Senior Dogs Cataracts

Question
QUESTION: Dear Doctor: Prince, our Samoyed-mix is about 15 yrs. old (35 lbs) & in great shape, other than early kidney disease (he's on KD diet food & Enalapril 5mg/once day) & now his eyes.  The issue is cataracts in both eyes.  Right eye is severe cataract, the left eye is moderate (Eye Vet. said he may only be able to see shadows in the "worse" eye) & he also has some age-related retna degeneration in both eyes but NO retna detachments... nothing can be done on the retna degeneration at his age & that progresses slowly.  No diabetes, good heart, good blood-work/urine.  The eye vet. recommends cataract removal surgery, although there are possible side-effects. Without surgery, he may go blind in 6 months to a year.  Doing surgery is 92% good chance he could see better but complications are possible such as glaucoma, retna detachment plus anesthesia risk (although he had his teeth cleaned last March & was fine).  Without surgery, he could still develop glaucoma, but they gave us drops to use on him daily (Dexamethasone/NEO Soln) whether or not we do the surgery to prevent inflammation/glaucoma- he'll have to take these drops the rest of his life.   *What do you think about "cataract eye" surgery for Prince at this stage in his life?  *Is there any "natural" drops we could try in his eyes to reverse the cataracts???  Surgery is a lot for Prince to go through, including recovery but we hate to see him go blind, if we can help him (of course there are also risks in not doing the surgery).  Thank you!

ANSWER: Hi Liz,
Thank you for your question.  Firstly, just to set things straight - I am not a vet or a doctor.  I am a canine natural therapist.  So I can not diagnose, but I can offer alternative suggestions to mainstream recommendations.
15 years is a great age and it is only natural that he would start getting problems with his sight.  Surgery is usually the most effective for removing cataracts completely, but does come with risks.  Risks are heightened as dogs age.  And it can take a very long time for an older dog to recover from anaesthetic.  There are many herbal and homeopathic medications that work on reducing the effects of cataracts.  There are also many natural remedies for keeping teeth clean!
We have a specific cataract eye wash that is completely herbal and has had good results in repairing damage to a certain extent.  This treatment will quickly bring your dog's eye health up to its maximum potential. At the very least it is expected to stop further deterioration.
After this with continued use there is the potential to reverse any eye condition including cataract although beyond a certain point I don't expect to get full vision back.
It is certainly the place to start however and the mixture is safe, simple and inexpensive.

It is also really important to keep his liver healthy.  There are many homeopathic remedies for this.  A healthy liver will also work at keeping the eyes as healthy as possible.
I do hope that this has been helpful and please do get back to me if you would like any further clarification.
With thanks,
Silva.
www.roxysworld.com.ay


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Dear Silva:  Thank you for your response.  **WHAT would this "homeopathic remedy consist of to treat my dog's cataracts & ***WHERE could I find it?  Eye Vet. also just prescribed "Dexamethasone" eye-drops for Prince.....  to prevent glaucoma, if we don't do the surgery (cataracts can cause infammation) and even if we do the surgery (cataract surgery can cause glaucoma)... they told us he'd have to be on these drops the rest of his life to prevent Glaucoma.  Thanks again.  Liz

Answer
Hi Liz,
The Herbal Cataract blend is made up of equal quantities of the herbs Celandine, Golden Seal and Rue which together are antiseptic, soothing, healing and high in Vitamin A. They also nourish the blood vessels of the eye and reduce the shock that accompanies damage to the eye.
We also have homeopathic pills for the eyes in a set of 4.  These can all be viewed on our website:  www.roxysworld.com.au - there you will find a full description of each of the ingredients in the Homeopathic Eye Kit (it's too long to write up here).
We regularly ship all over the world, so it does not matter where you live.
As far as the dangers of the eye drops - I will need to do some more research into that for you Liz, as I don't really know at this stage.  So, I will get back to you.
Another thing that works well for pets with eye problems are magnetic pet collars.  So have a look on the web to read more about that.
Take care,
Silva.