Quick answer: Once a month, in five minutes, do six things: look at both eyes in daylight, shine a torch in a dim room, run the tracking and menace tests, check the corners for discharge, ask five behaviour questions, and write down what you saw. Most eye disease in senior dogs is cheap to treat when it is caught at this stage and expensive or irreversible a few months later. Same-day vet for a red, painful, swollen or suddenly cloudy eye.
1. The daylight look (60 seconds)
Sit your dog facing a window. Compare the two eyes side by side. Are they the same size? Same colour and clarity? Same pupil size? Is the white of the eye white, or pink and veiny? Is the surface glossy and wet, or dull? Is there brown pigment or a red vessel creeping across the cornea? Any asymmetry is a note for the vet; a sudden asymmetry is a call today.
2. The torch shine test (60 seconds)
In a dim room, shine a phone torch at each eye from about a metre away. You are looking for the reflective glow from the back of the eye. A clear glow behind a soft bluish haze is the normal aging lens. A dull, patchy or blocked glow, or a white crystalline spot, suggests a cataract. One eye glowing and the other not is a note for the vet this week. Photograph it in the same spot each month; cameras catch the change before you do.
3. Tracking and menace (60 seconds)
Silently move a treat across your dog's field of view at nose height, left to right and back. Both eyes and the head should follow. Repeat in dim light. Then, without touching whiskers or making a breeze, move a flat hand quickly toward one eye; a sighted eye blinks. Test each eye with the other covered by your hand. Drop a cotton ball silently in front of your dog in good light and again in dim light and watch whether the eyes follow it down.
4. The corners (30 seconds)
A little clear or grey crust in the morning is normal. Thick yellow or green discharge that returns within hours of wiping is dry eye or infection. Tear staining that has suddenly increased can mean the eye is watering from irritation or a blocked duct. Gently lift the lower lid: the inner surface should be pink, not red or pale.
5. Five behaviour questions (60 seconds)
- Has my dog started hesitating at dusk, in dark rooms or at the top of stairs?
- Has my dog bumped into anything, missed a thrown treat, or startled when touched?
- Is my dog squinting, blinking more, pawing at the face or rubbing on furniture?
- Has my dog become clingy, anxious at night, or reluctant to jump on or off things?
- Is my dog quieter, off food or head-shy, which can be eye pain?
6. Write it down (30 seconds)
Date, what you saw for each eye, the answers to the five questions, and one photo per eye. Bring the notes to every vet visit. The value of a monthly check is the trend line, not any single observation.
Same-day vet
- Red eye with squinting, pawing or pain
- Swollen, bulging or enlarged eye
- Cloudiness that appeared over hours or days, or in one eye only
- A pupil stuck wide or unequal pupils
- Heavy green or yellow discharge
- Sudden bumping into things
Glaucoma, ulcers and lens luxation can cost sight in days; read glaucoma in dogs for what the red, cloudy, painful eye means.
Between checks
Keep the face clean and the hair around the eyes trimmed. Keep the floor plan fixed and add night lights along the bed-to-water route. Book an eye exam at every senior visit, with a tear test and pressure check if your breed is on the list in dog breeds prone to eye problems. And feed the eye daily: lutein and zeaxanthin for the retina, astaxanthin as the antioxidant, beta-carotene and omega-3 DHA for the retina and tear film. OcuLabs Vision Support Bites deliver lutein 6 mg, astaxanthin 1 mg, beta-carotene 1.5 mg and DHA 100 mg per two-chew serving for dogs 7 and up, given with breakfast. Support for aging eyes, not a treatment for anything on the same-day list.
Frequently asked questions
How can I check my dog's eyes at home?
Compare both eyes in daylight, do the torch shine test in a dim room, run the tracking and menace tests, check the corners for discharge, ask the five behaviour questions, and write it down monthly.
What is normal in an older dog's eyes?
A symmetrical bluish-grey haze in both pupils from about seven, a little clear crust in the morning, and slower confidence in dim light. Redness, coloured discharge, a white opacity, asymmetry, pain or sudden change are not normal.
When should an eye be seen the same day?
Redness with pain, a swollen eye, cloudiness that changed over days, a stuck or unequal pupil, heavy discharge, or sudden bumping into things.
How often should I check?
Monthly at home from age seven, vet eye exam every six months.
What can I do between checks?
Clean face, trimmed hair, stable home layout, night lights, and daily eye nutrition.
This article is general information for dog parents and is not veterinary advice. OcuLabs products are nutritional supplements and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.