Puppy eye trauma

Hi. We have looked at a puppy spaniel who has been born with “eye trauma” the breeders vets are saying they believe it has no sight and at the age of 6 months the eye will need to be sewn closed to avoid infection. She is otherwise healthy and has no issues when running around (not bumping into anything) we understand what we are taking on but just wondered if the vets on here think this is something else and corrective surgery is an option. Also if they do see the eye up are there risks of other issues which may lead to soaring vet costs. It is full KC registered etc and beautiful parents. Will this dog have a full quality of life?

Hello!  The word trauma means damage or injury; I wonder how this happened or why the puppy was born with it?   Have the vets ruled out an inherited problem, infection, ulcer or foreign body?  Do the vets mean 'sewing the eye closed' (and leaving a traumatised or infected eye underneath) or do they mean eye removal (ennucleation - altogether a bigger surgery, although dogs can live a good life with one eye, if that is all that is wrong). We do not diagnose from pictures on this site, although I believe that the third eyelid may be extended almost right across the globe in this picture, so it may be difficult to say what is going on with the eye underneath it in any case. I would be interested to see a print out of the clinical notes from your puppy's vets.  The vets are legally obliged to keep notes and show them to the owner on demand, but would only be able to share them with you if the owner gave their permission. Failing this, it seems a good idea to ask to take the puppy to the vets yourself. In general, the low numbers of puppies at the moment has led to a situation where prospective owners feel obliged to buy puppies without seeing the medical record.  Some breeders (and I am not accusing yours of this - please remember that I know absolutely nothing about them) can use this to avoid animal welfare obligations, so all good breeders would understand and even support your asking to see the notes.

Hi the trauma happened whilst in the womb I’m told..the mummy dog was attacked by another dog..the owners vets have looked at the eye..apparently it’s not grown properly due to the incident..I’ve seen the puppy and yes I agree with you that the 3rd eye covers most of the eye..however looking at the eye closely it looks like the eye isn’t straight and instead pointing right.. the pup in its self is happy and very active..Eatin and drinking as normal it has a great blood line and has no hereditary problems. so for me it’s understanding with an eye injury,if the pup was to lose the eye,going forward in life would he have a happy healthy life with no reacuring problem with that eye?

Unfortunately, it is not the most likely explanation that trauma in the womb would damage a puppy's eye (remember that pups are wrapped and packaged in fluid and membranes in the womb and the eye is usually closed.  Of all the defects caused by physical knocks during pregnancy, eye trauma isn't high on the list).   This could be either developmental or trauma that was caused outside the womb and depending on the cause, may be linked to other problems.  This puppy should be shown to an independent vet before purchase.

Ok my other question is have you see this before and what would be the other problem or problems that would cause this..life threatening and none threatening..this is so I can go back with what we have to do before I make a decision on what you have mentioned and hopefully a vet if the owner allows me to take the dog to our vet scott

There may be a third eyelid drawn across an eye, but this can happen for many different reasons.  Some are life threatening; many could result in the loss of an eye. Some can be treatable, others may be benign.  Unfortunately, this eye needs to be assessed by a vet. A breeder who doesn't allow you chance to do this should not be trusted.

Thank you for time..the owner has given us the option to take the puppy to our vet for assessment.. fingers crossed it can be treated and then hopefully that will allow us to adopt with some hope and peace of mind regards scott