I have a female Lab about 9 1/2 yrs. Just all of a sudden her eye is looking milky. She has been Cerfed for years. Does this not show up on Cerf ? What do you do ? She does seem hesitate to come and go out as usual. Will she go blind ? Could it be something else ? Just wanted some first hand information from you all. TIA

While it could just be hardening of the lens, I would definitely have her checked by an opthalmologist.

Good luck.

It sounds to me like normal ageing. Juvenile cataracts are usually gotten by three years as per Dr Acguire. All dogs start to get cloudy vision as they get older and it is normal both with dogs and us. Ellie

Cloudiness is NOT normal aging in people or dogs. My 12.5 yr old dog has NO cloudy areas in her eyes at all. You might exoect some vision loss in older dogs, especially in low light. My older dogs seem to have trouble with depth perception in low light, but not until after age 10 or 11.

As for people, cataracts have now been discovered to be mostly from SUN DAMAGE, not "normal" aging. I have been teased most of my life for always wearing polarized sunglasses, even on cloudy days (the glare gets me). It will be interesting to see if I make it through my 80s without any cataracts.

MK

From the AKC website on aging dogs.

Vision problems are also common in older dogs. Failing sight is often indicated by cloudy eyes, but, again, your vet can confirm the extent of the problem.

My mother had them too!

Is it "milky" inside the eye (lens = cataract) or is it the cornea (outside surface of the eyeball)? This is really important to determine. If it's the cornea, it is important to get it checked right away, could be an ulcer. If it's inside the eye but came on suddenly, it could be glaucoma which is a painful increase in pressure inside the eyeball; again see a veterinarian as soon as possible and have the intra-ocular pressure checked.
If it's a gradual opacity inside the eye (lens), get it checked when you get a chance.
Regardless, it needs to be checked. A lot of eye problems are considered fairly urgent, so don't spend a lot of time considering it, as time wasted could be detrimental to the future health of the eye.

Thank you Robin for giving me so much more to go on. I will get her to, my Vet or wait and find eye Dr. since not one local ? Will a regular vet be able to tell you right much.