases are more visible to dog owners than others, a veterinarian can identify many warning signs before they become a significant problem.
Here are some tips for providing eye care for dogs at home:
- Make sure the whites of your dog’s eyes aren’t red. This might signal a variety of things, including dry eyes, corneal scraping, and more.
- Examine your dog’s pupils in a well-lit environment. Do they appear to be clear or cloudy? If they’re obscured, it might be a symptom of cataracts (and vision loss).
- Keep a watch on your pet to see if he or she is blinking or pawing at his or her eyes excessively.
If you notice anything strange about your dog’s eyes, make an appointment with your veterinarian to determine whether or not the eyes need treatment.
The Takeaway
Preventing eye infections in dogs can be challenging since they are generally lively and energetic in situations containing opportunistic organisms. One technique of protection is to cut the longer hairs around their eyes to avoid discomfort from the hair in their eyes. You can hire a professional groomer if you don’t feel at ease doing it yourself.
If you take your dog trekking or on a desert journey, you may need to wear dog goggles to protect your eyes from UV rays, dust, and plant fibers.
Eye illness can cause dogs’ health and quality of life to suffer in ways that are unpleasant and irreversible. On the other hand, almost all eye disorders are treated with a high chance of success if detected early. As a result, preserving canine eyesight and comfort requires careful monitoring, frequent veterinarian inspection, and a fast reaction to changes.
We should mention that eye conditions have many causes beyond what we’ve covered on this list, and it’s unlikely that every dog will display the same symptoms. If you observe any of these symptoms in your dog or any others, contact your veterinarian right once.
You can trust your veterinarian to figure out what’s causing your dog’s eyes to change. While your dog may prefer to perceive the world via his nose, his eyes provide essential insight into his health.
Nutrition Strength Eye Health Supplement for Dogs
Check out our Nutrition Strength Eye Health Supplement for Dogs here.
Nutrition Strength’s Eye Health Supplement for Dogs with Lutein, Bilberry Fruit, Grape Seed & Green Tea Extract, Multivitamin Support for Dog Eye Allergies & Irritation Problems is specially formulated to help support your pet’s vision and eye health.
A great way to help your pet cope with dog eye irritation and other ocular issues, our premium supplement benefits your furry friends by:
- Delivering lutein and zeaxanthin to promote vision clarity.
- Protecting the eyes from free radical damage with astaxanthin.
- Boosting eye health with a powerful blend of antioxidants, including astaxanthin and vitamins A, C and E.
- Promoting a better eyesight with bilberry fruit, which may help with retinal disorders.
- Delivering green tea extract which may help lower the risk of developing retina disorders and macular degeneration.
Our special eye support blend contains grape seed extract, an antioxidant which may help with eye disease. Our safe, effective eye supplement for dogs provides lutein and zeaxanthin, which are highly concentrated in the macula — a small area of the retina responsible for the three-color vision.
Moreover, lutein and zeaxanthin have been shown to make it less likely that your dog would develop age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and reduce its progression if it does occur.
Astaxanthin has been shown to improve the lens accommodative function and protect the optic nerve from damage, in addition to improving the retinal blood flow and shielding the eyes from UV damage. Packed with powerful antioxidants, our supplement may help decrease oxidative damage to support overall ocular health.
Image source: Wikimedia / Jimmy Baikovicius.
