Pup with eye problem

[MRS H]

Hi all i hope you can help, my little Austin has had trouble with one eye for quite a while now, he has drops to keep the eye moist as the vet thinks he may have dry eye condition, has anybody else had this experience and could you please help with advice, he can have some really good days when you would think nothing is wrong and the next day hes winking and squinting any advice is welcome. xx

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by MRS H

Hi all i hope you can help, my little Austin has had trouble with one eye for quite a while now, he has drops to keep the eye moist as the vet thinks he may have dry eye condition, has anybody else had this experience and could you please help with advice, he can have some really good days when you would think nothing is wrong and the next day hes winking and squinting any advice is welcome. xx

dry eye runs in this breed and i would strongly recommend going to opthamologist over vet when it is a more severe case with eyes as they know more about latest meds etc. Is your dog on cyclosporine drops ? The opthamologist consult is about 160 in our area and it was the best 160 i spent as she was very thorough and spent alot of time and was very informative

Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca (KCS) in Dogs

[MRS H]

Hi thanks for the help xx the vet gave me a lubricant and antibiotics for his eye, could you please tell me if your baby had good days and bad days with this condition?, she claims he is too small at the moment to do much with him he is only 12 weeks which i gather is quite early to start the condition, how old was you r baby when the condition became apparent, sorry about all the questions xx

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by MRS H

Hi thanks for the help xx the vet gave me a lubricant and antibiotics for his eye, could you please tell me if your baby had good days and bad days with this condition?, she claims he is too small at the moment to do much with him he is only 12 weeks which i gather is quite early to start the condition, how old was you r baby when the condition became apparent, sorry about all the questions xx

mine does not have it but he had goopy eye so i was nervous and took him straight to optho as i tend to deal mostly with specialist over regular vets and have had better luck. My friends dog has it though and he is on cyclosporine drops. I still would take him for a second opinion with an opthomologist as eyes are nothing to mess with and you want to be 100% sure. Did they do the schirmer test is that how they diagnosed this?

[MRS H]

yes they did the test and his eye was dry, i took him back the next week and he was much better, he has gone a whole week with no squinting but today its back, bless him i have to take him back in 3 weeks i gather the vet wants him to grow a little bit more, he is very small to be honest, his parents have no eye problems and his litter mates are all fine, i wonder if he was just born with a poorly eye, i will keep you all posted and hope he progresses as he grows.

[MaddiesMommie]

Hi. This sounds very similar to my girls eye. She did have good days sometimes even weeks! However, I spent too much time using a vet that never did appropriate tests such as schirmer or fluorescein stain. I didn;t know about them until I came here. She was being treated for a simple infection, and soon there were no more good days.
I found an excellent vet who immediatly sent Maddie to the ophthalmologist at Univ. of TN. We found out Maddie produces no tears in her left eye. This may be caused by a genetic defect-poorly developed tear duct- or permanent damage done by it being untreated in time- or others causes. I hate not knowing. (This is the problem that brought me to YT.)

She has been on numerous tear stimulating medications and nothing worked. This is something we will have to deal with for the rest of her life, she will be 3 in May. I clean her eye out at least 6-7 times a day and keep it lubricated with drops just as many times. It is horrible because I know it can be painful for her at times.

Our only option is possibly a surgery that would reroute her salavia glad to her tear duct: parotid duct transposition. We are considering having this done this summer.

I would suggest you contact your vet and ask to be referred to an ophthalmologist. Eyes are certainly not something to mess around with and once damage is done it may not be reversable.

I will say a prayer for your little guy and hopefully he will find a treatment that works. Keep us updated.

[MaddiesMommie]

Also, may I ask what medications you were given? Thanks.

[MRS H]

Originally Posted by MaddiesMommie

Also, may I ask what medications you were given? Thanks.

