My dog's eyes are matted shut and have grayish dots. What's wrong?

Hello, thank you for using PetCoach. This looks like a serious infection of the skin due to the matting of the eye discharge under the eye. Honestly, he will probably need oral antibiotics to clear this up so I really recommend you take him to a vet for an exam. Especially if the discharge from the eye has increased. In the meantime while waiting for an appointment you can use this eye gel in the eye AND on that raw spot, 3 - 4 times per day. You must be extremely careful with what type of products you use around the eye and many human eye medications are not appropriate to use in animals. ( https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/vetericyn-plus-antimicrobial-pet-eye-gel-for-dogs-3-fl-oz-3760339 ) Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Hi, I'm Dr. Johnson. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Poor Moxie! It's hard to tell 100% in the picture exactly what is going on. I wonder if Moxie is part Cocker Spaniel. Anytime I hear about a red eye I worry. The cloudiness could be edema in the cornea from increased pressure, inflammation or a corneal ulcer. Cocker Spaniels are at risk for glaucoma which is increased pressure with in the eye. Any new change in the eye I consider urgent. I recommend you see a Veterinarian now if painful. The Vet would stain the eye to look for a corneal scratch then check the intra-ocular pressure with an instrument to check for increased pressure (glaucoma) or low pressure (uveitis). Good luck!

He looks to be generally itchy. I'm suspicious of allergies causing this, but it could be due to mange, fleas, or other causes. The eye may be a separate problem, or related to the allergies. Without seeing it, it's difficult to tell the cause of this, or the severity, but the fact that it's swollen shut warrants a visit to the vet. I recommend having him seen by a vet within the next 24 hours to prevent serious complications with the eye. The vet can also help narrow-down the cause of the itch and provide medication to help give him some relief. One thing you can do for itchy skin, is give a bath with cool water using an oatmeal or aloe shampoo. You can get these shampoos at the pet store. For now, you can flush the eye with normal saline. Saline flush can be bought at the pharmacy, or supermarket in the eye care section. Flush the eye 3-4 times daily and gently wipe away the discharge with a warm/moist cotton or cloth. Below is a link to a good video that demonstrates how to flush the eye. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lXVNMcPzhs I hope that helps and Roscoe gets better soon.

I'm sorry to hear that Phoebe has had so many eye issues lately! Cloudiness to the eye is most commonly caused by corneal ulcers (scratches or abrasions on the surface of the eye), insufficient tear production, cataracts (if the lens within the eye is cloudy), among other issues. Green mucus does indicate that infection may be present, but this infection could be secondary to a corneal ulcer or other issue. Squinting is a sign of eye pain in dogs, so it does sound as though Phoebe is quite painful. Her sudden lethargy and loss of appetite could be related to eye pain, or could be another problem altogether. Conjunctivitis is inflammation of the conjunctiva, or the pinkish tissues surrounding the eye, and is not necessarily an actual diagnosis, but rather is a sign of other conditions. At this point, since Phoebe's eye is becoming more clouded with even more discharge despite the medication, the best thing you can do is take Phoebe back to the vet for a recheck. If your vet is closed today, I would recommend going to an emergency vet for more urgent evaluation since eye problems can progress rapidly. In all likelihood, Phoebe needs to have a full eye exam, as well as some diagnostic tests including a fluorescein stain of her eye (to check for ulcers/scratches on the cornea), Schirmer tear test (to check tear production), and possibly have her eye pressures tested. I hope this helps and that Phoebe is on the mend soon!

Hi Hannah! It could be that Sydney has an eye infection or could have injured her eye. There could be a foreign body there also, such as a grass seed. This is something that needs to be checked out by a vet promptly, as leaving it untreated can lead to vision loss. I would put an Ecollar on her now to keep her from rubbing at her eye and making it worse, and take her into the vet first thing in the morning. You can make an Ecollar at home, and I will put a link below on how to do it. Best of luck, I hope this helps! http://dogsaholic.com/care/homemade-dog-cone.html

Hello, and thank you for your question. It looks like Maize's third eyelid gland is more exposed than normal, which may be due to an eye infection or inflammation. I would start by putting a warm (not hot) compress over her eye for 10 minutes, repeated 2-3 times in the day, and see if this helps to reduce the inflammation and improve her comfort. I would also put an e-collar (cone) on her head to prevent her from rubbing or scratching the eye by accident. If her eye does not improve over the next 24 hours, then you will need to take her to the vet for further evaluation. They can confirm whether there is an infection, or a scratch on the eye, and provide the appropriate eye drops to resolve the issue. I hope this helps, and that Maize feels better soon!

It's most likely an eye infection, possibly conjunctivitis. Taking him to the vet now is great, before he damages the eye teslf by rubbing and scratching. Your vet will do an ophthalmic exam, part of which may be putting a dye in his eyes and examining them under a black light to look for scratches on his cornea. Based of the results of the exam, it will allow your vet to know just what is going on and how best to treat it.