A month or so ago my (now nearly 15 week old) dobe pup started to get a bright green eye discharge every morning. There was no apparent inflammation or redness (and it didn't seem to bother him at all) but we took him to the vet who diagnosed conjunctivitis. Since then, Cam's eyes did develop some redness, but we used the antibiotic eye ointment prescribed by the vet and it cleared up. However, whenever I stop using the ointment, a couple of days later Cam's eyes become ever so slightly red again and it's clear that there is some underlying re/infection. We took him back to the vet again the other day just to check this out, and she said just to keep using the ointment every day, and be patient - because puppies are prone to this sort of thing.

I have to admit that I'm a bit worried about this because (a) I've never had a dog with an eye infection, never mind a persistent one, and (b) it just seems a bit odd that it has persisted for so long.

Anybody have any thoughts on this?

Thanks

Jo

I would suggest you visit a canine ophthalmologist. If you like to post your rough area, (county or part of county) I'll try to tell you your nearest. He or she will be able to tell you if it really is conjunctivitis or something more serious.

Regards, John

My Asti (12 years old) has had persistantly sticky eyes for months now, not green discharge but just sticky. After taking her to the vet, who said her eyes weren't really that inflammed & gave me Maxitrol, there has been no improvement. So I've bought Brolene & also Goldeneye and still no real improvement, so now I'm trying salt water/Optrex baths. Anyone else got a problem with eyes this year?

Hi, yes, we've got problems too! I posted last week about using Periton on our 15 month old Aussie, Cody. Maxitrol had no effect - 3 weeks use - his eyes still looked red and sore when you pull the lid down. Vet originally thought it was conjunctivitis, but now thinks it's an allergy, possibly to grass or pollen. I've put him on 2 Periton a day, and using brolene eye drops as well as salt water to clean the eyes. Though it hasn't actually cleared, I do think it's controlling the problem to some extent, as Cody isn't scratching or rubbing at his eyes at the moment. By chance I spoke to another vet on Thursday, who is filling in for our usual vet, and she said that Cody at weight 25 kg could actually have 4 Periton a day, but she also said very often dogs do not respond to antihistamines at all, so could be a waste of time. The alternative is steroids, but as they cause possible serious side-effects, like diabetes, we hope to try and avoid! Just hope the problem will pass with the hayfever season! I did ask about antihistamine eyedrops, but she said there are none available for dogs, though if I could find out what is in the human antihistamine drops, she would check if they could be used on dogs and be able to write us a prescription. So am looking into that!
Hilda

Me the human is also suffering with my eyes this year...:( (First time I've had hay fever this bad in years)
on my second lot of eye drops, plus nasal spray, plus anti drowsy hay fever
relief tablets....................and still suffering although thankfully a little better.
Your best bet is to ask the chemist, my first set of eye drops was Opticrom and
I can't remember what the new lot is called but the ingredients are virtually the same
if I remember correctly.

Hi Boxacrazy,
I'd be interested to know what the name of your present eyedrops is, and are they prescription? The only ones I can find on the internet (antihistamine drops) are called Clarityn. I looked up Opticrom, but that's been discontinued apparently.
Hilda

Yes prescription ones are called Vividrin. They contain Sodium cromoglycate Ph Eur 2% w/v.
Benzalkonium chloride 0.01% w/v, disodium edetate, sorbitol, sodium hydroxide, polysorbate 80
and water.

Thanks for that info Boxacrazy! I've had a look at various eyedrops, and though different brands, the main ingredient seems to be this 2% sodium cromoglycate. I'm waiting for my vet to get back to me to tell me whether that's safe to use on a dog's eyes. If she says it is, I will definitely try it on Cody. The Piriton doesn't seem to be helping much.
Hilda

Thanks John, that would be great. I'm based in Darlington (between Newcastle and York).

Jo

The nearest BRA/KC/ISDS eye testing pannelist to you (16 miles according to Autoroute) is:-

S. R. Ellis BVSc CertVOphthal MRCVS

Castle Veterinary Surgeons
Montalbo Road
Barnard Castle
Co. Durham
DL12 8ED

Phone 01833 637700

This is a part time eye testing clinic so you would need to ring to find out when the ophthalmologist is there. (Possibly only one day a week)

Best wishes, John.

Hi Jo

Don't know whether all pups do but Dobe pups always seem to get eye infections whilst they are teething - Maverick's was particularly severe and went on for months and the vets did loads of tests and nothing ever showed up (he said it probably wouldn't.) We tried various creams and potions but I think it eventually just ran its course and cleared up rather than being anything I put in them. It has never re-occured since. Having said this I would never ignore eye infections and assume it was just down to teething if the colour is anything other than grey(ish)

Christine

We have a 14 month old Golden retreiver puppy and she has very watery eyes which leave bad stains on her face where they have run. She has had watery eyes since we got her 4 weeks ago and we have been to the vet 3 times and they have never said anything about them so I assume they are ok but it is a pain to keep wiping them. From reading these previous posts it looks as though I am not alone. How would you give a dog an eye bath if you wanted to and whats the best thing to use as I would assume salt water would hurt it ?

Hi Pickledoe,
No salt water won't hurt your dogs eyes - my vet said it's the best thing I can use to clean our dogs eyes, though he said make it a mild solution - just a pinch of salt to a cup of water.
Hilda

Thanks SunBeams. How would you go about doing it ? Would it just be a case of wiping her eyes as normal but with the salt water ?

Hi Pickledoe,
To start of with, I use hot boiled water, which I put in a baby bottle which has a lid (it holds 5 oz), then I add a bit of salt (pinch), stir it around to dissolve, then leave to cool. I clean dog's eyes about three times a day, and after he has been out, like running through long grass, or beach in case of sand. Just soak a couple of bits of cotton wool and wipe them, and because they are soaking, the water does run into the eyes anyway.
I make up a new solution every 24 hours. Like I said, my dog has still got sore eyes even with everything I am doing, but then again, he is not scratching at them now, which is one good thing.
Hilda

Thanks a lot SunBeams. I will try that tonight and see if we get any improvement over the coming weeks.

Another old remedy for cleaning mucky eyes is cold weak tea!

Best wishes, John

John & Kerioak, thanks for info. I'll just keep a close eye (exuse the pun) on Cam for the moment and make sure things don't get worse. Thanks for the address John - always useful to have.

Jo :)