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cleaning eyes

steph

Active member
hi. just wondering how often should i clean my puppies eyes. sometimes when he wakes up they are very gooey and has lots of sleep in them. also one eye seems to have more then the other. what would be the best way of cleaning them because he is very strong willed and does not want it done.
 
sounds like my 1 year old kristopher lol he sometimes gets sleep in his eyes and i have to fight with him to clean them. since kristopher is a human baby, i'm guessing that i'm no help. but you could try to catch the puppy when he is getting ready for a nap, get a warm wash cloth and wipe his face off real quick like. good luck!
 
I think this is one of the things that puppy just needs to get used to you doing. Like brushing their ears, clipping nails, etc. The longer you wait to make it clear that you're GOING to do it, the harder it's going to be.

Ours know that I'm going to be wiping their eyes/faces after breakfast, sometimes with a dry towel, sometimes a wet one. Not only do they not squirm about it, they actually jump up on the chair and 'present' themselves for it before going off for the after breakfast nap.
 
A little face wipe with a warm damp cloth is often all that is needed. Be careful with eyes though.... do not wipe towards the eye, but away from them and use a clean part of the cloth for each eye. What you don't want to do is accidentally push rubbish into the eye or cross infect if one eye is problematic. I perfer to use a clean damp cotten ball for each eye and that way there is no risk of cross contamination.
 
I would clean them at least once a day, even if just with a tissue or very gently with warm water. I would develop a positive routine where you call your dog, give treat and encouragement, give em the once over (I put mine on top of my bench on a non slip mat so I don't break my back) eg, clean eyes, teeth, brush if needed, clip nails if needed or just handle ears, feet, mouth etc to get them used to it and then at the finish treat again and a quick play or cuddle for encouragement.
Eventually it will become routine and they will associate the task with a treat and are much more likely to cooperate.
 
Sasha never used to let me clean her eyes or brush her, but I persisted (with treats!). Now she sits still as a stone while I clean her eyes every morning (with Diamond Eyes or Petkin Eye Wipes), give a little treat, brush her ears, treat, brush her body, and a treat yet again.

It took about a week for her to sit nicely for this routine.

I also clean her eyes again at night w/ a damp cotton ball if needed.
 
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