Micropthalmos
Also known as small eye or micro, is a congenital eye defect that presents as a smaller than normal eye. This can occur in only one or both eyes and is often apparent within a few days of the puppies open their eyes, which occurs around 14 days of age. If the eye is only reduced in size, many dogs will still maintain some vision. However, in most cases there are concurrent ocular abnormalities, often times resulting in blindness. Some of these additional pathologies include retinal detachment, decreased palpebral fissure size, entropion, cataracts and retinal dysplasia, to name a few.
Micropthalmia occurs in many breeds and is considered to have a genetic component. Other causes of this condition include teratogens, in utero infections and a maternal vitamin A deficiency.
The Akita is considered to be one of the breeds in which this most frequently occurs. At this time, there is no genetic marker for micropthalmia in the Akita.
Eye certification through OFA is one of the recommended tests to be done with all Akitas that will be used for breeding. Certification is only good for one year and must be done by a board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist.
Also, you can enter a dog’s AKC number or registered name in the OFA database and search for yourself. This is the best way to confirm that proper health testing is being done on the parents of the litter. Here is the link to follow in order to do this: https://ofa.org/advanced-search/
More information on eye diseases in the dog can be found at this OFA link:
