Mastiff Standard Predisposing Eyes to Problems?

Dr. Lisa Meek (DACVO), has also agreed to help with this column, answering your ophthalmological questions. Please send any questions for Dr. Meek to Lisa Nicolello who will pass them on.

Dear Dr. Meek:

Does our Breed Standard for head type predispose our dogs to eye problems? 
(copies of the English and American Standard are enclosed).

Lisa Nicolello
Gold Coast Mastiffs
Jupiter, FL

Let's talk about eyelids. Why are they important to you, the Mastiff enthusiast? The obvious reasons are that they protect the eye, they help to distribute the corneal tear film and they contribute greatly to "facial expression." Are they important enough that you should have them examined by an ophthalmologist before breeding your Mastiff? Absolutely!

Eyelid abnormalities, such as ectropion and entropion, cannot only cause chronic discharge and conjunctivitis, but can be painful and require surgical correction. If careful attention is not paid to subtle or minor abnormalities when selecting breeding stock, these problems can be magnified in the puppies.

Let's be specific. Entropion is an inrolling of the eyelid margin. In Mastiffs this usually affects the lower eyelids, but can affect the uppers. It can cause the hairs from the eyelids to touch the cornea of the eye and cause significant discomfort and corneal scarring. There will also be a constant discharge from the eyes. If severe, this can be an extremely painful condition. When discomfort or corneal ulceration is present, surgery is necessary to correct the problem.

Ectropion is an outrolling of the lower eyelid, usually at the middle or outer portion. While this does not cause direct irritation of the cornea, it can cause chronic exposure of the lower part of the cornea. This can lead to scarring of the cornea. Ectropion also contributes to chronic conjunctivitis, which is messy, and can be uncomfortable for the dog. If surgery is performed to correct either of these conditions, the dog cannot be shown. Obviously, this is not what you want to breed!

The eyelid conformation is part of the overall head conformation. One feature of the head conformation that can contribute to eyelid problems is the amount of "wrinkle" a dog has. The British standard calls for " ...forehead flat, but wrinkled when attention is excited...". The American standard says "...forehead slightly curved, showing marked wrinkles which are particularly distinctive when at attention..." The difference is significant. The more wrinkling the dog has, the more likely eyelid problems, especially entropion, are to occur. The Shar Pei breed is an excellent example of what happens when "wrinkles" are popular. Many of these dogs require repeated eyelid tackings as puppies, and surgery as adults to be comfortable and visually functional. This is obviously expensive for the breeder and unfair to the dog!

The points to take home are these: While the American breed standard calls for wrinkle, don't exaggerate or promote more than a minimum of wrinkling. Examine eyelids carefully when selecting breeding stock. Breed only to normal eyelid dogs!