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Why does my older dog get eye gunk in cold weather? Is it normal?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed | 8 years and 8 months old | 21 lbs

My dog keeps getting gunk in the corner of her eyes. It started happening about 4 months ago, when the weather started to get really cold. I've been cleaning them with saline solution & I also purchased a dog safe eye drops. Her eyes seem to be getting better since I started using the drops. I've been told by a few friends that their dogs have been getting the same gunk. Is this something that often happens in colder weather? My dog is 8 & this is the first time this has happened.

3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Daniel Fonza, DVM

Answered By Daniel Fonza, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on August 8th, 2017

Hi there and thank you for posting your question! Eye discharge can be caused from many things. Allergies, dry eye, eye trauma, infection, foreign material, etc. It sounds like the eyes have been improving, so this may have been more of an allergy or irritation than anything. If the discharge continues, I would have your vet take a look at Izzy to determine what the cause is. Your vet will likely stain the eye and do a tear test to determine if there is eye trauma or dry eye present. Dry eye would require a more specific treatment and won't improve with over the counter eye drops. If it is allergies, a great allergy eye drop you can safely use in dogs is called Zaditor (Ketotifen Fumarate). You can administer 1-2 drops in both eyes twice daily to see if that helps with the eye discharge. Again, if the eyes are not improving or worsening, then I would have Izzy seen by her vet. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any further questions / concerns you may have. I am also available via consultation.
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Related Answers from Veterinarians

  • Answered By Jenna Beyer, DVM, MBA, cVMA

    Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist

    Published on April 9th, 2020

    There is something going on if this is happening every day. It could just be allergies, mild conjunctivitis, or something more serious like KCS/chronic dry eye. You can call your vet to see if they can take Dhruva in for evaluation, or continue to wipe away the discharge and watch for any other abnormal symptoms.

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    1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

  • Answered By Dr. Davis

    Veterinarian

    Published on October 5th, 2018

    This looks like conjunctivitis. It can develop as a result of irritation from pollen, dust, insects and allergies. Also dogs have a nasolacrimal duct that connects the eyes to the nose. So like us when we cry some tears come out our nose. If this is plugged up then the tears and eye discharge comes out the eye rather than draining out the nose. To treat the eyes I recommend taking a warm wet cloth and washing off the discharge on the skin. You may need to do this several times a day. This discharge can attract insects and having knats or flies around the eyes can make this worse. Then you can apply a thin film of Vaseline on the fur below the eye. This will keep the discharge from sticking and building up on the fur. Your veterinarian did a good eye work up, and the conjunctivitis cleared up. Now since it’s returned get Ollie back on the medication and talk to you vet about trying to find the reason this recurred. If the nasolacrimal ducts are plugged with discharge, they can be flushed under mild sedation. That will reduce the amount of eye discharge. If this is due to allergies or pollen often this will resolve once the seasons change. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Ollie.

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    1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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