My dog's third eyelid shows, and he can't close his eye. What's wrong?

I am unsure from your question quite how far he has recovered - is he still unable to blink, or does he blink and have protruding third eyelids? If he has a functional blink, and hie eyes are making sufficient tears to protect the eye (your vet can perform a simple procedure to check this) then continued monitoring would be a reasonable option to see how things improve over 3-6months

A closed eye is often a painful eye, and a painful eye should be seen by a veterinarian. A scratch or ulcer of the cornea is the most common reason I see this, although many other problems can cause it as well. Good luck and I hope he improves soon.

What you are seeing on Jax is his third eyelid (known as the nicitating membrane) sticking out over the rest of his eyeball. I can not say for sure why it has prolapsed. This can happen due to an injury or an infectious process. The nicitating membrane has several important responsibilities, so making sure that it is still fully functional is important. While it is not an emergency, if the membrane does not return to its normal location by tomorrow I would consider bringing Jax in for an appointment. In the mean time, I would recommend obtaining some artificial tears from the drug store and keeping the eye nice and lubricated. Do this every 4 to 6 hours in case there is a lack of tear production.

Hi, and thanks for your question. That is likely to be due to a mild to moderate conjunctivitis, probably secondary to a trauma or infection. A check up would be needed as appropriate treatment would include antibiotics and anti-inflammatory eye drops. Corneal injuries must be ruled out as well. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. Please find the time to give us a feedback about the consultation as that will be used to improve our service.

Poor Ella! I'm sorry to hear that she's having this problem. It's a bit hard to tell from the photos exactly what's going on, but it looks like her third eyelid is elevated in the right eye - that's the pale-colored membrane that you can see in the inner corner of her eye. It also looks like the area surrounding the eye may be a bit swollen. These symptoms could be caused by a number of different things, so she would really need an in-person exam and possibly some testing to diagnose the problem. Conjunctivitis or an injury to the eye such as a corneal ulcer can cause swelling and third eyelid elevation. She could also have an abscess or tumor behind the eye, causing it to bulge outward and have this appearance. Treatment will depend on what the underlying problem is, so I would recommend taking her to the vet for an exam as soon as you are able to.

The pictures you have attached from Neely show that his third eyelid is elevated. This is the pink area on the lower inside part of his eye seen in the picture. Elevation of the third eyelid can mean either something directly wrong with his eye OR problems of internal illness or neurologic disease. Regardless, if he is feeling well at home otherwise, eating, drinking, normal behavior please schedule an appointment with his veterinarian in the near future. The doctor can examine his eye to verify if there is a problem or the doctor may identify an internal problem based on the rest of his/her good thorough physical exam. If Neely is stumbling around, has abnormal mentation, squinting of the eye, decrease in appetite, vomiting and/or diarrhea he should be evaluated as soon as possible.

Moira is probably suffering from an eye infection, a foreign body under the third eyelid or an eye injury, you will need to take her to the vet as soon as possible in order to get the eye checked and treated, it's important to check there is no injury or damage to the eye before treatment can be given.