Not even worries really, just things I've noticed and wanted to check if anyone else has experienced anything similar. Firstly, me and my girlfriend were playing with 6 month old meg last night and noticed she had slightly bloodshot eyes and her lower eyelids especially were a darker colour than normal. It dawned on me today that she had previously been chewing a rawhide bone which she'd started to choke on a bit. I immediately took it off her of course! Could the bloodshot eyes be a result of choking? Secondly, meg has had loose stools for the past day or two. We changed from rawhide sticks to pressed rawhide, maybe that has something to do with it? Anyone? Anyway, taken her off rawhide completely now and stocked up on the natural treats. Here is meg http://oi59.tinypic.com/2qivig3.jpg
Re: Couple of minor worries with meg Hi , any worries with eyes and I would ask your Vets advice, Sams lower lid membranes are often pinky/ red too but not the whites of his eyes, so it could be a simple infection . I don't give any rawhide treats at all , I either give chopped up cooked sausage or treats from Fish4dogs , they are completely natural and don't upset tums . It is possible that the treats could have caused her to have runny poo, just keep an eye on it and if it persists , Vets .
Re: Couple of minor worries with meg Meg is a pretty girl!!! when my Bella - nearly 6 month old milk chocolate - gets tired...her eyes get very red and sleepy...I think it's a bit more noticeable with her pink tinged skin anyway....but it's a clear sign of being tired for her. That being said...if your Meg has any signs of irritation - make sure and check with your vet. Drainage, rubbing, etc. I dislike rawhide chews...so have no experience with them, but if a change has been made recently, it could certainly come through in her poo (pardon the pun : ) I use soft all natural treats for Bella in training - tiny little bites the size of a pencil eraser - and we have a jar of cookies/dry biscuits also all natural for random use - but they are slightly bigger, so not great for clicker training. As far as treats go, I tend to stay away from chewy edible things and prefer to use a stuffed kong if I expect her to take some time and "gnaw" on something.
Re: Couple of minor worries with meg She is beautiful! Yes, definitely rawhide will give runny poos. I used to give Cooper (almost 12 months) rawhide bones but....no more! It certainly upset his tummy.
Re: Couple of minor worries with meg She is beautiful looks so much like my 7 month old Rolo. https://www.dropbox.com/s/sj440gxu89jxn7n/2015-01-24 09.27.04.jpg?dl=0
Re: Couple of minor worries with meg Thanks for the advice guys. She's shown no signs of irritation with her eyes. Hasn't rubbed or anything like that! There's just a little collection of goo every once in a while. Maybe some mild conjunctivitis?
Re: Couple of minor worries with meg Or just something in the air bothering her??? Smoke, Chemicals, cleaning solution fumes, dust storm, pollen....any/all of those could cause a bit of runny eyes. If it's an intermittent thing, I'd think one of those are the most likely...if it's a regular thing, you might be able to narrow down the irritant....but if it's s constant thing (happens every day in multiple locations with no let up) then talk to your vet about it to be sure. Also things like a scratch from a twig or branch, or an extra bit of grit in her eye could be a more injury oriented kind of thing - which certainly a vet could determine pretty quickly. We live on a farm, so have antibiotic eye ointment on hand for other critters...easy to use and cheap for those little minor things....but always scheck with your vet if unsure of the cause.
Re: Couple of minor worries with meg My vet told me that conjunctivitus results in the whites of the eyes being red. Is she bothered by it?
Re: Couple of minor worries with meg She doesn't seem fussed by it at all which I'm glad about. Just to be on the safe side though where can I get me some of that antibiotic ointment?? Sounds like good stuff!
Re: Couple of minor worries with meg You can get it from a chemist, but don't say it is for a dog as they are not allowed to sell it for animals. But maybe best to check with vet first, could be a different reason why her eyes are bloodshot.
Re: Couple of minor worries with meg laws differ here in the US versus the UK...so check with your vet to be sure. I usually buy it from an online livestock supplier - it's the cheapest that way.
