Bleeding Eyes in a Sheltie

The sheltie, often mistaken for a "miniature collie," is a small dog that stands around 13 to 16 inches in height. Shelties, much like collies, are prone to having malformation or diseases affecting the eyes. As a small dog, the Shetland sheepdog is also prone to accidental trauma to the eyes. When bleeding occurs in a dog's eye, it is important to get the dog to its veterinarian for prompt treatment.

  1. Causes

    • Though shelties are prone to malformed eyes or diseases affecting the eyes, most of these issues do not cause bleeding of the eyes. However, there are many potential causes of bleeding eyes in a sheltie. This includes retinal hemorrhaging, bleeding disorders, hyphema, intraocular (inner eye) pressure and trauma.

    Retinal Hemorrhage

    • When bleeding of the innermost lining of the eye, or the retina, occurs it is termed retinal hemorrhaging. This issue tends to be breed specific. According to PetMD, it commonly affects herding breeds including the Shetland sheepdog (sheltie), collie and Australian shepherd. Symptoms include vision loss, blood in the urine, a white color in the pupil of the affected eye or a pupil that does not react to changes in light. To treat this condition, medications may be used. Surgical reattachment of the retina and the choroid coat may also be done. In some instances, this condition can result in permanent blindness in the eye.

    Hyphema

    • Hyphema is a symptom, not a disease, that refers to blood present in the anterior eye chamber. It affects many dog breeds and can also potentially affect the sheltie. This condition often occurs because of retinal detachment, hypertension, infection, trauma, hyperthyroidism and ocular defects such as collie eye anomaly, which despite its name can affect shelties. Treatment involves dealing with the underlying condition as well as the symptom itself. Symptom-specific treatment involves corticosteroids, atropine eyedrops or surgery.

    Prognosis

    • Most shelties can go on living a healthy, happy life as long as their bleeding eye is treated promptly. If blindness occurs, the dog can learn to live and play just as it had before, often with minimal effort on the owner's part. For some issues, such as retinal hemorrhaging, followup visits with the veterinarian may be necessary to ensure that the other eye does not become damaged and to ensure the dog's overall health.