Axel just turned 1 and while his eyes have tightened over the months, they are still saggy and I can see the red inner lid I think it's called? Should they have completely tightened by now? I tried taking a picture but I haven't had much luck getting a decent photo.
Awww, sorry I don't really know about this, but his dear little face looking at you or whoever is taking the pic is adorable
They really should never have been loose at all - Labrador pups should come with tight eyes, and they should stay tight. That said, some people that have pups with slightly saggy bottom eyelids find that the problem does improve very much over time. Charlie had loose bottom eyelids as a pup, and they got much, much better as he grew. But they are still not perfect. They aren't bad at all, and probably better than I see on a lot of Labradors, but they are not quite as they should be. Axel's eye skin is looser than ideal (at least in that picture) but I'd say quite typical in Labradors. It might pay to make sure you keep the area around his eyes clean. I've just been through a quite extensive investigation of Charlie's eyes, and the best thing to do is exactly what I was doing - keeping them clean and wiping dust off right away after walks. I now also use a human liquid gel (that the vet prescribed) which is nothing more than a lubricant but it does help a lot. If the skin is looser than it should be, dust etc has more chance of irritating the inside of the eyelids which really shouldn't be exposed at all. It is also much worse when Charlie is tired or stressed, so I do think it depends on how he is holding the muscles around his face and ears. This can make it look better or worse.
I do have some liquid drops for Odie's eyes, they get irriatated often due to allergies. I'll have to call the vet and see if they can be used for Axel as well. I only really notice them a bit more red if he is tired but come pollen season if they haven't tightened up I'll be cleaning them after outings now, don't want them irritated, poor pup.
Yes, Charlie's eyes get irritated due to tree pollen - I must pop back on the thread I started a little while ago, I had him tested for allergens. But, really, after all that investigation I honestly believe the skin round his eyes is a bit looser than it should be, and I need to keep his eyes clean, and gel lubricant really seems to help with that effort. And that's pretty much that. It isn't any more serious.
Our first lab, Penny, had rather droopy eyes like Axel's at times, but they didn't cause her any trouble.
Ella had quite droopy eyelids as a puppy buy now they're pretty good. I'd say they're probably still a little loose as they do droop a bit when she's really tired. They used to get a little gunky from time to time when she was little buy we haven't had any trouble in recent months. Puppy eyes Now
Tilly has always had saggy lower lids. She looks a little like a blood hound. The vet said it was not really a problem and while they could do cosmetic surgery they didn't recommend it. She also mentioned that too tight eyelids were a bigger problem, and did need to be corrected. Tilly always looks like she has red eyes, but it is actually the inside of the lid, not the white of her eye. She does accumulate pollen etc there and here eyes tend to be a bit runny some times. They do look looser when she is tired, but never look as tight as Ella's
Actually, now I blow up Betsy's photos from day one, she did have a little sag on her bottom eyelid - it was gone (on the photos) six weeks later.
Interesting! Next time I pop into the vet I'll have to ask. I completely forgot when I was there last week. Sigh
