Weeping eyes
 

Toby has very weepy eyes. I have to clean the goo from them a number of times a day, and the hair on his face is always wet.

His hair does poke in them a bit, but the groomer says they are abnormally weepy. His face was wet again before she even finished grooming him.

I asked the vet and they said there is no infection.

Do you have any suggestions. Do some Yorkies just have eyes that water continuously?

I heard it can be their food (Arden Grange puppy) - what exactly is it in the food that might cause it? or teething.......

He is 5 months old and they have always been like this since I got him.

I hope Kalina82 (Kellie) sees this -- her kiddo was having this problem and the vet was saying they couldn't find anything wrong. She finally went to a Vet Opthamologist (who has specialized equipment) and it turns out that (I think) her bottom lid rolls in just a bit and there are microscopic hairs growing inside there, toward the eyeball (I hope I have this right, Kellie! :)).

Food can do it, sometimes...can you post ingredients of your food?

Seasonal allergies can also affect this very much -- does she itch or bite/lick her paws at all? You could try childrens benadryl to see if this helps w/ the eyes.

Usually when it's an eye infection, you see greenish goop and there is usually a smell to the eye area.

Here are the ingredients of the Arden Grange:
Fresh Chicken 18%, Chicken Meal* 18%, Whole Grain Rice, Chicken Fat*, Beet Pulp, Egg Powder, Whole Grain Maize, Dried Brewers Yeast, Fish Meal*, Linseed, Fish Oil*, Minerals, Vitamins, Nucleotides, Prebiotic FOS, Prebiotic MOS, Cranberry Extract, Chondroitin Sulphate, Glucosamine Sulphate, MSM, Yucca Extract.

* Preserved with mixed tocopherols and rosemary extract.

Protein 29%, Oil 18%, Fibre 3%, Ash 6%, Moisture 8%, Omega6 4.1%, Omega3 0.7%, Vitamin A 20000 IU/kg, Vitamin D3 1350 IU/kg, Vitamin E 135 IU/kg, Calcium 1.3%, Phosphorous P 0.85%, Copper 22 mg/kg (as Cupric Sulphate).

He also has a bit of this mixed in too.

Jollyes Own brand

Ingredients:

Chicken meat meal (min 36%), rice, corn, chicken oil, barley, fish meal, whole egg, sugar beet pulp, brewers yeasts, whole linseed, salmon oil, vitamins, minerals, DL-methionine, rosemary.

Typical Analysis

Protein: 30% Oil: 20% Fibre: 2.2% Ash: 7%
Vitamin A: 20,000 IU/kg Vitamin D3: 1,500 IU/kg
Vitamin E (as alpha tocopherol): 180 IU/kg
Copper (as copper sulphate): 26 mg/k




I am thinking of changing to this (Burns Mini Bites)

Contains:
Brown Rice, Chicken, Meat Meal, White Rice, Oats, Peas, Chicken Oil, Sunflower Oil, Ocean Fish, Seaweed, Vitamins and Minerals

Typical Analysis/100g:
Protein 21.0%, Oil 11.0%, Fibre 2.0%, Ash 7.0%, Vit A 10000 iu/kg, Vit D 1500 iu/kg, Vit E 80 iu/kg, Moisture 9%, Copper 15mg/kg, Sodium 0.52%, Calcium 1.45%, Phosphorus 1.0%, Magnesium 0.10%.

I am also thinking of Orijen, but undecided about the protein content, and think it might be better to wait until he is old enough for the adult version.

FRESH REGIONAL INGREDIENTS
Deboned chicken, chicken meal, turkey meal, russet potato, lake whitefish, chicken fat, sweet potato, whole eggs, turkey, salmon meal, salmon and anchovy oils, salmon, natural chicken flavour, sunflower oil, sun-cured alfalfa, dried brown kelp, carrots, spinach, peas, tomatoes, apples, psyllium, dulse, glucosamine Hcl, cranberries, black currants, rosemary extract, chondroitin sulfate, sea salt.

