Yorkie Eyes: Most Common Yorkshire Terrier Eye Problems
Yorkshire Terriers are dogs with delicate bodies and even more delicate health. This is why being attentive about any little detail from your common cares is a must. Today, we are going to talk specifically about eventual Yorkie’s eye problems. In addition to this, we will mention the curious, but very significant connection between the Yorkie’s eyes and its coat. Plus – remain with us till the end of the article, because we will also throw some light over the proper cleaning and coat grooming.
The information we are about to provide will be very useful for you. It might even save you eventual problems or worries about your cute dog. Last, but not least, you might be also very surprised to understand that different eye colors bring different eye problems to a Yorkie. But let’s not make you wait even more. Here is everything you need to know about Yorkie eye problems topic…
Table of Contents
What is the correlation between eye color and the coat?
It is not only the Yorkie, whose eyes have a connection with the coat. No, actually, all dog breeds and even all humans posses a special reflective coating, which is along the back of the eye’s retina. This reflective coating is generally and mainly called tapetum. But the curious thing about the tapetum is that without it, the dog and the Yorkie, specifically, will not have the ability to reflect the light. The tapetum, by the way, is determined as a special, additional layer and here’s the most interesting thing about it: sometimes, the tapetum has color, but not in all cases.
Sometimes, the tapetum is not colored at all. For instance: do you recall those moments, when your eyes get red, because of the blood vessels showing right among the whites of your own eyes? This is a process that happens, when your tapetum does not have color. Ok, but what does all of these has to do with the Yorkie’s eyes? Well, this dog breed shows similar connection, because when the puppy has beautiful green or blue eyes, it means its tapetum is colored. On the contrary: when the Yorkshire Terrier has red vessels on the whites of its eyes, the tapetum is non-colored.
Here is one more interesting thing you must know: according to the AKC dog breed standards, usually, the Yorkshire Terrier has either brown, or black eyes. Rarely, the puppies appear with hazel or light brown eyes. In these cases, these puppies have very soft and thick coat. On the contrary, the rarest cases are the Yorkies with green or blue eyes. They have those blood vessels inside the whites in the eyes, which is the reason for the bronze reflection of the coat. Also, some of these Yorkies can even appear with slightly blue eyes.
Though, enough with the colors of the eyes with Yorkies, because what is more important for you is to be prepared – in advance – with some useful information about the eye problems your puppy might have.
What are the most common Yorkie eye problems?
Just like us, humans, as well as the animals and dogs in general, a Yorkie can suffer from numerous different eye problems. However, it is very significant for the owner to act immediately once he or she sees such a problem with his own dog, too. Yorkies are very delicate creatures and little discomfort or pain can cause them huge misery, so you don’t have to lose even a single minute, but to be ready with a solution. Below, we will list you the most common Yorkshire terrier eye problems:
• Inflammation
In most cases, inflammation of eyes can appear due to another health issue. Inflammation as a side effect of a disease, though, is very unpleasant for the puppy, so even though you are already treating it for the main illness, it is recommended to visit a vet. For instance, the underlying canine element can be a reason number one for your Yorkie to have such an eye problem. In all cases, general incidents like some little or tiny body inside the eye is also a reason for inflammation and at some point, irritation, too. However, sometimes, you might not even understand that your puppy has inflammation. There are some side effects you can follow to reach this eventual diagnose: often drinking of big amount of water, reaction on light due to the increased eye sensitivity, very harsh redness of the eyes, as well as reduced brightness of the eye color – especially if the dog is with light eyes: blue, green, hazel or light brown. Don’t panic if your vet decides to get some blood from your Yorkie. This can be either a preventive measure, or an additional approach into treating the inflammation.
• Dryness of the eyes
The syndrome of dry eyes is something we have all suffered from, but when it comes to your Yorkie, the pain can be huge and the soreness as an extra side effect can appear. Dryness is in most cases caused due to the anomaly in the natural film that covers the puppy’s eyes. When this film is wasted or reduced, the dry eyes appear as a natural symptom. The film wastage, on the other side, can be explained with numerous things: bad nutrition regime, mis-firing thyroid, as well as wrong medicine due to a sickness or even a wound of the eye. When the puppy does not get its normal sleep, dry eyes can happen, too. Please, be aware that the first symptom of the dry eyes is the brown shade of the eyes: very dark! Also, you can observe an extra tissue on the eye zone (due to a scar), plus the blood vessels will enlarge. Dry eyes can be cured either with ordinary drops, or with a surgery.
• Corneal Dystrophy
Coming from the term of cornea – the outer layer of eye zone – this disease is a very serious condition. It is typical to appear as a side effect on both eyes. Know that corneal dystrophy is in most cases genetically acquired. You can recognize it with the following symptoms: gray shade of the eyes, an extra tissue appears on the eyes. The best treatment for such an illness…is simply to take care of your puppy to feel well with it. Because there is no standard treatment yet for this disease. What we can be happy about, though, is that corneal dystrophy is not that painful for the dog.
If you notice any of the above symptoms you must take your dog to the vet as soon as possible. The treatment will be much more effective if the problem is determined in the early stage.
How to take care of the Yorkie’s eyes?
Prevention has been always the best treatment of any illness. This is why you need to be very loving and attentive, when it comes to your Yorkie’s eyes. There is nothing so difficult in that, because mainly, you simply need to be 100% confident for the eyes hygiene. This is why the top task you have is to clear the hair away from the dog’s eyes and to groom it on a regular basis without letting the sharp hairs to threaten the eyes. Yes, it’s true – even a single hair can easily scratch the eye. That’s why the topknot is very important for this breed, because it keeps the hair out of the dog’s eyes. You should also trim the excess hairs when necessary.
Also, make sure you wipe down the eye zone at least once per day (after each meal would be best)! Some people use only a damp wash cloth but in this case you have to also dry the area after that. Otherwise the hairs around the eyes will remain wet and that will be the reason red yeast to grow. Red yeast is the main cause of tear stains.
We recommend using high quality canine eye wipes! They will not only clean the eyes much better, but also combat tear stains.
