My dog has eye boogers. What causes them and when to see a vet?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Based on the pictures and your description, I suspect that Maverick is dealing with a condition known as keratoconjunctivitis sicca (dry eye). This is a condition that will not improve unless treated with eye medication such as Tacrolimus or Optimmune. This condition is localized destruction of the tear gland from the immune system and these eye medications suppress the immune system at the level of the eye to help try and stimulate tear production. I would recommend having the veterinarian recheck Maverick's eyes and perform what is called a Schirmer Tear Test to assess the tear production. If the eyes are below 21mm on the tear test, this is indicative of dry eye and needs to be treated appropriately. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is not normal if it is that frequent. 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. I highly recommend that you have Gizmo evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Further therapy would be based on the findings. Good luck and best wishes!

I agree that her eye does not appear irritated. From the photo, that does not appear green, it looks grayish to me. You may watch it for a few more days. You could use saline and gently flush the eye. If the discoloration continues, have her examined by the veterinarian. I hope this helps.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This could be due to an eye injury or conditions such as a corneal laceration and/or corneal ulcer. At least in these pictures, his cornea appears affected. I highly recommend that you have him evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Further therapy would be based on the findings. Good luck and best wishes!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I would actually recommend that you have him evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment. The main reason is that greenish discharge can also be observed with things like a corneal ulcer or conjunctivitis for example. Your veterinarian could check for this and treat accordingly. Good luck and have a great night!

This can be due to allergies, irritation to the eye, or an infection. However if it's just seen in the morning and her eyes are not red swollen, or otherwise abnormal in appearance, then this can be normally seen. In order to tell for sure if this is a problem, a vet would need to examine the eye. If this problem is recent, or has gotten worse, then it would be best to have a vet evaluate her. If this is something that has always happened, then it's more likely to be normal. I hope that helps and all is well with Pearl.

Hello and thank you for your questions about Rouge. If the discharge is yellow or green, this often indicates an eye infection. In general, if the discharge continues for longer than 3 days, if she is squinting, if she is pawing or rubbing at the eye or if the eye is very red, she should go to the veterinarian. If the discharge is white, opaque or greyish, it could indicate allergies. You may try a trial of over the counter antihistamine like Benedryl or Zyrtec. Don't use any type of eye drop for allergies for humans in dogs (these often burn) but you can use an artificial tear (like Genteal) 3 times a day to see if it helps. If there is not a change after 7 days, I also recommend to have Rouge examined as she may need testing of her tear glands and maybe stronger medication. Continue to gently clean around the eyes. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.