Re: Couple of minor worries with meg I wouldn't recommend putting any drops into her eyes until your vet has diagnosed something, you could end up causing a problem that wasn't there to begin with. I would just bathe with cooled boiled water or sterile water. Some people say that cooled tea bags are good for eyes. But please don't go using antibiotic eye drops when you don't even know what the problem is, it could end up causing serious damage to the eye. Chloe
Re: Couple of minor worries with meg Gorgeous girl Rolo looks like he could be her brother ;D I would get her eyes checked by a vet before doing anything......they are sensitive and you don't want to damage them. I never give rawhide anyone as it gives Harley really bad tummy. I give her smart bones - they are more expensive, but a lot gentler on the tummy. She also has frozen kongs (30 mins peace and quiet ), rice bones, veg chews (hedgehogs, crocodiles etc), or tripe sticks for chews
Re: Couple of minor worries with meg Meg is a lovely girl! But her lower eyelids look looser than is ideal - Labs should have elongated diamond / almond shaped eyes, with tight skin. You can see Meg's look round with the lower lid quite loose. It's not all that unusual to see lower eyelids that are a little droopy in Labradors though and just from my own observations this is often the case with Chocolates (although it also might just be more noticeable in Choccies). This means the sensitive inner lining is exposed to irritants and so the eyes can end up looking very red. You should definitely check to see whether a vet thinks this is likely. It can occur in puppies but improve with age - this was the case with Charlie and it improved such that I decided not to do anything about it apart from keep the skin around his eyes very clean.. There is a very minor operation that can correct this, but only when the skull is fully grown. I'd say consulting with a vet about this would be the thing to do. Rawhide can upset tummies, but it does depend. I have found a brand that Charlie is ok with, but he's not ok with stuff bought from pets at home for example (or smart bones).
Re: Couple of minor worries with meg I have to agree with Julie T. Rolo can tolerate Wilkinsons rawhide bones but the pets at home ones don't agree with him. I read on here that eye gunk can be caused by air freshners and deodorant and would agree with that.
Re: Couple of minor worries with meg Meg is lovely. Eyegunk can be caused by an alergy. But an alergy to what is the mystery. It could be the rawhide although Bouncer can eat anything without ill effects (& I DO mean anything). :
Re: Couple of minor worries with meg [quote author=JulieT link=topic=10031.msg146509#msg146509 date=1425113281] Meg is a lovely girl! But her lower eyelids look looser than is ideal - Labs should have elongated diamond / almond shaped eyes, with tight skin. You can see Meg's look round with the lower lid quite loose. It's not all that unusual to see lower eyelids that are a little droopy in Labradors though and just from my own observations this is often the case with Chocolates (although it also might just be more noticeable in Choccies). This means the sensitive inner lining is exposed to irritants and so the eyes can end up looking very red. You should definitely check to see whether a vet thinks this is likely. It can occur in puppies but improve with age - this was the case with Charlie and it improved such that I decided not to do anything about it apart from keep the skin around his eyes very clean.. There is a very minor operation that can correct this, but only when the skull is fully grown. I'd say consulting with a vet about this would be the thing to do. Rawhide can upset tummies, but it does depend. I have found a brand that Charlie is ok with, but he's not ok with stuff bought from pets at home for example (or smart bones). [/quote] Did charlie simply grow into his skin then? Looked at some pictures of meg from a few weeks back and they're not droopy at all compared to now. I bought some aloe Vera wipes that I'm gonna use around her eyes.
Re: Couple of minor worries with meg The skin around Charlie's eyes improved very significantly as he matured and his skull broadened out. The shape of his skull changed quite dramatically and the skin around his eyes improved such that he had less trouble with eye irritation. It's not perfect, and I would like the skin to be a bit tighter still, but it's good enough so his eyes rarely get irritated. There was a significant change in eye shape from round to more of a desirable almond shape with tighter skin as his skull matured. But there was already a dramatic improvement by six months, Meg's age. Eyes at 8 weeks - note rounded shape and noticeable droop to lower lid: image by julieandcharlie, on Flickr Eyes at 18 months - more of an almond shape and much tighter lower lid (the scratched skin on his left eye was a bramble and temporary eyes by julieandcharlie, on Flickr
Re: Couple of minor worries with meg Massive difference! Hopefully it'll play out that way with meg. I'll just keep them clean as you suggested and see what happens. Thanks for the advice.
Re: Couple of minor worries with meg Bit of advice needed again. The diarrhoea has gone now that we've stopped with the rawhide treats. However her poo still isn't what I'd call solid. It has shape to it but is a bit sloppy. The only treat she's been having the past couple of days is cooked sausage and her main meals are puppy proplan twice a day. Any suggestions as to what I can do to get her poo nice and solid again??