TONIC HERBS AND BOTANICALS
Chicory root, licorice root, tumeric root, funugreek, marigold flowers, sweet fennel, zea mays, peppermint leaf, chamomile flowers, dandelion, summer savory, rosehips.

ORGANIC MINERALS
Iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate.

PROBIOTIC MICROORGANISMS
Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product.

PREMIUM VITAMINS
Mixed tocopherols (source of vitamin E), choline chloride, vitamin A, vitamin D3, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin B12, folic acid, biotin.


GUARANTEED ANALYSIS
Protein 42.0%
Fat 20.0%
Carbohydrate 18.0%
Moisture 10.0%
Fiber 2.5%
Calcium (min.) 1.6%
Calcium (max.) 1.8%
Phosphorus (min.) 1.4%
Phosphorus (max.) 1.6%
Omega-6 3.0%
Omega-3 1.0%
Glucosamine 500 mg/kg
Chondroitin 150 mg/kg
Microorganisms 80M cfu/kg
pH 5.0
Ash (min.) 6.5%
Ash (max.) 7.0%

BOTANICAL ANALYSIS
Chicory root 700 mg/kg
Licorice root 500 mg/kg
Fenugreek 350 mg/kg
Marigold flowers 350 mg/kg
Sweet fennel 350 mg/kg
Peppermint leaf 300 mg/kg
Chamomile flowers 300 mg/kg
Dandelion 150 mg/kg
Summer savory 150 mg/kg
Rosehips 150 mg/kg

VITAMINS
Vitamin A 34 kIU/kg
Vitamin D3 2.0 kIU/kg
Vitamin E 400 IU/kg
Vitamin K 2.5 IU/kg
Vitamin B12 460 IU/kg
Thiamine 65 mg/kg
Riboflavin 55 mg/kg
Niacin 248 mg/kg
Pan. acid 46 mg/kg
Pyridoxine 30 mg/kg
Biotin 0.46 mg/kg
Folic acid 3.5 mg/kg
Choline 3550 mg/kg
Ascorbic acid 65 mg/kg
Beta carotene 0.66 mg/kg

AMINO ACIDS
Taurine 0.22 mg/kg
T. Lysine 1.9%
T. Threonine 1.8%
T. Methionine 1.0%
T. Isoleucine 1.8%
T. Leucine 2.0%
T. Valine 2.0%
T. Arginine 3.2%
T. Phen. 1.6%
T. Histidine 1.1
T. Cystine 0.5%

MINERALS
Sodium 0.3%
Chloride 0.5%
Potassium 0.6%
Magnesium 0.09%
Sulphur 0.4%
Iron 250 mg/kg
Zinc 204 mg/kg
Copper 24 mg/kg
Manganese 24 mg/kg
Cobalt 0.55 mg/kg
Iodine 4 mg/kg
Selenium 0.38 mg/kg

The ingredients in the Ardens looks good; the Jollyyes has corn, so that perhaps could be irritating. I think Orijen is just GREAT - and I really think highly of the company in general. If I fed kibble (I feed raw), that would be what I'd feed.

I forgot to answer you too that, yes, their eyes could water when teething too. :)

I do think it is an allergy. He scratches quite a lot, and around his back legs is flaky.

His eyes were watery when we got him. At that stage he was on Royal Canin puppy, and hadnt been outside (too young). Could that eliminate the environmental factors, such as pollen etc? He was on just Arden Grange for a while before I starting mixing in the Jollyes, so I cant blame the Jollyes.

I keep changing my mind on the Orijen. Are the kibble pieces not a bit big for a 3lb Yorkie?

Hi -

I feed Orijen, the kibbles pieces are just fine for my pup that was 3lb starting out. Burns is also a great diet, kibble is way smaller. Orijen do a sample pack to try as well.

Good luck, sorry can't help on the eyes.

