Diamond
Springs - When Diane and Dan Prockish, of Fallon, purchased their black labrador Misty more than a year ago, they had no idea the pup would be blind in her right eye within a few months.
But once they discovered her blindness, due to a birth defect called Persistent HyperPlastic Primary Vitreous Anterior, or basically blood restriction to the back of they eye, Diane said, the couple began doing everything they could to preserve the eyesight in her left, including purchasing a pair of dog sunglasses for her.
They found a brand made especially for dogs, called Doggles, at the PetSmart in Reno.
It was a bit of a struggle to get Misty to wear them at first -- at least for a few days.
"She wanted to pull them off with her paw," Diane said. "She didn't like them when we first put them on."
But after a few days, the struggles ended. Misty wore the Doggles, essentially dog goggles, when she went on ATV trips with the Prockishes. The glasses kept the dust out of her eyes and keep her from being poked by pine needles while she rode, a major concern of the Prockishes.
"She loves to ride the quads with us and my husband built her a high-sided dog box so that she won't get disoriented and fall off," Prockish said. "We found that she kept biting at the pine tree limbs as we went by. I was concerned that she would end up poking her good eye, so we purchased the Doggles and she wears them with no problem. Even if I'm just riding her up to the trap range in the evening to watch my husband shoot, I put them on her to protect her eyes from the dust. We get lots of smiles and thumbs-up as we go by."
Dog eyesight
Some breeds of dogs, including the German Shepherd, have a corneal eye condition called Pannus. Ultraviolet radiation plays a role in the disease and dogs at higher elevation can become affected. For this reason, dogs with pannus should protect their eyes from UV radiation.
"It is an extremely common disease in our area," said Dan Lavach, a veterinarian with the Eye Clinic for Animals in Reno, who estimates he sees about three dogs a day with Pannus. "Sunglasses do help. They don't completely help. Most of the dogs will be on lifetime medication to help control the problem."
Dog sunglasses aren't good just for dogs with illnesses, though. At higher elevations, such as in the Reno area and Sierra Nevada, any dogs are susceptible to damage by ultraviolet radiation.
"Sunglasses would be ideal," he said. "Unfortunately, they are difficult to fit on dogs."
Dog sunglasses are good protection for animals that ride on all-terrain vehicles, motorcycles or snowmobiles and in cars. Many dogs suffer damage to their eyes when they have their head out the window of moving vehicles. Sunglasses can act as a barrier.
"Still, it is the rare dog that will tolerate wearing glasses," Lavach said. "But it's a benefit if they can do it."
Invention of Doggles
Doggles LLC, based in Diamond Springs in Northern California, was started in 1997 by Roni Di Lullo, whose border collie, Midnight, was sensitive to light.
Initially, Di Lullo bought human goggles and tried to reshape them to Midnight's face, but that didn't work very well. So she began working with molds to try and develop a good pair. She consulted a veterinarian ophthalmologist. Five years later, she had something that worked. It was a product that strapped around the dog's face.
"When Midnight was wearing them, other people started to ask about them," she said. "Lots of people were asking where they could get them."
She eventually developed a product line of sunglasses that now features dog goggles in five sizes, small to extra large, and 11 colors. She sells about 150,000 pair of Doggles a year through PetSmart (where they cost $22.99), independent retails stores and online at www.doggles.com,
The lenses, of a polycarbonate material, are shatter-proof, fog resistant and block 100 percent of ultraviolet radiation, she said. Doggles feature adjustable elastic head and chin straps to keep them in place.
Most dogs can learn to wear the dog goggles, she said, but some naturally will resist.
"It's because of how they feel on the head," she said. "It's just foreign."
She recommends just sitting the goggles on the dog's head and letting the dog become used to having something there before pulling them over the eyes.
Most dogs will become accustomed to them, she said.
"Of course, there are some dogs that won't ever wear them," Di Lullo said. "Dogs have all kinds of personalities. It really depends on the personality of the dog. I've seen some dogs put them on and walk away with them on the first time."
Other glasses
Like with human sunglasses, there are a variety of sunglass options for dogs. Other brands include: Doggie Shades, available in six sizes, and purchasable at www.doggieshades.com; Dirty Dog Sunglasses, available in a wide variety of options, including as safety eye wear, at www.dirtydogeyewear.com; and Oakley Monster Dog Sunglasses, including a transition lens option, available online at http://oakley.com/pd/1236.
The Prockishes' dog, Misty, has now worn her Doggles for almost a year. The couple doesn't tell her she's blind in one eye. But like human sunglasses, the glasses need to be cleaned of dust and smudges.
Diane Prockish sees every mark she finds on Misty's glasses as evidence that Misty's good eye was protected from damage.
"I was amazed when I was cleaning them how beat up there were around the eyes," Diane said. "I was thinking about writing Doggles and saying 'Hey good job.'"
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Doggles,
LLC
6160 Enterprise Dr Unit G
Diamond Springs, CA 95619 USA
Tel: 530 344 1645
Fax: 530 344 1655
Toll Free: 866 DOGGLES
Web: http://www.doggles.com
email: info@doggles.com