Hi MaddiesMommie, initially he was given an antibiotic because he had the start of an ulcer in his eye, he also was given a lubricant gel to moisten the eye, i have read that drops for dry eyes for humans can be used but im not happy using anything that has not be prescribed for him, as i said he has had the tear test strip in his eye although it was dry the vet said his eyes are so small that he needs to grow a little before any further action can be taken, hes having a good day today which i great to see, but as you know that can change so quickly

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by MRS H

Hi MaddiesMommie, initially he was given an antibiotic because he had the start of an ulcer in his eye, he also was given a lubricant gel to moisten the eye, i have read that drops for dry eyes for humans can be used but im not happy using anything that has not be prescribed for him, as i said he has had the tear test strip in his eye although it was dry the vet said his eyes are so small that he needs to grow a little before any further action can be taken, hes having a good day today which i great to see, but as you know that can change so quickly

The one thing the optho told me is to not use saline on mine alot as it will mess up the natural tear production in the eye so just wanted to advise on that as well but if he needs it he needs it

[MRS H]

The vet gave him lacri lube for the eye its so sticky and messy to use, it makes his eye look worse all gummed up,i wish he could use drops really thank you for the advice xx

[Denny]

What is goopy eye?

[MaddiesMommie]

Originally Posted by MRS H

Hi MaddiesMommie, initially he was given an antibiotic because he had the start of an ulcer in his eye, he also was given a lubricant gel to moisten the eye, i have read that drops for dry eyes for humans can be used but im not happy using anything that has not be prescribed for him, as i said he has had the tear test strip in his eye although it was dry the vet said his eyes are so small that he needs to grow a little before any further action can be taken, hes having a good day today which i great to see, but as you know that can change so quickly

I understand that. I use a purified water eye wash for Maddie and TheraTears drops and Genteal eye gel. All are for human eyes too. When I took her to the vets and ophtho. these are things they suggested and used on her. The ER vet actually gave me eye wash, for humans, and charged me $15 for it. So after that, I just get it from WalGreens for $5.

[MaddiesMommie]

Originally Posted by Denny

What is goopy eye?

Goopy eye can be used to described Conjuctivitis or any type of mucus production in the eye. There are a lot of reasons your dogs eye can make a 'goop' so it is always best to seek vet care as soon as it is present, imo.

[UmbeandYudi]

My mothers yorkie has Dry eyes and after I took him to an opthamologist. I thought he would need surgery or something to that extent. But he gave some drops that were just stronger than the one the vet gave and my mother says he has been great since. His came like allergies and when he got it, it was really bad. So go to an opthamologist and have your baby checked. I'm glad my girls don't have it, but if they ever do i'll know where to go.

[Ladymom]

Originally Posted by MRS H

Hi thanks for the help xx the vet gave me a lubricant and antibiotics for his eye, could you please tell me if your baby had good days and bad days with this condition?, she claims he is too small at the moment to do much with him he is only 12 weeks which i gather is quite early to start the condition, how old was you r baby when the condition became apparent, sorry about all the questions xx

Since he is so young, Austin was most likely born without a tear duct. It is genetic in Yorkies. Sometimes puppies are born with blocked tear ducts that can be opened surgically. He needs to see an ophthalmologist. Our regular vets just don't have the specialized training and equipment to deal with many eye conditions.

There are tear stimulators like Cycosporin (Restasis) or Tacrolimus, but they aren't effective if there is no tear duct at all or it is blocked.

Dogs with dry eye are very prone to eye ulcers which sometimes require surgery to repair (graft).

Since Austin is so young, most likely the ophthalmologist will recommend surgery to make him more comfortable and save his eyesight. The surgery is described here:

KCS (Dry Eye)

Did you get a health guarantee from Austin's breeder? Since it is a congenital condition hopefully your breeder with help you with the costs. I can tell you from firsthand experience that dry eye can be costly to treat. Eye drops and artificial tears can get expensive, not to mention regular visits to the ophthalmologist. Surgery to correct the condition is several thousand dollars as is surgery to repair an ulcer that doesn't heal. I hope your breeder will take financial responsibility for producing a puppy with a genetic condition.