~~~Cherry Eye~~~
Eversion of the Third Eyelid.
Cocker Spaniels along with other breeds tend to have problems with cherry eye. It looks worse than it really is. I assure you...
you do not have to run them to the emergency room!!!!
Eversion of the third eyelid refers to outward scrolling of the third eyelid. This results in exposure of its more sensitive inner surface
to the outside elements. The third eyelid lies directly behind the outer eyelids and can be advanced over the eye whenever the frontal
area of the eyeball is irritated. Its purpose is to protect the eye without completely closing the outer eyelids.
In some cases, it is just barely everted or outwardly scrolled, no correction may be necessary; however, if its inner surface appears
reddened and swollen, correction would be required to relieve your pet's discomfort. Third eyelid eversion may occur in both
eyes but may not occur in both eyes at the same time. It is impossible in most cases to predict whether it will occur in the normal eye.
For some reason buff colored Cockers tend to have the problem more than any other color. This is not covered in my one year health
guarantee. It is a breed problem. If you breed Cockers, you've seen it. Not much you can do about it.
There are 2 different treatments. The first one is removal. This is the procedure I recommend. Some say by removing the gland it will
cause dry eye. However, tacking it down doesn't guarantee they will not develope dry eye either.
The 2nd treatment is very expensive and in many cases the cherry eye will return and will need to be done again.
There are quiet a few websites out there that explain it very well. I have listed 3 that I thought did a wonderful job with pictures also.
~~~Cataracts~~~
Cataracts are a breeders nightmare. Eye CERF tests only mean that dog was cataract clear the day of the test.
It doesn't mean that dog will never develope a cataract or produce an offspring without a cataract.
There are many things that can cause cataracts including....diet, injury, electic shock (shock collars or invisible fencing
is a good question), too much calcium, illness, age and of course being hereditary.
As a breeder we can test yearly and if all at once lets say at age 4 the dog developes a cataract, all offspring that
dog produced is now a cataract carrier. I know many champion dogs that were used many, many times and all at
once developed cataracts. Just because you breed eye CERF clear parents, doesn't guarantee the offspring
will be cataract clear. This is what's so upsetting and hard to monitor in a breeding program, plain and simple.
I strongly believe...the genes for cataracts are either there or they are not. The luck of the draw. Just my opinion...
I have found a few good websites that will help explain cataracts so you can understand eye CERF testing. PRA testing
can also find certain types of cataracts but they can still produce a cataract of a different type.
