Cloudy eyes in dogs can be from normal aging, but they can also signal painful or urgent eye disease. A vet visit is important because only an eye exam can tell which it is and protect your dog’s vision.
Common benign causes
In many middle‑aged and older dogs, a bluish‑gray haze comes from nuclear (lenticular) sclerosis, an age‑related hardening of the lens that usually does not significantly affect vision and often progresses slowly in both eyes. Mild, gradual cloudiness with a dog that still sees well and shows no redness, discharge, or squinting is more likely to be this normal change than a severe disease, but it still should be confirmed by a veterinarian.
More serious eye diseases
Cataracts, glaucoma, corneal ulcers, uveitis (inflammation inside the eye), and corneal edema or dystrophy can all cause a cloudy or white/blue appearance and may lead to pain or blindness if not treated. Signs that point to a more serious problem include redness, pawing at the eye, squinting, swelling, sudden worsening of cloudiness, behavior changes, or bumping into things.
When cloudy eyes are an emergency
Sudden cloudiness with a red, very painful eye, a bulging eye, or a dog that suddenly seems unable to see can indicate glaucoma or severe inflammation and is an emergency needing same‑day care. Deep ulcers or injuries to the clear front of the eye (cornea) can also look cloudy and can progress quickly, so any rapid change should be treated as urgent.
What you should do now
Because many causes look similar from the outside, the safest step is to have a veterinarian examine your dog as soon as possible, especially if the change is new, worsening, or only in one eye. Until then, avoid human eye drops, do not let your dog rub the eye, and call an emergency clinic if there is obvious pain, squinting, or sudden vision loss.