A friend of mine has had a litter of puppies( 10 ). All was well until this stage when one of the puppies had an apparantly swollen eye ( eyes not yet open ) and a little pus. The vet has seen the puppy, squeezed gunk out of the eye and given an antibiotic. I have never had this problem but wondered whether anyone else had and the outcome.
Any thoughts would be appreciated so I can pass on to her.
Diane

i havnt but i do hope all is ok with pup x

Hi Diane

We've had this twice in 25 years.  The likelihood is that although the eyes aren't technically open, a tiny (minuscule) gap has opened and Mum has washed a germ into the eye.  As the eye is still technically closed, the infection has built up under the lids.

We use previously boiled water (warm, not hot!) on a cotton pad and bathe the eye towards the nose to encourage any discharge then apply a drop of Fucithalmic eye ointment to the sealed lids and gently massage. We continued this until the eye opened naturally. Once the eye opened we continued with the antibiotic ointment to complete the course (5 - 7 days).

On both occasions this has happened to us all has been well.  The antibiotics have treated the infection, the eye has opened normally (when it is ready) and the pup's eye continued normally from there on, no damage or problems in the future and no reoccurrence.

I would think the outcome would be the same for your friends pup.  The trick with these problems I suspect is to catch them early and not leave a swollen eye without consulting a vet & appropriate treatment.  Taking no action may well prove to be detrimental.

Never seen it, but really helpful answer from Chris.

Great to pick each others brains sometimes!  :-)

Hi
So grateful for your reply. I will pass this onto her. It is horrid when a puppy develops a problem as they are such a worry in these early days.
Hopefully the outcome will be the same.
Many thanks Diane

Hi Diane

I suspect the outcome will be the same, your friend sought the help of their vet quickly and appropriate treatment has been started.

It is horrid when something happens to our pups, but although the gunky eye problem is not common it's not that uncommon either.  Down to chance really.  The bitch is always washing pups, washes poop of their bottom and then washes their faces - asking for trouble really!  It's a wonder it doesn't happen more frequently.

The eyes always open by the seal becoming thinner in the corner of the eye by the nose, it's just a line of tissue, once the seal opens (which isn't always obvious to the naked eye) then the eye is "open" to the outside world and germs can get washed in.  However as the eye isn't what we would call open, the bacteria can have a field day in the dark/warmth of the sealed lids.  Eventually the tissue keeping the eye closed becomes so thin than it completely splits and the eye opens.  At this stage the eye has fresh air and is not as dark/warm under the lids (not so favourable to bacteria) like it was so the infection can drain out and treatment is easier to apply.