How Common is Glaucoma in Dogs?
Although glaucoma in dogs is a serous illness, it is fortunately not terribly common. On occasion you may meet someone who has a pet dog, and they will tell you that the dog, which appears otherwise quite normal, is blind. Unless the blindness is the result of an accident, chances are the underlying cause is glaucoma. Since most dogs you will see are not blind, it is obvious that only a small percentage are affected by glaucoma. The truth is, dogs can contract glaucoma just as humans can. Cats, for some reason, rarely get the disease. As in humans, glaucoma can result from genetic defects, and indeed glaucoma in dogs has a tendency to affect some breeds much more than others. Glaucoma which is the result of genetics, or otherwise inherited, is referred to as primary glaucoma. When glaucoma results from another eye disease, such as eye cancer, cataracts, or eye inflammation, it is called secondary glaucoma. The front part eye, in both the human and the dog, is filled with a fluid called
