My 6 month fox red pup has gunky eyes first thing in the morning. It progressed to 3-4mm sized lump there in the morning, or a thin line beneath his lower lid, but very little further production during the day. Vet said conjunctivitis of unknown origin, but otherwise eyes in good health, and prescribed eye drops for a week - administration was not always successful. It started to clear up and is now developing again. He does not rub at his eyes at all and he is in good bounce! I am wary of taking him to the vet again and risking him becoming afraid of the vet from the unpleasantness of the eye exam. Is it normal to have gunky eyes or should I be worrying? Thank you.
Hi there, and welcome to the forum, it is not normal for dogs to have gunky eyes, it could be that your puppy may need a longer course of eye drops. But in any case, a check up with the vet is really the best next step as he'll need to eliminate any other potential causes of eye irritation, such as an allergy or an ingrowing eyelash. Take lots of nice treats to give him when you go.
We think our pup is allergic to grass seed, she had a red eye and a week of hayfever meds cleared it up. They can also catch their eye with a claw and scratch it.
My pup had this @FoxRedBoy, gunky eyes, on and off for months, just as you describe in the mornings. She had gels, creams and drops which were always a nightmare to get in which I'm sure added to the problem of it not clearing up. It may be the case as @pippa@labforumHQ says, that he needs a longer period of time on the drops. My pup had very thorough tests at the Vet's to check there was nothing sinister going on which there never was, those strips of paper put in the edges of her eyes which turned various colours. It always looked so unpleasant but my girl was always as good as gold. Eventually the vet stopped prescribing antibiotic potions and advised me to administer something called Celuvisc. This is pretty much human tears, a bit like an eye wash. I had to apply it twice a day for TWO MONTHS! I could've cried when the vet told me this as I found administering eye potions so stressful. (At least the box of vials only cost a fiver from the chemist). My pup's eyes did eventually clear up. I don't know if the Celuvisc had anything to do with it or if she just grew out of it. I think she was about 8 months when it stopped. A friend of mine had the exact same problem with her lab who eventually grew out of it too. I'm not saying you should go down the Celuvisc route, but just letting you know it's a common problem in puppies and stressful for us owners. Hopefully your boys eyes will get better soon but it's probably wise to take him back to the vet again, perhaps for a longer spell of treatment.
