Shades for Scruffy?

Normal aging can affect a dog’s ability to regulate bright light coming into its eyes. So if your dog seems sensitive to light — squinting or closing its eyes on a sunny day — eyewear might be something to consider.

“The iris, which forms the pupil and [controls] dilations and constriction, is basically a muscle, and it can poop out over time,” Welser says. “The dog could be uncomfortable if the pupil’s not constricting and it can’t filter out the light.”

Vision correction not common
While eyewear can often serve a protective purpose, it's almost never necessary to correct vision. In rare instances, however, dogs that have had certain types of cataract surgery may benefit from corrective eyewear. In most cases, an artificial lens is implanted at the time of surgery. Sometimes that's not possible, however, which means that the dog is left farsighted, unable to focus on objects close up.

"What does that means to owners?" Welser says. "It means that you could throw the ball and they'd go tearing after it and hit a zone two or three feet out where they don't have quite the focusing power. Or you're holding a treat in front of their face and you realize they're bobbing to get to the treat."

Corrective Doggles are available to solve that problem for people who want their dogs to have every advantage. "I've had a couple of clients who were going to order Doggles with corrective lenses, but none have given me any feedback, so I'm not sure whether they even ordered them," Welser says. "So I don't know whether it's really practical or if people really see a difference. And dogs adjust so darn well."

There’s one potential drawback to canine eyewear: getting the dog to cooperate.

“Gracie didn’t like them that much,” James says. “When I put them on her, she would start slinking like, ‘Why are you doing this to me?’ ”

As always, fashion is in the eye of the beholder.

Kim Campbell Thornton is an award-winning author who has written many articles and more than a dozen books about dogs and cats. She belongs to the Dog Writers Association of America and is past president of the Cat Writers Association. She shares her home in California with three Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and one African ringneck parakeet.

Creature Comforts appears the third Monday of every month.

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