I have a 7 year old German Shepherd. On Friday I noticed that one of her eyes was sort of 'cloudy'. My daughter thinks that she has scratched it or something and has given me some eye ointment which she had from the vets for her own dog. I have made an appt but cannot get Elsa in until Wednesday. I used the ointment over the weekend but it does not seem to have helped at all. Elsa is not rubbing the eye, it is not watery and does not seem to bother Elsa at all. Any ideas, and should I continue using the ointment until I get to the vets on Wednesday.

Not a good idea to use an ointment that has been prescribed for another dog, you dont know what damage you could do, it is the same as you getting some medication from the doctors and giving it to your friend who you "think" has the same or similar problem as you.
Get your dog down to the vet asap. It could be a corneal infection which could cause loss of sight in the eye.
Also, you need to make sure that the ointment you used hasnt affected the eye at all. Eyes are much too delicate to put things in them that you dont know about.

It could be anything from a glaucoma, or even progressive retinal atrophy.
Also a cataract is possible but it needs to be checked.
DO NOT use any more ointment on the eye until you have seen the vet and they have given you something for your dog specifically.
Also, ointments can go off very fast after opening, If your friend used it on her dog some time ago, it could have caused damage to the eye by using gone off medication.
Good luck and I hope all is well
steph
x

How is your dog now? Any improvement?

Hi Steph,

Elsa has Pannus. We are really worried about her. She has steriod eye drops which I have to put in four times a day and I have to take her back to the vet next week. If anyone out there can tell me anything about Pannus I would be grateful. All I know is that it will probably affect both eyes and if not treated can lead to blindness. I took your advice and did not use any more ointment and for that I send my grateful thanks. Somebody told me that Pannus is not cureable but ongoing treatment for life is needed to maintain vision.

Many thanks for your help

Hiya
Im glad you got a diagnosis.
Pannus isnt nice. It usually affects german shepherds, generally around the ages 3-7 years.
It starts with damage to the cornea. It begins as something called Keratitis and then blood vessels bud out from the edge of the cornea and stop in the middle of the eye, if an ulser is there it would stop at that.
The damage that happened to the cornea can be caused by anything from a thorn piercing the surface to ultra violet rays. You dont notice it for a little while but the damage grows and then causes it to become opaque which is when you spotted it I would imagine.
It will take a long time to clear up and you might see dullness to the cornea even after a few months have passed. It is curable though.
What is she on, something like dexamethasone or prednisolone?
It is a good thing you caught it when you did, you are right, it can eventually lead to blindness, but with treatment, she should be fine.
Good luck!