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How we cleared up smelly eyes

Cathy Moon

Well-known member
I've seen questions about smelly Cav eyes and faces, and want to share India's story. When she was a small pup her eyes were always watery and weepy, but everyone said to wait until she was finished teething.

At one year old, I took her to the vet because her eyes were no better, and she rubbed them alot on the carpeting, grass, sofa, you name it. I was afraid she might damage her corneas. The vet said she had a bit of entropia, where the eyelashes turn in, so we had the laser procedure done. This helped, but her eyes have never been as trouble free as Geordie's and Chocolate's. I wipe their eyes every day, but do India's a little more often.

I had also noticed that India's eyes seemed wetter underneath and her face was smelly. I took her to the vet, and he prescribed an antibiotic eye drop, which totally cleared it up. Then we noticed the problem came creeping back, so I refilled the prescription and we cleared it up again.

India's eyes are a little buggy, they are out further than my other 2 Cavs, so she must get more dust and irritation than they do. I started using one drop per day of Allergan Refresh Tears lubricant eye drops in her eyes, and she has been absolutely problem free for almost 2 months so far!! No more rubbing, no smelly face! She even lets me know when she needs her eyedrops.

Hope this helps someone who may have a Cav with smelly eyes! (y)
 
Do you think the drops alone would do the trick or getting the antibiotic and then the drops?
Thanks,
Pam
 
I wonder if there's a bit of dry eye or something like that? I notice the goopy eyes tend to come and go around here. At the moment Jaspar is in a goopy eye phase.
 
Maxx's eyes are digusting every morning and he always wipes his 'eye snot' (as the kids call it!) all over my pyjamas :yuk:

This is why I use Optrex eye wash to just wipe away the tears, goo and stains every morning. It is perfectly safe to use as it is only purified Witch Hazel water - keeps their eyes clear and reduces staining too :flwr:
 
Thanks for the info Cathy. Shelby has one eye that does that but the seameal and eye envy seem to help. We are going to a health clinic this month where they do eye checks. I think I'll have her lashes checked. She also has "buggy" eyes.
 
karlin said:
I wonder if there's a bit of dry eye or something like that?.

i was thinking that too. zack did not have discharge from his eyes when i first got him. I especially took note of it because the only other cavalier i knew, belle, had extreme tearing, large stains below her eyes. then zack was prescribed an antibiotic, sulfasalazine, the most common side effect of which is damage to the tear production, or inadequate tears. This started on the second day of the medication and the vet noticed it and asked me about it, and then told me to reduce the antibiotic dosage. She told me to get Refresh drops for him. I'm not sure if it helped. The tear stains lessened only gradually over a fairly long time. His eyes have never been as free of staining as before he had that medication, but it cleared up quite a bit.

I've heard that smelly eye discharge can be yeast, but i don't know if other kinds of discharge can be smelly too, probably. Yeast is the kind of thing that can wax and wane, depending on the changes in the body's balance of microorganisms.

i'm going to tell my daughter lisa about trying Refresh. They had Belle's eyes checked during spaying and the vet said the tear ducts had never formed, or were congenitally inadequate. but some contradictory information was given. Lisa wants to see an opthalmologist about it to get a reliable diagnosis and treatment.

This seems to be a very common condition in cavaliers and some other breeds too, though it may have different causes in different dogs.
 
Pam Smith said:
Do you think the drops alone would do the trick or getting the antibiotic and then the drops?
Thanks,
Pam

I'm not sure. The vet gave Neomycin and Polymyxin B Sulfates and Dexamethasone Ophthalmic Suspension. This cleared up the smell, so I assumed that was a bacterial infection.

The Refresh Tears drops must keep her eyes clean.
 
karlin said:
I wonder if there's a bit of dry eye or something like that? I notice the goopy eyes tend to come and go around here. At the moment Jaspar is in a goopy eye phase.

Her eyes don't seem to be dry. I think I read that dry eye causes a yellowish or greenish crustiness around the eye. I will double check that, though.

All three of my cavs get a little mucus from their eyes daily, which I wipe every morning using a cottonball moistened with warm water or saline solution. If I don't wipe their eyes first, they will wipe it on me!!!!! :yuk:

India's eyes used to be damp and smelly in addition to this before she was treated for the infection.
 
Maxxs_Mummy said:
Maxx's eyes are digusting every morning and he always wipes his 'eye snot' (as the kids call it!) all over my pyjamas :yuk:

This is why I use Optrex eye wash to just wipe away the tears, goo and stains every morning. It is perfectly safe to use as it is only purified Witch Hazel water - keeps their eyes clear and reduces staining too :flwr:

Been there, done that! :lol:

I will look for Optrex. That sounds like a good idea just for general cleanliness around their eyes.
 
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