Dogs, there’s nothing more comforting than gazing lovingly at our humans. Yet sadly Golden Retrievers are predisposed to a disease that could rob us of our vision! Golden Retriever Pigmentary Uveitis is a serious condition because it is chronic and can result in total vision loss. Yet early signs of the disease are subtle, and often go undetected until the disease is far more advanced. Therefore, although the signs for pigmentary uveitis often are out of sight to dog owners, monitoring for it should not be out of mind.

The Morris Animal Foundation’s Golden Retriever Lifetime Study (GRLS) is working to understand this disease. As they recently explained in their July newsletter, “Although commonly referred to as pigmentary uveitis, the disease actually is a constellation of clinical eye problems that accumulate over time and result in vision loss. One of the first signs is the development of cysts in the eye. Some cysts might be detected by an owner, but most tend to be behind the pupil and require dilating the eye and special equipment to see.” Yet this type of an eye exam is not normally a routine part of a dog’s annual physical. Therefore it is important for Golden Retrievers, especially as we age, to be examined by a veterinary ophthalmologist.

As the GRLS article, “In the Blink of an Eye,” explains, “There are two types of cysts that can form in a dog’s eye: thin-walled and thick-walled. Thick-walled cysts tend to be solitary, round and free floating. They are not associated with inflammation in the eye and they’re often seen in front of the pupil.” It is the thin-walled cysts that can be more problematic. Thin-walled cysts “often are translucent, big and floppy, and they are an early indicator of risk for pigmentary uveitis. These may be seen prior to obvious inflammation, which sets the process of vision loss in motion.”

As our ophthalmologist explained, all cases of uveitis have cysts, but not all cysts are uveitis. It is important to monitor these cysts for changes. That is why we take Asa to visit our ophthalmologist every 6 months, so that she can monitor the cysts that are present in his eyes. We first learned of this disease when my littermate and a half-brother each started showing signs of the disease. Therefore I also get my eyes examined. Thankfully, so far my eyes do not show any signs of cysts. That doesn’t mean I won’t get it though. The average age of onset is 8.6 years, but it can be found in Goldens as young as 4 years old, or even as old as 14. Thus making it important to have routine eye exams.

Generally the most common symptoms of the disease are squinting, light sensitivity, redness, increased tearing or discharge, and cloudiness. Dr. Lynne Sandmeyer, a board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist and Morris Animal Foundation grant collaborator, cautions that red eyes can happen for a lot of reasons. “However, dogs with red eyes due to pigmentary uveitis tend to be a little more painful and the redness lingers longer than we would suspect with other conditions. Owners of Golden Retrievers should err on the side of caution and these dogs should be seen by a veterinarian sooner than other dogs.”

Thankfully during Asa’s recent checkup no changes were detected. Therefore he will continue to receive nightly eyedrops, and will be rechecked in a few months. If you’d like to learn more about this disease and the Golden Retriever Lifetime Study, please visit “In the Blink of an Eye, Understanding Pigmentary Uveitis in Golden Retrievers.” at the MorrisAnimalFoundation.org. To read about Asa’s experience and what happens at a dog eye exam, please read our post, “That’s How Eye Roll.”