Eye problem

[Herbie]

Hi everyone. I have a beautiful 5 month old ruby called George. I got him when he was 7 weeks old and his eyes have always weeped. I brought him to the vet twice and got cream both times. However they are still weeping and he has 2 lines of wet either side of his nose. Does anyone know what it could be and any suggestions on how to solve it

[WoodHaven]

Hi everyone. I have a beautiful 5 month old ruby called George. I got him when he was 7 weeks old and his eyes have always weeped. I brought him to the vet twice and got cream both times. However they are still weeping and he has 2 lines of wet either side of his nose. Does anyone know what it could be and any suggestions on how to solve it

It is very normal for this breed to have this issue as a pup. Unless there is an infection, scratch, foul smell-- I just clean the puddles with a clean wet toweling daily.

[Barbara Nixon]

Is the cream to prevent the tears from 'scalding' his skin ? Did the vet use dye to test whether there was a blockage in the tear ducts ?

Of my four only Izzy had a tearing/staining problem. His tear ducts were fine. He just had sensitive eyes that reacted to any disturbance such as wind or dust. Some dogs only have the problem as puppies, but izzy's lasted all his life, but never appeared to bother him.

One point : Don't clean the eyes with cottonwool as the fibres can get into the eye and cause irritation or even infection.

[Mom_of_2_Cavies]

My ruby had the same issue as a young pup, but outgrew it as he got older. I can't remember exactly when it eased up, but he's almost two and I don't think I've had to wipe his eyes at all during the last nine months. He still gets a little teary when he plays hard with his sister, though, but that's about it.

His sister who is almost one (a blenheim) still has the tear streaks on a daily basis, but I'm hoping that it will lessen with her, too, as she gets a bit older. We'll see.

Wiping the fur with a soft damp cloth of some kind every day helps a lot. (As Barbara says, don't use anything that will leave lint or debris behind to irritate the eyes even more.) There are some products you can buy to help remove the red stains that remain on their fur afterwards. (On a ruby you don't realize that those are red stains until you start to clean them up!)

As long as your vet has ruled out any real physical problem, I think this is probably something you do not need to worry much about, but rather just add the under-eye wiping to George's daily routine.

[Karlin]

As above. This is normal for the breed and you can carefully and gently clean under the eye even just with water -- this helps keep a reddish yeast from beginning to grow in the fur, causing discoloration. You can also buy eye products for wiping this area.

I don't think he needs a medication cream unless the vet has said this is specifically a problem, as Barbara notes. Lots of toy breeds, especially those with large eyes, have weepy eyes, and many do grow out of it and some have some weeping as adults.

[Roxanne]

Colby has the same problem and has had it since he was a pup. He is 15 months old now ..still just as weepy . I took him to a Vet opthamologist and he is going to flush his tear ducts next week . Your pup may outgrow it and may not have the same problem as we do .............but it sure is aggravating !

[Herbie]

Guys thanks for all your replies. I was just worried incase it was causing him some discomfort. It also makes him look so sad.... The cream was just incase there was an infection. The vet did mention that if it doesn't clear, that she would flush out his tear ducts. How long should I wait before I take this measure? At the moment, I wipe the area every day.

[ann]

Ellie my Ruby girl is almost 5 months old, and her eyes were very wartry, but the last couple of weeks they seem to have settled down.....