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Is preventative medication needed for my dog's remaining eye?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Yorkshire Terrier | Male | neutered | 9 years and 8 months old | 17 lbs

I have a 9.5 year old terrier named Kavi who lost an eye to glaucoma. The local vet is now recommending timolol and prednisolone acetate for his good eye as a preventative. He is otherwise happy and healthy. Is this necessary? Thanks.

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Rodrigo Roca, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on January 28th, 2019

Hello, thank you for your question about Kavi. Overall I would say the need for preventative medication in the other eye is somewhat dependent on what the underlying cause of the glaucoma was. Additionally, taking it to account the current pressure in his remaining eye would be important in deciding the need for these ocular medications. If the pressure is high normal or has been trending upward, I think these medications are beneficial. If you would like more information or would like more information about the underlying cause/current pressure in his eye you could get a second opinion from another veterinarian. Hope this helps, good luck!

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    Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

    Veterinarian

    Published on March 3rd, 2019

    If a dog has primary glaucoma (inherited), it is very likely that the remaining visual eye is at high risk for also developing glaucoma at a future time. Research has shown that the median time until a glaucoma attack occurs in the remaining visual eye is 8 months. That being said, prophylactic medical therapy and regular monitoring of the IOP for the remaining eye can delay the onset of glaucoma from a median of 8 months to a median of 31 months. So it is worth it to treat the other eye even if it won't prevent it from occurring in Kavi's remaining eye, as it should delay it occurring by much longer. I hope this helps!

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