Note: Additional information about polymyositis in dogs is available in a more recent post.
Trust your instincts when it comes to your pet’s health. Two weeks ago I noticed such subtle differences in my mutt Ace’s eyes that I convinced myself I was imagining it. I make eye contact and look at his face several times a day and something seemed a little off.
The next day the whites of Ace’s eyes were swollen and bulging worse than Bart Simpson’s dog. Seriously, he had crazy pug eyes, like an iguana. Even his eyelids were swollen and tight, not droopy like normal.
Ace (not pictured) was eventually diagnosed with extraocular myositis, which means the extraocular muscles in his eyes were inflamed. This condition is rare, and it was the first time Ace’s vet had heard of it. She initially misdiagnosed him with allergies which made sense given his history of food allergies, itchy skin and ear infections.
But the prescribed eye drops did not work. I made several calls back and forth with Ace’s vet until she spoke with an eye specialist and we realized what the problem was. When I saw some photos of other dogs with extraocular myositis (also called polymyositis), I knew that’s exactly what my mutt had. It’s a very unique appearance. The photo to the right is of a lab-boxer mix with polymyositis. The photo was submitted by a reader.
The majority of canine extraocular myositis cases are in young, female golden retrievers but is found in other large-breed dogs, according to VIN.com, a web site maintained and used by veterinarians. Most cases are in retrieving breeds under two years old.
The myositis is not painful, however Ace’s eyes were so bulged outward (away from each other) that he had a hard time seeing. He kept his head turned and tried to depend on one eye. At one point he ran head-on into a tree when I threw a ball. I felt terrible for throwing the ball. Luckily he just had a scratched nose and was stunned for a minute, like, “That tree came outa nowhere!”
Ace was prescribed with Prednisone. This drug is used to treat all kinds of things from allergies and arthritis to immune-system disorders. A $30 bottle of pills will last him two weeks, but recurrence of the myositis will be less likely if I slowly decrease the doses over an eight-month period or so, according to VIN and Ace’s vet. Prednisone is a drug that patients need to be weaned off of anyway.
Side effects from the Prednisone, at least for Ace, include extreme thirst (and of course peeing) increased appetite, less energy and an upset stomach. Ace lacked his natural playfulness last week, and it seemed like he had aged about seven years over night. But after being on the drug for awhile, he is back to his usual self, just a little more tired than normal.
It took about a week before I noticed the swelling in Ace’s eyes decreasing. It has been 11 days since he started Prednisone, and his eyes are almost back to normal. I hate drugging my dog, but at least I know his eyes should be OK and there will be no long-term effects. Hopefully once he is done with the medication, this will be the end of his eye problems.
I don’t know what causes myositis. 12/23/08 edit: The specialist I’ve been in contact with for Ace’s myositis says that the myositis is allergy related and almost always occurs in retrieving breeds that have had other allergy symptoms much of their life.
Please let me know if you’ve ever dealt with this with any of your dogs.
More information about polymyositis in dogs is available in a more recent post.
Feel free to email your questions to me at Lindsay@ThatMutt.com. I am more than willing to answer questions about my experience, but for a diagnosis and treatment, make sure to speak with a specialist.
Ace really did look a lot like Santa’s Little Helper on The Simpsons.
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I’m so sorry to read about Ace’s eye problem but glad it is getting better. I’m also glad to read that you won’t have to give him the Prednisone forever. I gave Abby Prednisone for her skin allergies for about 4 years, and it really causes weight gain, and can over time affect the adrenal glands. A diet change has eliminated her allergies, and need for the medication thank goodness. I don’t mean to diminish the need for medication in Ace’s case – sounds like it was truly needed and is working wonders for him. Give him a big hug for me.
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Poor Ace! I can just see him trying to figure out where that tree came from. LOL Glad you were able to get the right diagnosis and I hope the prednisone keeps working. I haven’t ever seen or heard of this, but it sounds aweful. I’m glad that it’s not particularly painful.
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Oh, poor guy. You are aboslutely right though – you have to trust your instincts. A vet is a professional but you are with the dog or cat all the time and even subtle differences can be something that needs attention.
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Poor Ace! Sounds like he’s responding to the meds (finally) and getting back to his old self again (finally!), though. What causes the myositis?
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Biggie, you brought up a good question. I honestly don’t know what causes it and I haven’t really found that answer. Ace’s vet didn’t now what causes it. She said it just seems to be something internally in the dog that is a little off, that it could be hereditary and it often reoccurs once the dog shows signs of it once. So… I don’t know.
