Oskar has microphthalmia (anyone know anything about this condition?)
And I'm really hoping it is not serious, but my vet was worried, which worried me.
I took him for his rabies vaccination. He just turned 5 months old this Saturday past. (And he weighs 70 pounds. I think he's slightly chubby, but the vet thought he looked ok weightwise) But what was worrisome was that the vet noticed one of his eyes looked smaller than the other. I saw it right away when she mentioned it, but had not noticed it earlier. Now Oskar has big googly puppy eyes.....big and round and he rolls them a lot so the whites show, so I am always hyper aware of his eyes (the way he rolls them makes me laugh!) and I had not seen this earlier, which, is I hope, a good sign, meaning it's relatively new which is why I didn't notice it.
We're hoping it's an injury from head trauma. He did hit his head pretty hard last week against a post (he's super clumsy, and he ran right into it) He hit himself hard enough that he sat down for a moment, but showed no other signs of injury. The vet said head trauma can cause the eye to appear smaller (I saw it in Bel when she was had head trauma from the coyote attack last year). We're hoping its not the other thing the vet is worried about which is microphthalmia. I got nervous when she said that, because I remember it being a problem in Akitas....
It's odd to be hoping for head trauma, but that's what we're hoping for. It dilates normally, and he blinks and appears to be able to see ok. He doesn't appear to be in pain, and no injuries are showing in the eye (no blood, no scratches, nothing stuck), but we're going to give him drops and if it's not better in two weeks, I'll be taking him to the canine eye doctor.
I'm kind of worried, though I do think it might be from hitting his head...if it is, it should go back to normal. Bel's eye hasn't entirely come back to it's original look, but she can see just fine with it, so I'm hoping for that for Oskar too. But Bel had a clear injury, as well, and her eye did not dilate normally....so I'm kind of worried about how normal his eye looks otherwise. And I'm worried because the vet is worried, and I don't know much about microphthalmia either. From what I've looked at, it looks like it can cause blindness....
Anyway, I'm worried about my big silly puppy......
I took him for his rabies vaccination. He just turned 5 months old this Saturday past. (And he weighs 70 pounds. I think he's slightly chubby, but the vet thought he looked ok weightwise) But what was worrisome was that the vet noticed one of his eyes looked smaller than the other. I saw it right away when she mentioned it, but had not noticed it earlier. Now Oskar has big googly puppy eyes.....big and round and he rolls them a lot so the whites show, so I am always hyper aware of his eyes (the way he rolls them makes me laugh!) and I had not seen this earlier, which, is I hope, a good sign, meaning it's relatively new which is why I didn't notice it.
We're hoping it's an injury from head trauma. He did hit his head pretty hard last week against a post (he's super clumsy, and he ran right into it) He hit himself hard enough that he sat down for a moment, but showed no other signs of injury. The vet said head trauma can cause the eye to appear smaller (I saw it in Bel when she was had head trauma from the coyote attack last year). We're hoping its not the other thing the vet is worried about which is microphthalmia. I got nervous when she said that, because I remember it being a problem in Akitas....
It's odd to be hoping for head trauma, but that's what we're hoping for. It dilates normally, and he blinks and appears to be able to see ok. He doesn't appear to be in pain, and no injuries are showing in the eye (no blood, no scratches, nothing stuck), but we're going to give him drops and if it's not better in two weeks, I'll be taking him to the canine eye doctor.
I'm kind of worried, though I do think it might be from hitting his head...if it is, it should go back to normal. Bel's eye hasn't entirely come back to it's original look, but she can see just fine with it, so I'm hoping for that for Oskar too. But Bel had a clear injury, as well, and her eye did not dilate normally....so I'm kind of worried about how normal his eye looks otherwise. And I'm worried because the vet is worried, and I don't know much about microphthalmia either. From what I've looked at, it looks like it can cause blindness....
Anyway, I'm worried about my big silly puppy......
Comments
At least he does not seem to have any discomfort or trouble seeing because of it.
Keep us updated on how he is progressing with it.
*virtual hugs!*
I really do hope he's ok.
Also, have you called his breeder. He or She are probably your best resource on any eye disorders that might be common in the breed, and their lines specifically.
Here's to hoping for head trauma!
Poor boy--he seems fine, but it is worrisome and is more noticeable today than it was yesterday.
Hopefully it turns out to be nothing major and easily fixable.
*Hugs*
Keep us updated!
Hoping for the best.
Snf
I'm going to be really interested in seeing how this works, though. He's a big boy, and he's still a puppy, so it's hard enough just to give him eye drops. I can't even imagine how we'll get him still enough for a longer eye exam, but I imagine they have methods for dealing with this.
In the meantime, I've been reading some about microphthalmia, and...well, its complicated (and I so hope this is not what he has!) Mostly what I've come away from after reading about it is more respect for how much good breeders have to know, because the genetics are SO complicated....It looks like dogs could carry the gene for this and not have it show up that often, but once a dog does have it, I believe it's a 60 % chance it will show up the offspring of littermates, even if the littermates show no signs of it themselves. Things like this could so easily NOT be evident in a breeding pair...But of course it would really effect a breeding program.
(And this is from me just doing the most cursory reading on the subject--Its way more complicated than this, and it as I said, makes me really think about how hard it must be to consider all these health issues when breeding....Makes me think about Brad's hypothetical NK breeding plan thread again!)
