Hayley22

So... Delphi has stopped scratching her eye. The skin beneath the eye is no longer red and inflamed. No blood. But this morning her eye (and this is only one of the eyes) surrounding by yellow crusties. :( I tried to clean them off with cotton wool and tepid water, but she really doesn't like it and won't sit still for long. She tolerates me wiping beneath the eye, but won't even let me touch the upper eyelid. Her other eye still had a little eye goop in the corner, but just normal tearing, not yellow dired crusties all around the eye. What could the cause of this be? Hair in the eye? Something stuck in there?

I don't know how to clean it effectively because they're hard and and dry and she won't sit still for long. Any tips?

I think from now on I'm going to try to keep her face hair very short, so that at least it doesn't get stuck in the hair. (This is half the battle one.) But for now, how do I clean it out the hair? I want to have her face shaved down soon, but I'm also worried it will hurt her if her skin is irritated?

Help please!

fjm

I would try putting a wet - rather than damp - cloth over it for a second, give her a treat and praise, repeat for two seconds, then three, etc. That should soften the crusts, and be less painful than rubbing. If it continues or recurs I'd get her eyes checked by the vet.

Both of mine tended to runny eyes when they were teething, which got much better as they got older, but that was clear tears rather than goop.

__________________

To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden,
where doing nothing was not boring- it was peace.

~ Milan Kundera

Hayley22

Yes, she has always had clear tearing. And the other eye only has a clear tearing and a little bit of gunk in the corner, but not like this.

Could be epiphora, but the tears are drying and causing irritation to the skin, which is why she's scratching?

I'll watch her for the next day or two, and then it's off to the vet for us!