Pannus in German Shepherds - Page 1

I just noticed a light grey spot on both eyes of my 2 year old GSD. At first I thought it was dust stuck to his eye, but then I noticed it was in the other eye as well, in the exact same spot. I started looking through my vet care books and on the internet, and came upon the possibility of "pannus". He just turned 2 years old 6 days ago....is this a possibility, and if it was can it be cured or controlled. He does not seem to be affected in any way by this. I see no difference in his behavior. I will take him to a vet as soon as I can get an appointment, but that will be on Monday at the earliest. I just neeeded some advise/reassurance over the weekend. Can a regular vet diagnose this, or do I need to take him to an eye specialist. Am I over reacting? Could it be calcium deposits.... I lost a GSD to bloat and torsion 2 years ago, and can't think about something happening to this wonderful dog. Any advise is greatly appreciated!! SGH...Ich rufe Dich am Wochenende an...oder bist Du in Deutschland. skykat@charter.net Thanks, Claudia

Adding to my post: My GSD Cole lives in our house and is only exposed to UV light for exercise, training and elimination necessities. This does not exceed 1-2 hours per day. We live in Fort Worth Texas, so we are not in a high altitude area. Claudia

Claudia I am not positive but I think pannus usually only happens in high altitudes. Hope so! If it is pannus I think it is very treatable. My friend had a dog with it and just had to put drops in her eyes once a day.

Thank you so much for your reply, Trailrider. I am hoping that this is nothing to worry about...maybe I am just too cautious after the loss of our Chaos 2 years ago. It is concerning to me because it is bilateral. Looking for canine eye specialist in the Fort Worth area. Any recommendations? I am thankful that even if it is pannus, it can be treated with steroid eye drops, so it is not fatal. It is so reassuring to have input from this online community of experts in all that is GSD. Thank you!! Claudia

Claudia, If it is Pannus it is VERY controllable you will just have to give drops everyday and limit exposure to the sunniest parts of the day. THe one thing you must not do is stop giving the drops because then you will have a flare up of active Pannus and then the drops become less effective.

Good luck skykat let us know what the vets have to say!

The dog is probably to young for pannus,exposure to sunlight on the sunniest part of the day should be limited ,no camera FLASH!!!!

I live in Phoenix AZ(low altitude) and have a dog with Pannus. She was about 3 when I first noticed her eyes were irritated. My vet said that I caught it very early and sent me to a animal eye specialist. She is 12 now and with daily drops of steroids and cyclosporine her vision is still very good. It is a expensive condition but very treatable.

Thank you for the advise. I'll let you know what the vet recommends. Unfortunately the earliest appointment is 3 weeks away. His eyes are not irritated and are not bothering him. I would have never noticed but for the fact that I interact with him so much, and notice any change in his inner and outer self. It is just a small grey speck in each eye in the bottom part of the brown pigmented area. I'll keep you updated. Thanks for being there and listening! Claudia

My first GSD was half-blind with pannus when I adopted her. (She was also 26" tall and weighed only 35 lbs., but that's another story.) When it became obvious she was going to live, and had started to gain back some weight, we decided to treat the eye problem. The vet jump-started her treatment by giving her a cortisone shot directly into the conjunctiva of the eye. Within 48 hours, that dirty brown film that had been blocking her vision had receded to the lower part of her iris, and she could see well enough to chase a gray tennis ball in the twilight, whereas before that she would sometimes miss her footing and stumble due to not being able to see. She got steriod eyedrops every couple of days for the rest of her life, and never had any more problems. My understanding is that pannus is a genetic condition, which occurs only in Shepherds and Shepherd crosses. I do not think it has anything to do with being exposed to bright sunlight.