The doctor seemed pretty confident that it will not cause too many problems for Oskar, but does want to me give him eye drops and watch him for discharge or other problems.
So I feel....well, obviously not happy that he has it, but quite relieved to know it is not worse.
I need to talk to my breeder and let her know. We talked a little bit already, and she is worried, because of course it will effect her breeding program--tremendously. On the way home, I started thinking about that, and thought how for us, it's unfortunate but not devastating: Oskar was never going to be bred anyway, and he can see, and he'll do just fine here with us. But for her, there was a lot of money invested in dogs (I wonder if the dam carried the gene, given that she had never been bred before--the sire had and it hadn't shown up in his previous litter), and what happens with those pups she sold for show and breeding? And she kept one pup herself too. I can't even imagine how complicated will be for her.
And on a practical note, I don't even know what I should do (other than tell her). I mean, it doesn't effect his home with us at all, but it is a genetic defect. I thought about asking her to cover the vet bill, but I'm not even sure I'll do that: it wasn't that much, actually, and I really believe she had no idea.
anyway, that's the news.
I think it's your obligation, as a breed lover, to tell your breeder. I'm glad you did. It's up to her how to deal with the issue in her program.
It's my (logical) opinion that you shouldn't expect a breeder to pay for the medical costs accrued from a genetic health issue unless it is specifically stated in a contract. However, my personal (emotional) feeling would be to expect a breeder to offer some form of compensation, or, at the very least, an honest apology and a clearly stated plan of action to adjust their breeding program.
Having owned several genetically unhealthy dogs, I can honestly say the best response I have had from a breeder was an honest "oh shit", a heartfelt apology, and a quick and decisive change in their breeding program. That was by far more honest-feeling and respectable than a simple offer for another puppy or reimbursement of the cost... Tho, I understand that money holds a different value in each person's mind and my value of money may be lower than others.
----
Unfortunately, when you breed animals, at times genetics are strange and things pop up that you cannot anticipate. It is just part of the breeding game. Then you hope to provide the best care possible for the animal, for whom you were responsible (as the breeder) to bringing into this world.
And Brad, I loved this quote of yours "...my value of money may be lower than others". Well being that you love dogs and have bought and imported so many, you put your money into that instead of the bank. I can certainly understand that, investing my money is my dogs and horses vs just accruing interest in the Bank!! LOL!!
She was really worried when I told her what we suspected, so I believe that she 1) had no idea and 2) is going to make changes in the breeding program right away.
I can see how this would be something totally unexpected....the vet said its thought to be a recessive gene, and is really, really hard to predict, esp. in Akitas, where it much less well understood than it is in collies or other dogs when it is associated with the merle color pattern.
As for the breeder, I am glad that she is worried and hope that she will alter her breeding program to avoid this in the future.
Big hug to Oskar from us, and one for you, too!
https://www.msu.edu/~k9genome/micro.htm
Big hugs to Lisa too!
I haven't researched microphthalmia as much as you have, however, I would ask your vet if it is also associated with other types of birth defects in dogs. Reason I mention this, we had a Shiba who came to the Rescue with both microphthalmia and a significant heart murmur.
I really no next to nothing about micro. I've just looked at a few articles online. My breeder is freaking out, and I can see why--I would be too. She's wondering if it could be something else, but I don't really see what else would make him have one smaller eye. I did come across an article that talked very very briefly about nanophthalmia, which I found here:
http://books.google.com/books?id=6BiTSnwJtJ0C&pg=PA43&lpg=PA43&dq=nanophthalmos+canine&source=bl&ots=GlslXw5Of2&sig=ZOGdTd7IrUWrMSVS0vfLwW9yCrI&hl=en&ei=nDjeTL6BCI7WtQOjoKW_Cg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&sqi=2&ved=0CBsQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false
Which sounds like him, in that the eye is smaller but still fully functional. The thing is, it would still like be a genetic defect, I believe.
But I really know very little about this. Has anyone come across this before and know more? Or have suggestions where we could look for more info?
I'm going to call back the vet later this week, too, and ask him about the difference between nano and micro, to see if he has any insight.
I understand that it would be a huge deal for her breeding program, so I know why she's worried, but I also keep thinking, I don't really know ANYTHING about this....I'm just the message bearer, and if she wants to find out more, or try to dispute the doctor's diagnosis, that's fine, but I'm certainly not the one that can answer her questions. (And she's not being at all difficult--just asking me a lot of questions about the diagnosis that I simply don't have answers to).
I have a friend who got a dog from a reputable show breeder. The breeder did the usual research and health checks, but then produced the litter where everything went wrong. Right off the bat, the litter was a pet litter, with long-hairs, woolly hairs, and long woolly hairs. Then when my friend's dog got a little older and participated in a rattlesnake avoidance clinic, the trainer noticed that the dog wasn't responding normally and thought something was wrong with the dog's vision. Turns out that the breeder also produced juvenile cataracts that was unheard of for the breed at the time.
The breeder had a choice then to try to bury it or to release this info. She choose to release it despite the hardships, and now there is much better awareness of juvenile cataracts (though some people call it an explosion of the disease in the breed). Juvenile cataracts is mentioned in nearly every health description for the breed and there is a foundation created to study the disease in the breed.
and I know if it were me, I'd be wanting a lot of answers too. This breeder has been very upfront about health issues she's encountered in the breed, so I expect she's just shocked, and wants some more info.