humans,theintraocularpressurein
dogscanriseandthenfallvery
quickly—evenasquicklyas
overnight—soaperiodicpressure
checkwouldbeunlikelytoshowthe
spikeinpressure.Andmeanwhile,
thepressurespikewouldhavealready
permanentlydamagedtheeye.
Thedropswillpreventthepeaksin
pressurethatdamagetheeye,butthe
dropswillnotcauseadangerousdrop
inpressure.Amongotherthings,her
recommendationisbasedonthe
resultsofastudythatshowedgiving
dogsdropsinagoodeyeoncethe
othereyeshowedelevatedpressures
delayedtheonsetofglaucomainthe
goodeyebyabouttwoyears.

Evenwiththedrops,overtime

Gemme’spressuresmayrise,but
regulartestswillshowifthepressures
aretrendingupwards.Iftheyare,we
canchangeorincreasemedication,
andthereareseveralsurgeriesthat
canbedonetopreventdamagebefore
thepressuresgettoohigh.One
surgeryinvolvesplacingashuntin
theeyetoallowthepressuretobe
relievedbydrainingofftheexcess
fluid.Anotherinvolvesusingalaser
toablateordestroythetissuethat
producesthefluidintheeye,thus
preventingthepressurefromgetting
toohighanddamagingtheeye.

Ifinditoddlyreassuringthatthe

pressuresmayincreaseinGemme’s
twoeyesatdifferentrates.Even
thoughPOAGisbilateral,meaning
thatbotheyeswilleventuallydevelop
glaucoma,ifoneeyehasanincrease
inpressureorisdamagedfrom
increasedpressure,surgerycould
thenbedoneonthegoodeye,thus
preservingitssight.

Wediscussmedicationstoavoid.

Thesemedicationscouldincrease
ocularpressures.Theseinclude
atropine(usuallyaneyedropused
todilatepupils),ketamine(usedfor
sedationoranesthesia),andBenadryl
orotherallergymedications.Ilearn
thatFrontlinePlus,Heartgardand
RecombitekLymevaccine—all
productsweuse—shouldnot
causeanyproblemsforhereyes.

Wediscussthetimingofspaying

Gemme.Dr.Allbaughtellsmethat
sheisnotawareofanyresearch
showingarelationshipbetween
hormonesandocularpressures.

Wediscussfuturecare.Periodic

pressurechecksareneededtoshow
whetherGemme’socularpressuresare

trendingupward,andeyeexams
willshowwhethertherehasbeen
anydamagetotheeyefrom
elevatedpressures.Theeyeexams
arerecommendedeventhough
Gemmewillbeondropsbecause
thepressurescanrisequickly.
Ideally,Gemmewouldhaveafull
ophthalmologicalexameverythree
months,butthedistancetothe
vetschoolmakesfrequentexams
impractical.Wesettleonaschedule
ofpressuretestseverythreemonths,
whichcanbedonelocally,andfull
eyeexamseverysixmonths.Ocular
pressurescanvaryduringtheday,
soallfuturepressuretestsshouldbe
scheduledforthesametimeofday.

Iaskaboutrisksfromhunting.

MywifeandIenterGemmein
PBGVhunttrials,andwepracticein
betweentrials.Iamworriedthat
Gemmewillinjureaneyeasshe
runsthroughthebrush.While
Gemmeisnotmorelikelytobe
injured,treatmentofaneyeinjury
wouldberiskierforherbecausethe
preferredmedicationtoprevent
musclespasmsandadhesionsinthe
eye,afteraninjuryorsurgery,
wouldbeatropine,butatropinecan
causeincreasedpressure.Another
drug,tropicamide,couldbeused,
butithasashorterdurationand
wouldbelessdesirable.Dr.Allbaugh
suggestseyeprotectionduring
huntingifGemmewilltolerateit.
Ihavenoideathatthereiseye
protectionavailablefordogscalled
Doggles.IfGemmewon’ttolerate
thedoggygoggles,Dr.Allbaugh
suggestsGemmeshouldgoahead
andhuntanyway,becausetherisk
ofeyeinjuryisrelativelylow,and
huntingiswhatGemmelovestodo.

Iaskwhetherchangesinpressure

duringtravelwillcauseincreasesin
ocularpressureorcausetheonsetof
glaucoma.Iamconcernedabout
ourdrivestoourlocalBeagleclub
wherewepractice,andtohunt
trials,astheelevationchanges
duringthetripscausepressureto
buildupinourears.(Dodogs’ears
“pop”likehumans’?)Ilearnthat
theredoesnotappeartobean
increasedoccurrenceofglaucoma
indogslivingathigherelevations
(suchasDenver),sotravelbycar
shouldnotbeanissue.Travel
byplanealsoshouldnotbean
issuebecauseairplanecabins
arepressurized.

24

www.pbgv.org

Winter2015

ISaberTails

Gemmehunting,thenrelaxing
athomeafterward,below.