Sirius is a seven-month old pure-bred Jack Russel Terrier. Today, my husband called me in to the bedroom where the dog was laying on his chest.
“Look at his eyes,” he said to me.
I did, and immediately saw what he was talking about. In Sirius’ left eye, there’s something that looks much like a hair stuck to his eye. I announced that was what it was, and he’d most likely blink it away.
“But look at the right one,” my husband said.
The clear layer over the eye (slightly to the right of the pupil) looks like it’s blistered up-- sort of wrinkled. It’s a patch about the size of a pencil eraser. It’s not grey like a cataract-- more just like a popped blister.
I tried to call the vet’s office, but they’re closed today. I’ll have to take him in tomorrow. I don’t think it’s an emergency situation. He’s playing normally, and a quick test involving a treat proved that he can still see well.
IANAV, just a retired dog breeder. And I know nothing about what health problems any terriers are prone to, except that Scotties are very prone to bad bites.
What I do know is that your pup needs to be seen by a vet ASAP. And I’d call the breeder and ask him/her. However, there’s some information here that seems to indicate it might be a genetic problem (scan down to Health Problems).
I used these search parameters: “Jack Russell Terrier” +“eye problems” and here’s the first result that caught my eye (no pun intended): JRTCA - Jack Russell - Medical: In a Dog’s Eye. It talks about more eye problems than I’d ever imagined, but that’s the national breed club, so it makes sense that they’d know the most about it. Odds are your vet will refer you to a specialist. If there’s a vet school within … oh, say 100 miles of you, I’d recommend that you get a referral to it from your vet. OTOH, if you’re the kind who wants the absolute best for your pet, then you’ll take him to a vet school no matter the distance. Your vet shouldn’t object, since (I hate ta tellya) these two problems may turn out to be serious (and expensive!), especially the “blister”; the hair is probably just distichiasis, and I think any decent vet can probably do that, although a permanent fix requires surgery, of a kind that I consider rather delicate.
We need vetbridge here, for authoritative comment!