Hi - Charlie is now 16 weeks old and doing really well.
However something odd happened yesterday, he was in the garden and I heard him yelp.
Then he came running in with both eyes closed tight. I opened them for him and they were both looking very red, bloodhot, sunken even.
I wondered if he'd caught an eye on a bush or something, but both eyes look sore. This was very sudden. One minute fine, the next not.
An hour later, his eyes looked fine, back to normal so I thought no more of it.
But then later on again at 11pm his eyes looked sore again. Watery, sticky, red.
I took him to the vets this morning and he mentioned hay fever. Could make sense as I've just re-seeded the garden but then he gave me drops for conjunctivitis! I asked if this can come on that quickly, he said yes absolutely.
I'm not convinced though.
Anyone got any other ideas?

if he yelped when it happened it would think he might have gotten something in them rather than a medical thing like conjunctivitis.

have you nettles or anything that he might have stung himself or something?

When my pup was about 6 months old he had wandered into the kitchen to see me after waking from a long sleep. I turned around to face him and nearly had a heart attack at the state of him, his eyelids had drooped down, so much that when they were open you could only see the flesh under the eye, you had to pick up all the dopping to see his eyeballs, which looked sore He started gettting restless and really salivating loads awsell as acting a little odd (walking like he was drunk and had no energy).

I had him straight to the vets on an emergency appoitment (me in tears - I can't do calm when I think my pets are ill!!) thier first reation was it looked like the effects of poisoning They examined him and it seemed that his eyes hurt, he wanted to keep them squeezed shut. They give him some pain relief, dropped straight into the eyes and kept him in for a few hours for tests & observation. When I had the call to pick him back up I was so relieved as they said he was nearly completely back to normal, it took a couple of days for his eyes to stop looking sore though.
The conclusion was he must have been stung by somthing (insect)that had caused the reacion (they had checked his eyes and found no scratch/injury to them).

It was very, very frightening and happened all of a sudded. So yes, reactions and eye problems can happen very fast!

No nettles, but I have re-seeded the garden with grass seed.
Today, his eyes looked normal but then he came in from the garden with sore looking eyes again.
Surely not conjunctivitis. Must be an allergy.
We don't have any plants, only conifers, rose trees etc.

If it is a hay fever allergy then it will be blown in the wind so even though you do not have anything to affect him in your garden it might be something is in the aair.

You keep mentioning seeds, do you think that he may have a seed lodged in his eye or tear duct? I had a grass seed get stuck in one of my dogs tear ducts! I had to get the vet to remove it. The only way a seed could cause an allergic reaction is if the seed is coated with a dressing, which may be harmful to the dog, or a seed has got into the pups eyes, nose or ears. A seed lodged in his eye would certainly make it appear red and sore. Have you thoroughly checked his eye lids, incase the seed is lodged behind them? I am sure your vet will have done this but perhaps you should ask the vet?

Hmm...the vet didn't really take much of a look at him, just decided it was conjunctivitis and said he couldn't check his eyes properly because Charlie wasn't cooperating!
Taking him back on Monday, it'll be a different vet then!

If maybe it is a grass seed i would be at the vets ASAP not Monday morning as eyes are so delicate,if your boy does have some thing in his eye and rubs it they will actually rub and rub their eyes so much to which he could loose it we have had many eye problems with Boxers and Boston Terrier i am at the vets weekly with eye problems.What sort of Cocker is he as some Cockers have or can get Auto-immune ailments allergies being one of them, as we get hayfever,asthma etc., they too get these have a word with your vet if you are worried about it.When he goes in the garden watch him like a hawk to see what he goes near or rolls in as it is best to go to the vet armed with as much information as possible for which way he can be treated.

> Hmm...the vet didn't really take much of a look at him, just decided it was conjunctivitis and said he couldn't check his eyes properly because Charlie wasn't cooperating!

Change your vet! I'd expect a thorough examination of my dogs and create a fuss if I did not get one, as I am paying the bill and more importantly I do not want my dogs ill or having sore eyes as yours appears to have with out some thing being done