If its predominately in Retrievers I would say there is a definite genetic link but I would have no idea what would cause it.
Poor Ace,and you but he’s on the mend now which is a positve… big hugs Ace
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Goodness.. buldging eyes would have scared the tar out of me. Glad he is getting better and you have found something that work. Hopefully you will get some answers on its cause.
xx big hugs to ace xx
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Oh my goodness. Trooper has been having eye issues and I’ve been monitoring it for a few days now. I think I may have to take him in to the doctor soon though.
My poor boy!
I’m glad that the vet got your baby fixed up. I always get nervous when I see something *off* with Trooper.
Hello I just read your article. I desperatly need some advice. We came home today to find our lab. To have very enlarged eyes,when I left this morning my dog was fine. We rushed her to the vet they tested her blood much to find nothing unusual. Any advice please, we love our baby very much.Thank you please answer.
Marlene, I just sent you an email.
I have a Three year old yellow lab with the same problem. He has been on the prednisone for just over a month. Within the first week his eyes went back to normal. However, He has had such horrible problems with the med. He has lost so much muscle mass that he actually tore his acl in both hindlegs. his body feels boney yet his stomach is bloated. He wants to eat and drink all the time. We decreased the amount of predisone he was getting each week. We got down to two pills a day when we noticed that his eyes started to swell again. Because he has had such a bad reaction with the med., we are going to be putting him on cyclosporin instead. Very expensive $275 for this first month. It is suppose to be much more safe. At this point i’m willing to pay what is needed to get my dogs health back. He just hasn’t been the same since the prednisone.
I really, really hope Otis gets better. That made me so sad to hear he tore his ACLs. Ace has been on Prednisone for about four months now. I found that if I wean him off the medicine very, very slowly, the swollen eyes do not come back. By slowly, I mean I cut the dose in half about every five weeks. On the low dose, the bad side effects are gone. I have never heard of cyclosporin, but good to hear it is much safer. Good luck with that. I wish Otis the best.
Will keep you updated on how Otis does. All the best with Ace as well.
I picked my 9 month old Golden Retriever up from a dog kennel that we had to leave her at when we went out of town and noticed her eyes were swollen. I thought she was just tired from not getting much sleep. The next day they looked like they were going to pop out of her head. I looked on line and found your website. I read through it briefly and then took her to the vet. He said that he had not seen anything like this (real encouraging). Like you he just thought that it was allergies and said to wait a few days and call back if they don’t get better. Well they didn’t, so I took her in again along with your info. He did a search and looked at your website and said this is exactly what is wrong with your dog. After a few days he cut the dose in half and a few days later they started to puff up again. I am going to recommend that she be placed on the medication a little longer and whine her off slower like you did. Thanks again for your article I think it saved us many unproductive times to the vet.
I’m so glad I could help. Sorry that happened to your dog. I hope she is back to normal soon!
Thanks so much for this post. I knew more than my vet, and as much as the animal eye care specialist I saw! It was exactly what was wrong with Jozy’s eyes. She is 3yr old, shepherd/lab mix. A couple of things to add, tho. After reading about side effects of prednisone, I first consulted a homeopathic vet, and was given something to try. I started this after I saw my vet, but 5 days before the eye specialist prescribed pred. Her eyes got a bit better, and the day I started her on pred (2x per day), they almost cleared up. I was able to cut pred in half, and just a few days after pred (once 2x per day and twice 1x per day) about a week after the homeopathic was started – her eyes are almost competely normal. I don’t think the pred could act that fast, so I strongly believe they cleared up thanks to the homeopathic solution and time. I’m weaning her from the pred.
Now, just to state – Jozy is not the ideal candidate for myositis. She’s a mix, and a tad older than normally seen with it. However, I thought it worthwhile to share this. I need to contact the homeopathic vet and ask what he thinks. BTW, I’m a big believer in nutritional solutions (got one dog free from seizures by cooking for him) and not such a big believer in homeopathics.
What did the homeopathic vet give you? I believe that it likely did help your dog’s eyes rather than the pred or perhaps it was the two combined.
Just so you know, Ace’s eyes swelled up again when I weaned him off the pred too fast, as you probably read in the post. Hopefully that won’t be the case with your dog.
Let me know what the homeopathic says when you talk to him again. I’m a big believer in nutritional solutions as well.
This web sight has been a great help.my pit bull has that goofy look.I am going straight to my vet with this info.thanks
I hope your dog is back to normal soon! Thanks for checking out my site!