Nemo eye check - corneal dystrophy
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A month or two ago two small (~1 mm) semi-opaque dots appeared on the center of Nemo's eyes. They were sort of there earlier than that but you had to look at his eyes in just the right light and angle to see them. My armchair vet diagnosis was corneal dystrophy and the eye doctor confirmed it today. She said it was the superficial kind (basically cholesterol or lipid deposits) and isn't anything really to worry about and doesn't need treatment.
She also mentioned that it can be helped along by high cholesterol foods so I should avoid those if possible. I've been giving Nemo little pieces of dried liver as kennel treats for the past year or so, and liver is reasonably high in cholesterol so she said to cut that out.
Thought I'd share in case someone else runs across it with their B.
P.S. Funny story is that this eye doctor is the same one that looked at Nemo's eyes when he was a puppy. But it was back when they had their practice down in Chicago rather than NE WI now. She was amazed that I still had the original eye exam report from the breeder. Very friendly doctor too.
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No worries Nemo, I have a boy with corneal dystrophy too. He had it show up in one eye at about 2yrs and a year or so later the other eye had it too. He is 7 now and no changes. I have also talked to a breeder vet who thinks it's food related. But her recommendation of switching to Euk was not on my list of approved foods. lol I have fed all kinds of different foods over the years and haven't seen them make a difference. Also fish oil was recommended, as a potential imbalance in the omegas could be a leading factor too. But no luck there either for me. It doesn't affect the vision, so Nemo won't notice anything. :)
His kinda look like thin short lines or scratches across the eye, which actually was my first thought when I saw it. The eye doc did say it could be caused by injury too and I thought maybe that's what did it since he is, well, a goof! But when the other eye turned up later, I figured it was probably more of the food or other explanation than an injury coincidence. lol Who knows!
I'd certainly be willing to try other stuff though if anyone's found a better secret recipe!
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IT is not an uncommon thing… and low fat foods are in order.... watch things like carrots too, since they are high in sugar....
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The eye doc did say it could be caused by injury too and I thought maybe that's what did it since he is, well, a goof!
Maybe there is a "goof" connection. Nemo is definitely a goof! lol
IT is not an uncommon thing… and low fat foods are in order.... watch things like carrots too, since they are high in sugar....
I just realized his food has a really high fat content (Fromm surf & turf). He was on the Fromm Salmon a la veg before that which has half the fat. I was hoping to avoid going back to grains because he has done so well on the surf&turf food otherwise. Fish protein seems to be the best for keeping weight on him versus chicken. Not sure about beef. I've been hesitant to change from fish as he had some difficult stomach issues when he was younger on several chicken-based foods and I don't want to go through that again if he could have similar issues with beef.
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Hopefully you can find something "middle" of the road…. that works well with any tummy issues he might have to some meats... or grains