So basically, his eyes were excessively watery from when he was a very young pup (ie, 12 weeks or so?)? Allergies aren't really present in young pups yet bc of the maternal antibodies they still have on board; they usually can start at about 1 year of age, earliest. So, if he's had watery eyes since that young - and you truly think it's excessive, then I lean toward thinking it could be structural (ducts, or what I mentioned w/ Kalina82) or from teething.

Also, what are you using for shampoo and how often bathing?

He is only 5 months now. We got him at 9 wks, so from at least that age they were watering.
I do think it is excessive, and the groomer also thought it was excessive. His face was wet between her drying him and giving him a quick hygiene cut.
Would be great if it was only teething.
If its the ducts, is it a long term problem?

Really tough to say, and I don't know a whole lot about eye issues in particular. If both you and the groomer think it's excessive, and it's since 9 weeks - I really lean toward toward ducts, or micro lashes that may be invisible to the bare eye.

If you don't mind, I'm going to move your thread to "Health" bc otherwise it'll get pushed down to page 2 or 3 and Kellie may never see this. I think she'd really have valuable insight for you. :)

Thanks for your help.
I think I will mention to the Vet again.
I really want to avoid unnecessary surgery or medication though.

Sounds similar to Charlie when I first got him.
Charlie had watery eyes (and a lot of eye gunk), flaky dandruff all over his body, a yeast infection and would continuosly scratch his eyes and head.

I transitioned him to Orijen Puppy the week he came home (he was on Science Diet) and within 2 weeks the yeast infection was gone, within 3 weeks the dandruff and excessive tears were history.

Charlie was 4 months and just under 2 lbs when we got him and he had no problem with the puppy variety.

Hi! Like Ann said i have some experience with drippy eyes. Morgan has always had a wet face (which gets smelly) from excessive tear production. I did food trials to see if the food was causing it, I cleaned her face with different products, I put drops or ointments in her eyes...nothing worked. At a year old she was going in to get her teeth cleaned (and some extra teeth pulled) and i had the vet check her tear ducts. I thought they were possibly clogged. The vet couldn't flush them while she was sleeping because he said they were too small. So i figured that was her problem and that was why her face was always wet. From then on i just cleaned her face every day.

A few months ago i wanted her eyes looked at again because her face was smelling worse then usual and i was getting sick of it. So i took her to a vet ophthalmologist. He had all these fancy schmancy tools that the regular vet didn't have. He was able to flush her tear ducts and said they were working and not too small. He checked her pressures and tear production (which turned out to be high...well duh LOL). Then he took out this little eye magnifier thing and looked at her eye lids. He said they ever so slightly rolled inward and there were tiny hairs poking her in the eye. These hairs are so small and in such a spot where they cannot be trimmed. They would have to be frozen with nitrogen to remove them. I opted out of that one. He told me to get lubricant drops to put in her eyes a few times a day so the hairs wouldn't irritate her eyes so much. Its just a problem we will have to live with.

So your puppy could have this problem, but he could also have numerous other things wrong. His tear ducts could be small or clogged. It could be the food as there is whole grain maize (corn) in the arden grange and corn in the other. Personally i'd switch to a grain free food or something at least without wheat or corn. Out of the ones you posted I'd pick Orijen.

Teething can cause tearing too.

Just bumping this bc I hope Shell sees Kellie's reply/thoughts. :)

Hey Wylie, I noticed my dogs have weepy eyes but I thought it was normal and then I was reading you post and you asked if her dog bites or licks her paws. Two of my dogs do this, do they have allergies, what can I give them.

Thanks Ann & Kellie. I really hope it is nothing requiring surgery.

I have actually pulled his hair back in a topknot the last few days, and clipped up the short bits, and I think there is an improvement. (Although he really fights it!)

So perhaps the hair is just poking him in the eyes, and they are just overly sensitive.

I am going to put apple cider vinegar in the water, and change to a grain free food.

I will let you know if there is any progress.

Michelle