Eye Gunk = A nervous mother

Yesterday I noticed that after Chamberlain woke up in the morning his eyes were gunky, he has weepy eyes but it has always been clean discharge.

I wiped his eyes with warm water and told my husband to monitor him. (FYI He has been acting normal and playful.) His eyes were clean and I did not see anything irritating them.

Then when I came home from work and woke the dogs and my husband up (he is working nights currently) I saw it was some more gunk. Once again I got a towel with warm water and wiped it away.

Once again it was there this morning, it is not green or yellow, it is a brownish color. I did not smell an odor but then again I have a cold and can't smell anything.

I took a picture this am to share with you all.....Should I call the vet and try to make an appointment today? Or continue to monitor it and wait till Monday?

**Update my normal vet does not have any appointments till next week, I have two other vets that I have used as backups.... And of course they were like "We can't tell you to come in, we can't see the dog blah blah It's up to you if you want to bring your dog in....."

HELP PLEASE!!!!!

It could be the start of dry eye which can only be properly diagnosed with a schirmer tear test that is usually done at the vets. If it is dry eye the discharge is thick tears and will need medication varying from simple artificial tears to immuno suppressant ointment. If not treated damage to the eye can occur. I was told by an opthalmic specialist that a discharge is rarely an infection although most vets will treat it as one.

Dont worry.

Lots of cavaliers have weepy eyes. My Leo often has what you have described, as long as it's not offensive to smell and isnt bothering him it's probably ok.

There are products on the market that you can buy to help I think it's called "Angel eyes"

I tend to just wipe Leo's eyes with damp cotton wool to clean them. If you're really worried call your vet for advice.

Mel

meljoy said:

Dont worry.

Lots of cavaliers have weepy eyes. My Leo often has what you have described, as long as it's not offensive to smell and isnt bothering him it's probably ok.

There are products on the market that you can buy to help I think it's called "Angel eyes"

I tend to just wipe Leo's eyes with damp cotton wool to clean them. If you're really worried call your vet for advice.

Mel

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I ordered "Angel Eyes" from 1-800 Pet meds...but now I think I may wait to use it unitl I go to the vets. I am hypersensitive to everything little thing because of the Cavaliers health problems! icon_blshing

Just keep cleaning with damp cotton wool and make sure it doesn't get sore. I would advise you to consult the vet and have a check done for dry eye. Bella started like this and now has the liquid tears 3/4 times a day . It can be nasty if its not treated so you are best to speak to the vet just to be sure. If it is dry eye its a lifetime of liquid tears but they can be bought over the counter at the chemist.

I think you need to see a vet. Dotty had a problem that sounds very similar, it was a start of an eye infection, once treated it cleared up quickly. In the meantime keep it bathed and clean. On Cavaliermatters website there are some simple bathing instructions under general care. www.cavaliermatters.org Even if your visit to the vet turns out to be nothing it is always best to play safe with eye problems.

My Bob has gunky eyes too. Bathing them does help a lot. I would like to start giving him some drops but can't find VISCOTEARS in Ireland and want something similar, but I haven't figured out what to get... any thoughts?

Ask Charlifarley here -- or someone else is also sure to know -- there is an over the counter tears you can get that is much cheaper than the vet option and works well for many dogs.

A lot of mine get gunky eyes and none have eye problems -- some cavaliers just seem to have more weepy eyes. I wouldn't rush to the vet unless it appeared out of nowhere and is a heavy discharge and continues in which case I'd get the Schirmer test done. It just takes a few moments.

My Dylan gets conjunctivitis from air fresheners, scented candles and fresh flowers in the house. He also gets gunky eyes, so I know the difference. From your picture I'd say that looks pretty normal, it's just the eye cleaning itself. Clean with damp kitchen roll not cotton wool which can leave fibres in the eye. You'll know in a day or two if it's anything more serious and drops will clear it really quickly, in my experience, over night, so don't worry