Molly seems to have constantly weepy eyes. I don't mean wet, just like gooey sort of stuff under her eyes. Every now and then, I remove it with a bit of tissue, it is never in her eyes, always under, so I have never touched her eyes when cleaning this stuff off. Just lately she has become reluctant to let me do this. When she sees me pick up a bit of tissue, she looks at the ground, or turns her head away and I have to persuade her. Had I ever touched her eyes or it had in any way hurt I could understand this reluctance, but that has never happened. Any ideas why she is worrying about this? I'm not sure how to deal with it now, I don't want her to start being reluctant to be touched for obvious reasons.
She's probably always found it a bit unpleasant and and finally has enough. Sometimes it can be more tolerable if you use a warm (can be quite warm/hottish) wet cloth or folded wet, warm paper towel. There's less friction with a well moistened wipe and the warmth can be soothing. It's kind of like a warm lick, from the doggie perspective So maybe give that a try. And definitely introduce some tasty treats into the occasion
I had the same issue with Quinn, as she constantly had goopy eyes until she grew into them, and also had a few infections. She hated when I would wipe, or hold a warm cloth and would run if she saw I had a cloth in my hand. I started using the word "eyes" and hold her against me petting and building up to stroking around her eyes with lots of treats. I then built up to a few seconds with a warm cloth or teabags, which she likes cause she licks the drips, and letting her go with a treat. We have built up to the point when I say "eyes", she stands still without running and lets me hold a compress for about a minute per eye and wipe. Sometimes she has less patience and I always let her go once she's had enough and finish with a treat, even if I don't get it all. She tolerates dampened warm paper towel that I fold into a small square and teabags the best.
I regularly do training around touching, holding and wiping different parts of Harley's body and give LOTS of treats to reward for her letting me do this. It has helped when she's had conjunctivitis. Hope you manage to find a solution.
