What causes crusty, dry, moist eyes in an 8-year-old mini doberman?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I would recommend having a veterinarian examine the eyes to check for any trauma and to see if she has adequate tear production. Dry eye can cause crusting and discomfort and could lead to serious corneal damage if not addressed early on. If there is an eye infection, the veterinarian can prescribe antibiotic eye drops to help treat this as well. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

I’m sorry but I can’t tell much from the photos. Are you worried about the third eyelids covering the eyes? Or is the problem with the eyeballs themselves? Can you tell me what diagnosis your vet gave you? Did he give you any medications to use? How long has this problem been like this? Are there any other symptoms? Please post again with more information.

Hello, thank you for your question about Pepper. Based on the photos that you've attached it looks like Kaizer has significant irritation of her eyelids and conjunctiva. There are many possible causes for this such as infection, allergies, parasites, etc. I would recommend having Pepper seen by your veterinarian so that they can examine the area and discuss the need for additional testing. They may recommend an impression smear/swab of the affected area to look at under the microscope. They can discuss additional treatment recommendations based on their findings, such as antibiotics, antihistamines, etc. In the meantime I would recommend continuing to use the e-collar to prevent Pepper for rubbing at her eyes. Hope this helps!

Dry eye can result in the discharge in the picture you posted and can require more than just Artificial Tears to treat. (That would be more common than an allergy problem especially since only one eye is affected.) I am attaching a handout with more information about dry eye below. https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4951823 I would recommend contacting your veterinarian to let them know that the discharge has not resolved with the antibiotic and steroid ointment and ask them if they think a cyclosporin eye medication would be appropriate to try. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This could be due to an eye injury or conditions such as a corneal laceration, corneal ulcer, conjunctivitis, dry eye (also known as KCS), among many other conditions. Since Toby has not improved on his medications, I highly recommend that you have Toby reevaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. They can attempt a different course of therapy or possibly refer you to an eye specialist. Further therapy would be based on the findings. Good luck and best wishes!

Hi there and thank you for using Pet Coach to address your concern. It is difficult to say for sure what the problem could be based on the pictures. From your description and the pictures, this may be an eye infection, trauma to the eye or allergies. Terramycin ophthalmic ointment is one antibiotic ointment that we do use to treat eye infections. I would say that this is safe to use but if the eye is worsening or is no better during or after the course of treatment, I would recommend having Pat examined by a veterinarian. An eye stain test and tear test should be considered. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

It is very important that Cutie be seen by a vet for proper diagnosis and treatment of her eyes. Over-the-counter medications are not recommended for use in treatment of eye disease without a vet’s recommendation, as some types of eye ointments and drops contain steroids that can severely damage the eye if it has a scratch/corneal ulcer. Her vet will need to evaluate her eye, and may recommend testing such as a Fluorescein stain to look for scratched/ulcers, tonometry to test the eye pressures and look for glaucoma, or a Schirmer tear test to evaluate tear production. In some cases a combination of causes can lead to an uncomfortable eye, and as you mentioned some eye conditions can be very painful. Sometimes if eyelashes/ hair are growing in a way that causes them to touch the eye it can lead to pain as well. Cutie looks to have quite large, bulging eyes, which predisposes her to conditions such as dry eye, and if you suspect she is in pain you are likely correct. Please book an appointment to have her seen by a vet, and good luck!