heres my problem

Question
QUESTION: My friend has a dog with the right eye looking to the far right and the left eye looking to the far left. Is this called Wall-eye?? Is it a genetic birth defect?

ANSWER: Hi Susan

Some breeders refer to walleye as two different colored eyes.  What I believe you are referring to is amblyopia or lazy eye.

With a lazy eye vision is reduced as the eye "wanders".

Typically it is hereditary.

Good luck

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QUESTION: I'm trying to debate on one of my dog boards about wry and the eye problems in our breed American Bulldogs. It seems to me that they are not wanting to believe that these can be inherited and if bred on can take yrs to get rid of. They have a male dog 18 months old that has both problems and they are trying to make people believe that it is ok to breed to that dog. i just want to know if i am wrong for saying that the dog is not breedworthy....that's all.

ANSWER: We bred AB's 20 years ago.  They were a wonderful breed.

When you go on the dog boards you get every keyboard warrior and expert.  Some don't know what they are talking about, others want to "change the world" and others just like to stir up trouble.  Opinions are like .... well you know .. everybody has one.

Yes the defects are hereditary and no the dog should not be bred but the bottom line with a lot (not all mind you) of breeders is the all mighty dollar.  They are short sighted and don't look at what the defects will do to the breed, any breed in the long term.   The AB today aren't the dogs we bred all those years ago and that's a shame.






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QUESTION: Hi again...This is what i got back in a thread i started. How true is this statement

hey Susan , amblyopia is lazy eye ? i think it can be intermittent ,and usually affects one eye . it can be non-hereditary , an injury , poor vision in one eye .... i think what you see in dogs , crosseyed esotropia , and walleyed exotropia , is called strabismis or tropia .... my pups almost always appear walleyed (exotropic) but they aren't it's called pseudoexotropia , they look walleyed due to conformation ... the eyes only look out of line , they are actually in line .  

Answer
In infants that is the correct term for something similar. HOWEVER you can't always apply human terms and conditions to dogs. That whole pesky difference species thing.

Has the breeder had the eyes tested by a reputable lab?   Or have the just assumed this is what their dogs carry because they read it on the internet?

Ocular alignment relies on complex sensory and motor pathways in the retina, thalamus, visual cortex, and brain stem, and on the proper development and functioning of the extraocular muscles and orbit.  Current evidence indicates that inheritance patterns govern making this a genetic disorder.

What can I tell?  Kennel blindness will kill a breed.